“Is this what you dreamed of in journalism school?’ demands 1 Crown Office Row junior as Proudman/Carter-Silk madness peaks
As the “sexist” LinkedIn message lawyer furore enters a fourth day, it has the feel of a festival nearing its end.
Amid the wreckage of 72 hours of debauchery, dazed revellers wander the wreckage, occasionally shouting incoherent things at each other — all knowing that, come Monday, it will be back once more to the daily grind.
It is through this prism which this morning’s Twitter row between junior human rights barrister Adam Wagner and two hapless rookie Daily Mail hacks must surely be understood.
It all kicked off after the newspaper — extremely drunk yesterday evening on LinkedIn lawyer hysteria — instructed reporters to trawl through the Facebook profiles of Charlotte Proudman and Alexander Carter-Silk.
They began with Proudman’s lower profile co-star and discovered a comment where he had — shock, horror! — described his own daughter as “hot”.
Then they turned their attention to Britain’s new most famous lawyer. It turned out that Proudman, in spite of her objection to being described as “stunning” by Carter-Silk, had complimented men she knew on their physical appearance!
This level of intrusion was too much for Wagner — who, unlike the Daily Mail, had spent most of LinkedIn Lawyer Fest 2015 in the more sedate human rights tent. Tired of the paper’s increasingly ridiculous antics, he fired off this broadside, naming the two authors of the Mail‘s latest mad story.
Utter twaddle, oppressive attacks – is this what you dreamed of in journalism school @taylor_rosie & @TomEPPayne? pic.twitter.com/MXSvgn1GsX
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) September 11, 2015
The Mail‘s Rosie Taylor already had that one covered, having issued an earlier tweet reminding the world that she is just one tiny cog in a huge news organisation that is bound together by a pact that no cogs will ever take responsibility for anything.
Just a quick reminder… Reporters write stories, subeditors write headlines. I'm a reporter.
— Rosie Taylor (@taylor_rosie) September 11, 2015
Alerted to this disclaimer, Wagner slung some half-hearted abuse in Taylor’s direction.
Sorry, you choose to work there – you wrote the story, you know how it is going to be spun. https://t.co/vR2XCkf3b8
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) September 11, 2015
Before he slunk off into the dawn muttering something about the future of feminism.
On the upside, the Daily Mail's desperate spite towards feminists will only bolster the movement in the long term pic.twitter.com/BmN8Qq8yZG
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) September 11, 2015
Previously:
The Judge Rules: Charlotte Proudman should never have let herself become the story [Legal Cheek]