Scottish Waters

OneMoreYesScot/status/1044642869410172928/video/1

The reporting of a major gas find in Scottish waters was limited to just 14 secs in Scotland’s so-called flagship news programme, Reporting Scotland.

In addition, it was ‘badged’ and reported from a UK perspective, stating that the gas was found in ‘UK waters’ and that it could supply 10% of the ‘UK’s needs’.

There was no reporting or analysis of it from a Scottish perspective. 

Given that there was so much debate about how much of Scotland’s oil and gas remained prior to the 2014 independence referendum, it should be expected of a Scottish news programme to provide some analysis and perspective on how this major gas find would affect Scotland e.g. does it mean the gas would provide Scotland with 100% of its requirements, and if so, to what extent would Scotland’s economy benefit from being a net exporter; what are the prospects for further finds in the Atlantic and how do they stack up with claims from anti-independence campaigners when they claimed Scotland’s natural resources, especially oil, were running out?

It’s hard to imagine any other country’s national news programme downplaying such a major gas (or oil) find in that country’s waters and ignoring any analysis of the impact it would have on that country.

The time for an independent, Scottish broadcaster within the UK has come and gone. The only way Scotland will hear the news from a Scottish perspective is through Scottish independence – the sooner this happens, the better.