Talking-up Scotland

After an audience survey revealed that most viewers thought BBC Scotland’s Disclosure team were a bunch of wimps, not up to the hazards of real investigative reporting, an attempt was made to attract Strictly Come Dancing winner, Stacey Dooley, with the offer of a big salary, a personalised stab vest and the role of Senior Chief Reporter with the team.

Much of the criticism of the Disclosure team has concerned their apparent preference for just asking quiet old folk who are ill, quiet old folk who remember a tragedy, quiet old folk who were abused in a home or quiet old folk who had terrible surgery, to tell them what happened. In the one case where they were following a lorry full of wee calves with a big tough guy driving, they got mixed up, followed the wrong lorry all the way to Spain and then used the wrong film of wee calves in the final production. In sharp contrast, the at-first-sight, puny little Eastender, is a tough cookie who might have brought some steel to the team.

Dooley was briefly attracted to the package offered but after watching some of the Disclosure series, left quickly, sniggering. She has, in sharp contrast, interviewed Ulster paramilitaries who are kneecapping local youths, Russian pimps and Mexican gang members.

TuS contacted Dooley, were referred to this link and asked to pass it on to the BBC Scotland team:

‘Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Practitioners sometimes use the terms “watchdog reporting” or “accountability reporting”.’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investigative_journalism

In a genuine effort to help, TuS investigative reporter Johnny ‘Mad Bastard’ Robertskovovichkov, has suggested these topics:

Radiation and Cancer, Inside Hunterston B

Dark Money and the Scottish Tories: Inside the Loyalist Money-laundering Gangs

Don’t Touch Me There: Scottish Labour Grandees and Female Interns

Unwanted Cash Donations: Exposing the coin throwers of Scottish football

He Sleeps with the Fishes: Scotland’s Mackerel Mafia Families

Readers are asked to make further suggestions below.

Further calls to shut-down this blog will be ignored,