What kind of idiot thinks email is confidential?
By Andrew Grant-Adamson • Apr 12th, 2009 • Category: Blogging, Blogs, PoliticsLabour spinners for a start. Damian McBride and Derek Draper were certainly foolish to even consider their plan for a blog to spread smears about Tories (Sunday Times et al) but completely mad to discuss the plot in emails. It does not take much brain to understand that emails are just about the worst medium for plotting.
While they look quick and easy they are extremely durable. They are stored on servers and have a habit of being brought out into public. They are also susceptible to Freedom of Information requests and can’t be mysteriously lost so easily as letters.
I have been amazed at some of the things which one person at work has said about another in an email. My rule is that if I want to say anything that would be more than mildly embarrassing if made public, I don’t put it in writing.
So why do they do it? I suspect that politicians and their henchpeople are just serial risk-takers.
PS: The News of the World has more details of the smears.
Andrew Grant-Adamson is Andrew Grant-Adamson is a journalist who now teaches a new generation of writers, subs and editors at the University of Westminster.
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Spot on, Andrew. It’s good to see you blogging so regularly again.
Rob