Ian Katz’s first fortnight as Newsnight editor could probably have gone better. A late night tweet calling guest Rachel Reeves “boring snoring” got the former Guardian man into an embarrassing retreat.
And the whole thing could have been so easily avoided if Katz had only looked through his own cuts.
Axegrinder has been pointed in the direction of a not-exactly complimentary description of the shadow cabinet minister from parliamentary sketch writer Simon Hoggart, penned during Katz’s stint as Guardian deputy editor.
As Hoggart wrote in January 2012: “Ms Reeves has a voice like a speak-your-weight machine with a sore throat.”
Such a scathing assessment did not, like Katz’s errant tweet, elicit a demand for an apology from an outraged Labour press office. But then again, a sentient set of weighing scales could hardly be described as dull.
Or maybe, because it was written in one of those boring old "snooooooozepapers" no one had noticed. TV's much more exciting. Innit.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
