“Thanks to our newsroom specialists with their contacts, we were
reporting accurately and reliably ahead of the internet,” claimed Doug
Wills, managing editor of the Evening Standard (Letters, Press Gazette,
22 July).
This is perfectly correct if you assume that Mr Wills only reads his own website.
I was following events online and the Evening Standard only excelled itself in one respect – tardiness.
Here are some highlights of its world-beating coverage:
Related
At 11.30am, two hours after the bombs went off and at the same
time as the BBC website has gone down due to demand, the Standard is
leading with stories on Big Brother and George Clooney. Not a single
mention of the bombs.
Sky News has a helicopter on the scene. The news that a bus has blown up in Tavistock Square is reported.
These are the latest headlines online.
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BBC: “Power surge blast hits London metro”
Guardian: “Many hurt in Tube chaos”
Times: “Mystery ‘blast’ on the Tube”
The Standard leaps into action with “‘Explosion’ heard at station”. In the second spot.
The latest “revelation” on George Clooney is still the lead.
2pm. Thousands of people evacuated from buildings. Four explosions pinned down. Tubes and buses at a standstill.
The police confirm 20 deaths so far.
The Evening Standard reveals: “People hurt after Tube power surge”.
I’m not sure how any of this relates to being “on top of the story”.
Kieran McCarthy, via email
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
