Comments on: Birmingham Mail reporter: “I’m a bit of an idiot really”

By: Patrina Ballreich

Patrina Ballreich — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:55:52 +0000

[...] Birmingham Mail reporter Adam Smith drunkenly resigns over YouTube | Dave Lee / jBlog – http://daveleejblog.com/2008/11/birmingham-mail-reporter-im-a-bit-of-an-idiot-really/ – http://www.GetShawty.com [...]

By: Markus Harkema

Markus Harkema — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:29:49 +0000

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By: JournoDrinks.com brings drinking journos together | Dave Lee / jBlog

JournoDrinks.com brings drinking journos together | Dave Lee / jBlog — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:19:27 +0000

[...] We journalists love a tipple — just ask our old pal Adam Smith. [...]

By: bassybill

bassybill — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:04:27 +0000

Looking at the video and the comments posted above, it’s absolutely clear to me that Adam is very open, honest, modest about his talents, entertaining and also unmotivated by petty ambitions or the need to artificially feel superior.

It’s also clear that some folks have got an egotistically inflated sense of their “professional dignity” and the validity of what I would consider to be, frankly, their pretty much worthless opinion.

So, guess who’s the better journalist?

I love it when people suffer from “delusions of adequacy”.

By: Reg Pither

Reg Pither — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 04:11:57 +0000

Dear God! I have never come across a bunch of people so entirely up their own backsides they can lick their spleens. I smell the dank, stale odour of subs and the poisonous, humourless whiff of the London set.
I worked with Adam and he is a great guy and a damn good reporter. Does he regard it as a disaster? Of course he doesn’t, as is apparent from the video shot the following day (obviously, your moronic commentators haven’t bothered to look at that yet.) If only some of you had the balls he has. It’s people like YOU who give HUMANITY a bad name, not HIM who gives JOURNALISM a bad name. “Reputation of journalism” my arse! The comments above are so obviously by self-important moralists who still call journalism (or reporting, as it should be known) a profession and not a trade.
After 25 years as a daily newspaper reporter I find Adam’s “two fingers up to everything” approach really, really refreshing. He WILL be a success, because he has a personality, a sense of perspective – and a great sense of humour. “Ruining a career”? Oh please!
On a point of interest regarding “the reputation of journalism”, so many of these posts are littered with factual errors. No-one has bothered to check anything out, other than just looking at the video. THAT says more about standards in journalism and the twittering set than Adam says about reporting.
I would say “get real and get a sense of humour” but it is far too late for you.
Cue the “It’s Tough Up North London” Brigade to flutter their feathers.

By: concernedvoter

concernedvoter — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:14:07 +0000

Y’know.. every place I’ve ever worked, just the act of telling your boss to “F—Off” is very much sufficient to get a person fired!

This idiot did it drunk, on video, and bragged about plagiarism at the same time. He certainly deserves an immediate boot!

By: Social media shows its election steel : mateoland.com

Social media shows its election steel : mateoland.com — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 09:00:09 +0000

[...] and online journalism wunderkind Dave Lee (recently appointed co-editor of the BBC Internet Blog) posts this gem of a video in which a Birmingham Mail reporter effectively resigns by YouTube to pursue his indie publishing [...]

By: Christopher

Christopher — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:04:29 +0000

This explains all – http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tg5lUWLBYfU

By: Cardiganinthecorner

Cardiganinthecorner — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:59:57 +0000

Word is he’s in the last week of work at the mail having applied for VR. Further word is he’s now lost the VR cheque. No job and £10k poorer. EEjit.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:53:05 +0000

@Johnson — yes, but Miami-Dade has consistently voted Democrat.

@Sally — the guy asks if it’s ‘going’ on Facebook, not if he’s ON Facebook. It took the guy ages to even believe that this guy was a journalist. I don’t know if it’ll will ruin his career, but he’s only got himself to blame if it does. I wouldn’t say I was being pompous or hysterical. I am being judgmental, yes, because I’ve judged this man to be a complete berk. And on this blog, I’m allowed to do that.

@Matthew — well that of course remains to be seen. If, as he says in the video, he’s off to start his own indie magazine, then maybe he’s going to benefit from appearing to be a bit of a loose cannon.

@DB — ha! Wonderful! Thanks for sharing the clip.