Fairburn Repels Borders Reivers

One unhappy bunny this morning is former Daily Record colleague Rob Fairburn of Borders Press Agency who was seething over his cornflakes at the actions of certain Scottish newspapers.

It's an old problem and I fully sympathise with Rob and other freelances who find themselves in this position from time to time.

A few weeks back Rob broke the story of 23-year-old Daniel Balfour who was having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl with the approval of the girl's mother. The story went national and was even one of the main talking points on Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show.

Naturally Rob was in court yesterday to hear Balfour being sentenced and to report the outcome. He was mildly put out when a Press Association reporter pitched up as they don't often venture in to the hinterlands and would need satnav to find a Borders court room. But it was a minor quibble and Fairburn left the PA reporter in his wake, filing his copy a good two hours before the PA version hit the news desks.

Now for the benefit of those not in the meeja, many national newspaper groups pay PA a retainer for various news and sports services in return for free to use copy. So it was not a huge surprise that some cheapskate titles opted to use PA instead of coughing up to the local freelance who freezes his arse off on Borders sheriff court press benches week in week out when PA staff are safely ensconced in their city centre offices.

But what really got Robbo's goat was the cheek of one title in particular who phoned him up to obtain the sort of personal details and background info in the case which is not in the public domain of a court room (and which PA didn't have) and then chose to run the PA version.

A bit naughty you would have to agree and it fails to take in to account the value of having guys like Fairburn on the ground, building local contacts and unearthing this type of story which often sneaks through the justice system without a wider audience.

Hopefully his memo to news desks might strike a chord and news executives will think twice the next time it comes to bypassing the local freelance in favour of the cheaper option. But I'm not holding my breath.

OPERATIONAL NOTE – RE Duns Sheriff Court 7/1/9

IT is perhaps understandable that in these times of economic uncertainty some newspapers, in an attempt to save a few pounds, would prefer to use the services of the Press Association turning up at a Borders sheriff court for the first time in years rather than an established freelance agency when faced with the choice.
This is despite the fact copy from the above case involving a mother who allowed her daughter aged 14 to sleep with her 22-year-old boyfriend in the family home was filed by Borders Press Agency a couple of hours before the PA version arrived late in the day.
In addition, the story only came into the public domain in the first place due to this agency’s constant monitoring of sheriff courts in the area.
However, I fully accept it is a newspaper’s prerogative to prefer to wait for the PA version if they so desire.
But I take great exception to those newspapers who had every intention of using the PA version to then come onto the Borders Press Agency to ask about specialist knowledge of the case and looking for contact details etc.
This puts myself in an extremely awkward situation as I have always tried to be very helpful and provide a thorough and professional service from the Scottish Borders.
As a result, I am reviewing the service provided from this area to ensure that the newspapers who are loyal to the Borders Press Agency are given the priority they deserve.
The newspapers who thought they scored by saving a few pounds in this instance can spend the next few months playing catch up their rivals when it comes to breaking stories in this area but then again that is their “prerogative”.

Robert Fairburn
Borders Press Agency