So when is a journalist not a journalist? When he's the "Media Manager" of Culture & Sport Glasgow it seems. Variant magazine have responded to their recent ban from, not just the Tramway but all Culture & Sport Glasgow venues.

James Doherty, of Culture & Sport Glasgow (the privatised agency that was gifted all Glasgow's cultural heritage) sent Variant (the only arts magazine of general public interest) a letter alleging "inaccuracies" in their recent issue. I believe this was only after all copies of the magazine were removed from the places people expect to find them.

The offending article was one that catalogued, politely and in detail, the web of business and political connections between the main players in Culture & Sport Glasgow. Why this is such a threat is an interesting question. Control freakery, or do they have something to hide?

Doherty's letter alleges inaccuracies that turn out to be either insignificant ("Bridget McConnell is not Executive Director of Culture and Sport Glasgow. She is in fact Chief Executive") or mostly untrue. It was accompanied by dark mutterings about defamation that are unsupported by the facts. The whole response is attached to this article if you are interested in the details.

Given that James Doherty, PR man and censor of newspapers, is also President of the National Union of Journalists, Variant's response is well worth quoting in full:

"Lastly, since you raise the issue of codes of conduct, we wondered if we might remind you of the code of conduct of the National Union of Journalists. Given that you are the current president of the NUJ you are no doubt aware that this includes the following provisions:

• A journalist shall at all times defend the principle of the freedom of the Press and other media in relation to the collection of information and the expression of comment and criticism. He/she shall strive to eliminate distortion, news suppression and censorship.
• A journalist shall strive to ensure that the information he/she disseminates is fair and accurate, avoid the expression of comment and conjecture as established fact and falsification by distortion, selection or misrepresentation.
• A journalist shall not lend himself/herself to the distortion or suppression of the truth because of advertising or other considerations.

It seems to us that your actions in this case,

• in being party to the removal of Variant from all CSG premises,
• in the intimidatory threats of legal action and
• in the inaccuracy and misrepresentation in your letter,

have potentially breached all three of these articles in the code."