Thought readers might like a laugh at this from Dave Doyle of the Advertiser, it’s funny but that is Akhtar’s, Labour line too.
Andrew Mosley has his two pennyworth too, perhaps he doesn’t read Rothpol, because he would realise we have been reporting on CSE since long before Andrew Norfolk, turned up!
Rotherham Politics 
If the self-described “‘tizer professionals” had measured up to the truly professional Andrew Norfolk and his investigations – reported in the Times, their twitter complaints might have had some credibility.
As it is, Rothpol has done an essential job of filling the gap left by a totally ineffective advertisement-chasing local press.
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I just love the idea of a newspaper suing an individual! The World Turned Upside Down?
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If Mosely and Doyle were truly investigative journalists then they would have followed up Andrew Norfolks article and helped to expose the CSE scandal much sooner.
Their Twitter responses read more like Bodie and Doyle.
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Dispassionate comment: from cursory reading of Rothpol and the Tiser, the former gave the impression that nothing but CSE went on in Rotherham, the latter hardly ever raised the issue of its own volition, certainly in the 4 years I lived in Rotherham and probably not in the 12 before that.
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It strikes me by the tone of this Doyle chap that he believes so called ‘professional journalists’ are the only custodians of the truth and therefore the only ones that should be believed. The fact is that many of todays ‘professional journalists’ have taken sides in the political debate and are reduced to advocates for one side or the other with truth nowhere to be seen.
These people are part of the political machine that is responsible for the plight that Rotherham finds itself in today. If he had done his job as a professional journalist then the corrupt Labour administration in Rotherham would have been exposed years ago.
As for this Mosely chap, where has he been since this scandal started? I am not from Rotherham myself but I subscribe to Rothpol because it is a unique website that is holding the elected representatives to account. I can vouch for the fact that Rothpol has been reporting on this CSE scandal for years. Maybe he will pay attention from now on.
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It’s Doyle’s first proper job, bless him. With a few more miles under his belt he may eventually not be so full of his own self importance and also actually demonstrate some of this professionalism. At the moment all I see is far too much of the former and far too little of the latter.
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I’ll only post one comment in my defence – I won’t read the inevitable tsunami of bile as it demotivates and demoralises me. (That’s right – I’m a person with feelings, not a journodroid.)
None of us at the Advertiser are “investigative journalists”. I’m a reporter with a wide remit. I don’t have the time or authority to go “off-diary” for two years on one story, as Mr Norfolk did.
We put out three papers every week – an enormous job for such a small team. Furthermore, no-one wants wall-to-wall CSE coverage. Believe it or not, we get nearly as many “too much coverage” complaints as we do “not enough”.
And isn’t the crucial thing that someone with more experience and contacts than I (Mr Norfolk) broke this scandal at all? And yes, I am working my first full-time journalism job at the Advertiser. Does jumping on a less experienced, young reporter make you feel big and clever?
As for the “advertisement-chasing local press” comment: Yes, that’s how we survive as a business. And for crying out loud, where does this “part of a political machine” crap come from? Roger Stone didn’t talk to us for a decade because we criticised him and Labour so much. If you think you’ve got evidence we’re in their pocket, present it.
That’s it. Don’t expect further baiting to provoke anything more – I won’t be back.
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Thanks for that reply Dave.
Been giving this post and one recently, some deep thought. I realise that the situation is far more complex than has been acknowledged by anyone so far. Rik.
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