The media says there are questions to answer about Jason Arday. I have some for them

Question mark

On Friday afternoon as former Cambridge professor Jason Arday lay dead, The Times published another article mocking him.

Screenshot of the Times, which says: Jason Arday may want to get himeslef a nice pair of orange trousers.
Screenshot of the headline from this story https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/jason-arday-orange-trousers-celebrity-michael-portillo-j0b03cpjq – taken from archived page.

Soon after, as news of his death broke, the article (published here) disappeared. The print edition (below) had a different headline and no mention of Jason Arday by the time it hit the newsstands.

Screenshot of Times print coverage of same story from Saturday August 15
Screenshot of Times print coverage of same story from Saturday August 15

Given the relentless news coverage before his death, removing and amending this piece without comment or explanation speaks volumes.

Whether those involved admit any fault, this action shows how some stepped back from the furore they fed. And well they might. There’s a sense that, this time, the pack crossed a line.

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My three most read blogs of 2022

It’s interesting to see all the ‘what a year!!’ celebratory posts across my social feeds at the end of a challenging 2022.

As I enter my 48th year, I too reflect on a year to be proud of, but without being too gushing about how ‘great’ it was. That’s because, in many ways, it wasn’t. It’s ulimately been a good year, but parts of it came at some personal cost. I wouldn’t be true to myself if I suggested otherwise.

I’ve returned to conversations I had this time last year, feeling ground down by perma-crises that affected all of us. Whilst the initial panic of COVID subsided, we had no sense of what was coming in 2022. Having set up Distinctive in June, two Prime Ministers and six fiscal events later, it’s a wonder I’ve found time to write any blogs.

While I haven’t completed as many as I wanted to, those I published performed better than in 2021. They also helped me process events happening around me.

If anyone who stopped to read or share them found them useful too, that’s a bonus.

Here are the three posts that had the most views in 2022.

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Why the public shouldn’t hate ‘comms’: an open letter to Matthew Parris

Matthew Parris wrote on Saturday that people ‘hate comms’ for its slickness and vacuuity. This is my response to his comment.

Dear Matthew,

I enjoy your writing about politics, and the Conservative party you represented in Parliament during less febrile times.

Your analysis about the lack of new ideas in British politics today strikes a chord with me. I also share your despair at how this is playing out in the turgid Tory leadership contest.

You were right to warn on Saturday that the party is heading towards the abyss as things stand.

I was also struck by your comment about the comms profession’s supposed role in the campaigns, when saying:

“[Rishi Sunak] has fallen prey to the vultures of what we now call “comms” — professional communications advisers. A breed with a blind spot when it comes to the one truth about comms that matters: that the 21st-century British public hate comms, spot it a mile off, and walk away.”

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