Reporter's Twitter rant to 2 million readers: Boss screwed me over story
11 Oct 2011
The number one unwritten rule of the office is: if you feel like screaming at your boss, take a deep breath and walk away.
But freelance journalist Rob Crilly broadcast his distress to millions when he complained about his line manager on Twitter.
The Cambridge-educated journalist, who is based in Pakistan and writes for the Daily Telegraph, was livid at the rewording of an article he wrote on theLibyan civil war. He then tweeted his anger, saying: "Hate being a freelancer when you've just got to suck it up."
However, his incendiary comments were not just transmitted to his 7,800 Twitter followers - they were also published on the Telegraph website which is read by more than two million people every day. The newspaper uses automatic feeds of reporters' tweets as content for its online publication.
Last night, readers of the website could see Crilly's comments next to his piece titled: "Libya: rebel fighters push on as battle for Sirte looms."
Initially, he complained directly to Daily Telegraph editor Tony Gallagher about his foreign news chief. He tweeted: "Neville Dean has twisted my copy beyond all recognition."
Crilly added: "I've just told the editor about his foreign news editor and how he screwed me on a story. Think I'll be sacked." Crilly, 38, then told his followers: "I said NTC (National Transitional Council) hadn't decided policy. Neville Dean rewrote that new Libyan govt had refused to work with western gov."
Becoming increasingly agitated, the foreign correspondent, who is an expert on Darfur, appeared to lose all semblance of control and tweeted: "Neville Dean is a c***."
In another Twitter gaffe, Chris Huhne revealed himself as the source behind a story that undermined Home Secretary Theresa May. He accidentally published a private message using the micro-blogging website.
The Telegraph had not commented by the time the Standard went to press.
No comments:
Post a Comment