Comment posted Good appointment to council press office by newsroom.
Our job is calling to account so the answer to your ‘how long?’ questions is as soon as she puts a foot wrong, as with everyone. We’re only ‘for’ Argyll.
Recent comments by newsroom
- Walsh to lead all but Lib Dems, Conservatives and George Freeman
No – not speculation – otherwise we would have said so.
But this is not a done deal.
It has to go for approval to an SNP meeting tomorrow [Monday]. - SNP meeting on Monday may be testing time for mega-coalition proposal
We would read the political ambitions the same way as you [and there's nothing wrong with having them]. Nothing else has ever made sense of the decision to stand as a councillor, with all of the losses in earnings and authority that the decision will have involved.
But this was not the chosen route. - First Minister’s choice not to condemn mob behaviour proves Farage point
What is untypically distorting here is the citing of extremist remarks made by some UKIP supporters, giving them a representative status characterising the party.
There is no political party – nor any group of affiliates – that does not have its fringe nutters.
UKIP is not the BNP but it will have its proportion of bigoted and dark adherents – ‘swivel-eyed loonies’ seems to be the phrase of the moment – as any other group has and as the SNP and the nationalist movement manifestly have themselves.
In the case of this issue. the First Minister – as Scotland’s First Minister – should automatically and immediately have put a substantial distance between Scotland, his party and the actions of the threatening mob in Edinburgh. He should have done this instinctively in the interests of civility and standards of discourse.
He instinctively did the reverse – and, personally, I find that a serious concern.
In failing to speak for Scotland as a civilised country and in failing to dissociate his party from the incident and from those perpetrating it, he has damaged the reputations of both.
Amusingly, in his scramble to diss MR Farage he deified the BBC and its reporters in so unequivocal a manner as to be equally indiscriminate. - SNP meeting on Monday may be testing time for mega-coalition proposal
We can’t control this either. We simply take Google Ads and hand over identified spaces to them. They populate the spaces with rotations of their ads that present as appropriate to our location and our site – or are generic. - First Minister’s choice not to condemn mob behaviour proves Farage point
I will ask my colleague, our Internet Services Director, to check if there was any software malfunction that might have had any impact on the Like/Dislike buttons or on scores they had already recorded – and I will report the answer in this comments chain.
For Argyll does not remove published comments and our pre-publication monitoring can be readily seen to uphold freedom of speech.
powered by SEO Super Comments
Congratulations on your appointment Aileen.
May I on behalf of the Museum thank you for your interest and assistance in our activities.
A new opportunity for you with which I wish you every success.
Kindest regards.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Congratulation Aileen. I wish you well in your new post.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Quite why Argyll & Bute Council employ an army of well paid spin doctors when we are told there is no money for essential services is a mystery to me .
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Newsie, is that the same Dunoon Observer that you exclusively revealed was due to close before Xmas last year??
“bunker mentality and dubious practices”? Pffft.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Now that we have a new appointee to the press office, do we need to continue paying for the absentee, Jo Smith?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Is this also the same Dunoon Observer that doesn’t report on fatal accidents and never seems to follow up on stories that do not involve ferries?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Well said JimB. You’re not the only one who notices that the Observer never follows up on reported stories. Most frustrating. This weeks paper was all police reports and courts, golf and bowls ! Then again baybe nothing happened……….
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Good appointment. Aileen is a well known and respected journalist in Argyll, big loss for the Dunoon Observer but ABC needs the quality in these positions. Don’t imagine this administration will give her the same amount of fire fighting the last lot created.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
When the Jo Smith saga eventually comes to some conclusion does this mean everybody who was abused by the press office under the various councillors and officials orders will get their day in court.Anything else is a complete waste of time.
As a interested bystander what exactly does A&B,s press office actually do.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I can’t say specifically what the A&B press office do but more generally a council press office’s duties will include the likes of:
Dealing with media enquiries.
Producing internal and external communications including things like staff magazines, and also keeping people like MSPs, us punters, other partners etc informed about services and issues.
Maintaining the council website.
Managing the ‘brand’ of the council to ensure consistency.
It is actually an important part of a council and effective if managed well.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Whilst I wish this lady success in her new appointment, I can’t help thinking that this indeed is a very safe appointment by the council. The Observer’s lack of criticism of A&B over the past few years has been obvious to all, no doubt guided by the fear that they may lose local government advertising (something that should have happened years ago!). Still, looking on the bright side, one less member of staff should help their dire finances.. and probably increase the coverage of golf and bowls!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Yes newsie, you are welcoming her now, but i wonder how long it will be before you turn on her when she doesn’t want to deal with you. Never mind, no doubt you can make up something and add a gate to the end of it. I wish the woman all the luck in the world, she will need it.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Our job is calling to account so the answer to your ‘how long?’ questions is as soon as she puts a foot wrong, as with everyone. We’re only ‘for’ Argyll.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Indeed, but who calls you to account?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Simon
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Maybe Simon could point out some of the errors in this piece then. I will leave it to him.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
By the look of this site she’s got her work cut out. What few on here seem to have twigged is that Ms McNicol will be required to protect the council’s reputation, just the same as her predecessors will have tried to do. From what I’ve read of Argyll & Bute Council, it has been its own worst enemy, conducting some kind of witch hunt until it had nobody in place to prevent the complete car crash that was the Martha Payne/NeverSeconds fiasco. Ms McNicol is no longer a journalist, she has been employed to act as gamekeeper rather than poacher. No doubt, in due course, she will fall foul of the self-righteous vitriol all too apparent in this blog. Best of luck to her, I wouldn’t have touched the post with a barge pole.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0