Gade-Gate is not only on the move - it's on 'The Spin' now. Since last reported here at Paradoxical News, a long list of events have tumbled over each other in the story about the leak from minister Søren Gade's Ministry of Defence. Many events have been too paradoxical even for PN to cover. But a short resumé suffices: Defence Minister Gade's spin doctor, Jacob Winther, has reported documentarist Christoffer Guldbrandsen to the police instead of filing a slander case against him directly. Since that a DR/Danish Broadcasting Corporation employee - and close friend and co-worker on the Guldbrandsen documentary - had made a tape recording, allegedly with Jacob Winther, and allegedly proving Guldbrandsen's major claim against Winther.
DR claimed the tape recording back, and it turned out that after hearing the tape Director General of DR, Kenneth Plummer, would protect the source and therefore NOT publish it. Leaving all Danish media and the public in the dark. And now every editor-in-chief of all major Danish media are firing at Kenneth Plummer for locking up the tape. Among them editors-in-chief Bent Falbert from Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet, daily Jyllands-Posten's Jørn Mikkelsen, daily Politiken's Stig Kirk Ørskov, tabloid B.T.'s Olav Skaaning Andersen, and daily Berlingske Tidende's Lisbeth Knudsen.
Alongside these events, several media people and other spin doctors are commenting the tape recording, saying that communication with a press officer and spin doctor is to be understood to be confidential background talk and not for quoting and publication, among them TV2 commentator and former spin doctor for Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Henrik Qvortrup. Others are claiming Jacob Winther's leave of office, due to a lapse of trustworth, among them Charlotte Aagaard, Defence reporter at the independent left wing daily of Information. Confused? You won't be after the next episode of Soa...arhm Gade-Gate.
Paradoxical News tried over and over again for the past three weeks to get a hold of Christoffer Guldbrandsen for a comment, since already speaking with Jacob Winther, Søren Gade, Søren Espersen, de facto PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen - see segments below (not easy at PN working with a phone line and a mailbox that apparently only give access to pro-government people).
Furthermore, today, PN tried to get comments from DR Director General Kenneth Plummer and news editor at DR, Ulrik Haagerup, again Christoffer Guldbrandsen, and again Jacob Winther (on vacation) - all with the purpose of getting more facts straight. But PN managed to get a short statement from chairman of the board at DR/Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Michael Christiansen (a politically influential person who has been criticized for meddling in Gade-Gate and Tape-Gate):
'I have no comments about the so-called leak story apart from the one I already made, which is that the Director General has my full support,' Michael Christiansen says (in keeping the tape recording under lock).
The paradox in all this? That a serious story about a leak from the Ministry of Defence with potential widespread consequences for Danish special force soldiers and national security - not to speak of the serious consequences of imprisonment for a ministry press officer leaking national security information to members of the press - has turned into a spin story with media people falling over each other to move the story away from the focal point - i.e. the PN angle: Gade-Gate on The Spin.
DR claimed the tape recording back, and it turned out that after hearing the tape Director General of DR, Kenneth Plummer, would protect the source and therefore NOT publish it. Leaving all Danish media and the public in the dark. And now every editor-in-chief of all major Danish media are firing at Kenneth Plummer for locking up the tape. Among them editors-in-chief Bent Falbert from Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet, daily Jyllands-Posten's Jørn Mikkelsen, daily Politiken's Stig Kirk Ørskov, tabloid B.T.'s Olav Skaaning Andersen, and daily Berlingske Tidende's Lisbeth Knudsen.
Alongside these events, several media people and other spin doctors are commenting the tape recording, saying that communication with a press officer and spin doctor is to be understood to be confidential background talk and not for quoting and publication, among them TV2 commentator and former spin doctor for Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Henrik Qvortrup. Others are claiming Jacob Winther's leave of office, due to a lapse of trustworth, among them Charlotte Aagaard, Defence reporter at the independent left wing daily of Information. Confused? You won't be after the next episode of Soa...arhm Gade-Gate.
Paradoxical News tried over and over again for the past three weeks to get a hold of Christoffer Guldbrandsen for a comment, since already speaking with Jacob Winther, Søren Gade, Søren Espersen, de facto PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen - see segments below (not easy at PN working with a phone line and a mailbox that apparently only give access to pro-government people).
Furthermore, today, PN tried to get comments from DR Director General Kenneth Plummer and news editor at DR, Ulrik Haagerup, again Christoffer Guldbrandsen, and again Jacob Winther (on vacation) - all with the purpose of getting more facts straight. But PN managed to get a short statement from chairman of the board at DR/Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Michael Christiansen (a politically influential person who has been criticized for meddling in Gade-Gate and Tape-Gate):
'I have no comments about the so-called leak story apart from the one I already made, which is that the Director General has my full support,' Michael Christiansen says (in keeping the tape recording under lock).
The paradox in all this? That a serious story about a leak from the Ministry of Defence with potential widespread consequences for Danish special force soldiers and national security - not to speak of the serious consequences of imprisonment for a ministry press officer leaking national security information to members of the press - has turned into a spin story with media people falling over each other to move the story away from the focal point - i.e. the PN angle: Gade-Gate on The Spin.
For further information, please see:
http://politiken.dk/politik/article903014.ece
http://www.berlingske.dk/politik/enhedslisten-kritiserer-dr-i-laeksag
http://journalisten.dk/fem-chefredaktorer-plummer-har-handlet-helt-forkert
http://journalisten.dk/pressechefer-forventer-fortrolighed-fra-journalister
http://paradoxicalnews.blogspot.com/2010/02/gade-gate-on-move.html
http://paradoxicalnews.blogspot.com/2010/01/defense-in-shambles.html