Papers didn't ignore the plight of the wrongly accused sub-postmasters but it took a TV drama to make them shout about it. Specialist journalists kept the story alive.
Good piece and i was thinking along the same lines. The lack of questioning about unconscious assumptions about what is “news” among the journalist class - i have been a member. For decades- is truly shocking.
That news is a random ”spotlight” which twizzles around on various subjects, under no one’s particular control is a romantic and self-serving notion . “It’s not my fault, its the spotlight.”
Terms like the “news agenda” are similarly contrived and ultimately meaningless
There’s a couple of issues here that have largely been missed. It seems that some Fujitsu staff had/have what’s called ‘God Access’ to the Horizon system. In essence, this allows techies to literally do anything they want without leaving a trace. Was this known by PO staff? I’d be surprised if they were aware of the extent that God Access implies. That’s terrifying. More important: the way the Horizon deal was concluded and then implemented is a classic case of how IT projects fail: 1 - a low ball contract offered on the betting that someone will change the spec leading to costly change orders. 2 - a lack of understanding the contract basics and especially about accountability. There are way too few lawyers capable of negotiating these deals ergo suppliers always have the upper hand. 3 - management wanting to protect their interests are not incentivised to examine let alone report problems. And if it’s tech then there’s always the excuse: ‘I couldn’t understand...’ The answer to which should be ‘Why didn’t you find someone who does understand,’ instead of which it is usually ‘ok.’
And that’s just the start of it. Taken together, these issues snowball very quickly and with devastating impact.
I suspect that this story has finally exploded as a direct consequence of pent up public frustration at the extent of graft in our public services rather than anything else but coupled to the power of quality television when print media fails to do its job.
Well said - there’s a sense that the “ordinariness” of the people shafted by the bosses wasn’t sexy enough to get traction.
The rule is beginning to look like if it’s running for a long time ‘In the Back’ of Private Eye, or a dogged freelancer/niche outlet, it’s a story worth covering.
What a sad shadow of a country where the truth is hidden until it can’t be hidden anymore, how many more scandals do we need to endure before honesty comes to the fore again ?
Good piece and i was thinking along the same lines. The lack of questioning about unconscious assumptions about what is “news” among the journalist class - i have been a member. For decades- is truly shocking.
That news is a random ”spotlight” which twizzles around on various subjects, under no one’s particular control is a romantic and self-serving notion . “It’s not my fault, its the spotlight.”
Terms like the “news agenda” are similarly contrived and ultimately meaningless
💯 especially the point on the “news agenda”. Whose agenda is the question to ask every time?
There’s a couple of issues here that have largely been missed. It seems that some Fujitsu staff had/have what’s called ‘God Access’ to the Horizon system. In essence, this allows techies to literally do anything they want without leaving a trace. Was this known by PO staff? I’d be surprised if they were aware of the extent that God Access implies. That’s terrifying. More important: the way the Horizon deal was concluded and then implemented is a classic case of how IT projects fail: 1 - a low ball contract offered on the betting that someone will change the spec leading to costly change orders. 2 - a lack of understanding the contract basics and especially about accountability. There are way too few lawyers capable of negotiating these deals ergo suppliers always have the upper hand. 3 - management wanting to protect their interests are not incentivised to examine let alone report problems. And if it’s tech then there’s always the excuse: ‘I couldn’t understand...’ The answer to which should be ‘Why didn’t you find someone who does understand,’ instead of which it is usually ‘ok.’
And that’s just the start of it. Taken together, these issues snowball very quickly and with devastating impact.
I suspect that this story has finally exploded as a direct consequence of pent up public frustration at the extent of graft in our public services rather than anything else but coupled to the power of quality television when print media fails to do its job.
I think that’s a very astute assessment.
I would add 4 - a PR/Comms industry who routinely advise their clients that telling the unvarnished truth is merely one option of many ...
Some very shrewd analysis
Bit like Australia's Robodebt, only that was, essentially, deliberate.
Right wing governments love blaming people for not being rich.
Well said - there’s a sense that the “ordinariness” of the people shafted by the bosses wasn’t sexy enough to get traction.
The rule is beginning to look like if it’s running for a long time ‘In the Back’ of Private Eye, or a dogged freelancer/niche outlet, it’s a story worth covering.
Complacency point is well made. It's a big story because there was nothing else on is another huge insult to people's intelligence.
What a sad shadow of a country where the truth is hidden until it can’t be hidden anymore, how many more scandals do we need to endure before honesty comes to the fore again ?