Emily Bell responds to New Statesman article: 'MediaGuardian has always upset a lot of people'

There seems to be 'quite a lot of complaining about nothing in particular', Guardian.co.uk's digital director has said in response to the 'Who Guards the Guardian' feature in this week's issue of New Statesman.

"MediaGuardian has always upset a lot of people by trying to cover the industry fairly," Emily Bell told Journalism.co.uk.

In the New Statesman article, London Evening Standard business and media correspondent Gideon Spanier highlighted complaints from various senior industry figures about the balance of industry coverage by MediaGuardian, which has just marked its 25th anniversary. 

In the article Spanier quotes Simon Kelner, managing director of the Independent: "The Guardian as an organisation proclaims the highest ethical values, but it is quite clear that they have used their media website purposely to damage their biggest commercial rival.

"[T]hose who work in newspapers are aware that MediaGuardian is contaminated by the commercial values of GMG [Guardian Media Group]. The problem is that the wider media industry, particularly the advertising community, regard it as an objective and authoritative site when, of course, it is anything but."

Roger Alton, editor of the Independent, complained of 'inaccuracies' and 'demented' coverage of the Independent by the weekly media supplement and website, Spanier reported.

There were also unnamed sources with complaints: "Executives at Channel 4 and ITV repeatedly cited the columnist Emily Bell as someone who, in their view, is conflicted - because she is also the Guardian's director of digital content, and has a seat on the GNM [Guardian News & Media] board." 

One particular concern, Spanier stated, was Bell's presentation on behalf of Guardian Media Group (GMG) to Lord Carter and the Digital Britain team in early May.

Emily Bell, who was consulted by Spanier before the article was published, first responded via Twitter yesterday: "ITV and C4 execs think I am 'conflicted' in commenting on media and being guardian exec. They *can* blog too."

At least Kelner had 'the balls to be very explicit', Bell later told Journalism.co.uk.

"Certainly, the execs at ITV and Channel 4 know exactly what I do: we don't make a secret of it," she said, adding that her role is detailed at the end of her MediaGuardian column and that she never writes 'uncommissioned'.

"I don't really know how to respond to it because I don't know what the allegation is. Is it because I'm writing from the Guardian, as a Guardian employee, but I've also got more say in the corporate strategy? It's not like any of that is unclear. And I'm fairly scrupulous about declaring interests where we are specifically interested.

"When you read the piece as a whole it seems to me that Gideon Spanier gives fair treatment to what seems to be quite a lot of complaining about nothing in particular," she said.

Spanier did not name specific examples in his article but in May 2009, Bell wrote an article in which she voiced concern about 'the rise of the spectre of the British media heading for a leadership deficit in the very near future;' in the article she speculated about the future management of media corporations, specifically ITV, WPP, Channel 4, Independent News & Media and News International.

Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide deal
In February 2009 Bell expressed strong reservations about the potential deal between Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide, in a blog comment piece: "[Lord] Carter was, as the previously clear-thinking and commercial Ofcom chief executive, happy with the idea of Channel 4 and Five merging. Now he's suddenly keen on the complex and slightly barmy idea of C4 and BBC Worldwide forging some sort of profit-sharing arrangement."

Bell said this is not a conflict of interest: "If I do write about them [industry deals], like Digital Britain, unfortunately I'm in the sad position of being one of the few people in the country who is dull enough to bother to follow broadcasting policy for years.

"I think they [Channel 4 and ITV executives] are thinking about it in an old-fashioned way and I don't think they can produce any specific examples of where this is specifically problematic.

"They would say, 'well you rubbished the BBC Worldwide deal and that advantaged the Guardian'. I don't think it does because I don't think anybody will take a blind bit of notice about what I think of the BBC Worldwide/Channel 4 deal - which I do think look likes like an absolutely idiotic idea.

"They won't take any notice of that; and it will happen; and it will probably prove to be a bit of a disaster. And it wouldn't matter even if the Guardian was in that deal. If the Guardian was in that deal I would have to completely stop writing about it. If I fervently approved of it I would say so.

"The idea that GMG - which is separate from GNM - tells me what to think: it would be news to [GMG chief executive] Carolyn McCall that I'm her PR mouth. If I was employed on that basis I would have been sacked a long time ago."

Bell said she is not aware of any official complaints to date, but said executives could respond to the Guardian's readers' editor or on their own blogs:

"Their [media corporations] CEOs have absolutely got the power to talk directly to government, or audience, or the regulator, through their own blogs," she said.

The Independent
In regards to complaints in the article voiced by senior figures at the Independent, Bell said she could appreciate that MediaGuardian reportage on industry troubles might be difficult to take.

"Things are going badly wrong: the fact that someone's writing about that [situation] consistently is upsetting," she said.

Nonetheless, she said, she does not believe the reportage damages competitors' commercial chances: "If MediaGuardian was to go away tomorrow and never wrote another word about the Independent, it would not improve Tony O'Reilly's chances of raising new money to back it in the market.

"We're there to provide commentary and shed light. If they really think there's a problem they should be open about it. We don't like it when everybody writes about the Guardian in unflattering terms, but it's not something we'd ever seek to stop happening."

Related link:

• Jon Slattery's Blog: 'Indy Boss gives MediaGuardian a kicking'

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).