0
edits
Ructions: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Criticism of Richard - comments as to whether this is right to include please. I figure James' own comments about others have a right to be aired too.
Dummy User (talk | contribs) (Added Vote section, updated Constitution section) |
Dummy User (talk | contribs) (Criticism of Richard - comments as to whether this is right to include please. I figure James' own comments about others have a right to be aired too.) |
||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
The first problems came due to the debate over the playout of URY in campus bars. Whilst out of the country, James had been in contact with Tim {{unsure|surname?}} and Matt Fullerton of URY (Matt was not an active member of YSTV at this point) about proposed plans for URY to be broadcast in campus bars using Rediffusion. James had responded on behalf of YSTV stating that ''it would be unfair for URY to be allowed to broadcast in campus bars'', suggesting that it would cut off YSTV's main distribution medium. | The first problems came due to the debate over the playout of URY in campus bars. Whilst out of the country, James had been in contact with Tim {{unsure|surname?}} and Matt Fullerton of URY (Matt was not an active member of YSTV at this point) about proposed plans for URY to be broadcast in campus bars using Rediffusion. James had responded on behalf of YSTV stating that ''it would be unfair for URY to be allowed to broadcast in campus bars'', suggesting that it would cut off YSTV's main distribution medium. | ||
[[Richard Ash]] sent an email to Rowan, Jen, [[Jonathan Bufton|Jonathan]] and [[Dave Baker|Dave]] stating that ''James Flinders didn't seem to think the rest of you needed to see the attached email'' [the one sent by James to Matt and Tim] ''I think you do.'' He also sent a message to Matt and Tim pointing out that James ''doesn't seem to have consulted anyone else in YSTV'', and asked that they wait until the issue had been taken to a station meeting and stating that he could not ''preempt that decision in either direction''. | [[Richard Ash]] sent an email to Rowan, Jen, [[Jonathan Bufton|Jonathan]] and [[Dave Baker|Dave]] stating that ''James Flinders didn't seem to think the rest of you needed to see the attached email'' [the one sent by James to Matt and Tim] ''I think you do.'' He stated at this time that ''As yet I have not contacted James, partly because I would like the rest of you to have a chance to comment first, also because I would like us to do it face to face not in email.'' | ||
Richard also sent a message to Matt and Tim pointing out that James ''doesn't seem to have consulted anyone else in YSTV'', and asked that they wait until the issue had been taken to a station meeting and stating that he could not ''preempt that decision in either direction''. | |||
Richard's feeling was that a decision of this magnitude should not be taken by any single YSTV member (Station Director or not), and that giving a specific response without consulting a station meeting was wrong of James. | Richard's feeling was that a decision of this magnitude should not be taken by any single YSTV member (Station Director or not), and that giving a specific response without consulting a station meeting was wrong of James. | ||
| Line 48: | Line 50: | ||
Once again, certain wording irritated some members (referring to a YSTV officership as a 'job'), while getting on the defensive (''I haven't done anything wrong'') simply brought the question of whether he had or had not acted wrongly to a new audience of people who were not previously aware of the issue but who read people emails. | Once again, certain wording irritated some members (referring to a YSTV officership as a 'job'), while getting on the defensive (''I haven't done anything wrong'') simply brought the question of whether he had or had not acted wrongly to a new audience of people who were not previously aware of the issue but who read people emails. | ||
Richard replied to this email and said he felt James was seeming ''seeming arrogant and control freakish, not to mention completely unrepntant''. Rowan meanwhile contacted James, saying: | Richard replied to this email and said he felt James was seeming ''seeming arrogant and control freakish, not to mention completely unrepntant[sic]''. Rowan meanwhile contacted James, saying: | ||
''As your 'deputy' at YSTV, but far more importantly as your friend, I feel it's worth saying something to you about your email of this morning... I understand that you wanted to clarify and that you wanted to defend your position, but you came across to me as very defensive (almost aggressive-defensive) which seems odd considering no-one was really attacking you (to my knowledge at least), merely expressing concern at your actions... The more worrying bit of this paragraph was "On normal issues, it would be the station meeting that would make a decision. But this is not an everyday issue. A decision had to made." The fact is that this is a long term issue... As you yourself said, this is a matter affecting the whole society, so surely you would think it sensible to consult as many people in the society as possible?!'' | ''As your 'deputy' at YSTV, but far more importantly as your friend, I feel it's worth saying something to you about your email of this morning... I understand that you wanted to clarify and that you wanted to defend your position, but you came across to me as very defensive (almost aggressive-defensive) which seems odd considering no-one was really attacking you (to my knowledge at least), merely expressing concern at your actions... The more worrying bit of this paragraph was "On normal issues, it would be the station meeting that would make a decision. But this is not an everyday issue. A decision had to made." The fact is that this is a long term issue... As you yourself said, this is a matter affecting the whole society, so surely you would think it sensible to consult as many people in the society as possible?!'' | ||
In responses to Rowan James repeatedly stated that he saw his job first and foremost as upholding the constitution, and appeared to put this as almost a single priority, irrespective of other duties such as working with and speaking to other members. His perspective on the seriousness of certain issues was certainly out of line with Rowan's own; ''But if a decision needs to be taken, and the constitution says I have to take it, then I will. I'm the one who would go to prison if things go wrong.'' Rowan did not see how URY's audio being in campus bars would cause anyone to go to prison. | In responses to Rowan, James repeatedly stated that he saw his job first and foremost as upholding the constitution, and appeared to put this as almost a single priority, irrespective of other duties such as working with and speaking to other members. His perspective on the seriousness of certain issues was certainly out of line with Rowan's own; ''But if a decision needs to be taken, and the constitution says I have to take it, then I will. I'm the one who would go to prison if things go wrong.'' Rowan did not see how URY's audio being in campus bars would cause anyone to go to prison. | ||
==Leadership Style== | ==Leadership Style== | ||
| Line 58: | Line 60: | ||
It could perhaps be said that this is the crux of all the issues which led to the eventual removal of James as Station Director - disagreements over the leadership style within YSTV. This is a shame, and seems to be {{unsure|unique within YSTV's history}} for such strong disagreements to have occurred. | It could perhaps be said that this is the crux of all the issues which led to the eventual removal of James as Station Director - disagreements over the leadership style within YSTV. This is a shame, and seems to be {{unsure|unique within YSTV's history}} for such strong disagreements to have occurred. | ||
==Criticism of Richard== | |||
As one of the more vocal critics of James' leadership, it is unsurprising that James fought back a bit at Richard. He felt that Richard had himself overstepped the mark in his dealings with URY over the audio in bars discussion. As with the criticism of James, it is all subjective and could be argued either way. However in this case, there was much less feeling in YSTV that Richard had done anything wrong. This may be to do with people's opinions about what Richard said, however it was probably further helped by the fact that Richard, unlike James, was prepared to apologise for potentially annoying people, and ensure that he worked with others to resolve the issue. He sent an email to people@ystv saying: | |||
''As I seem to have offended some people, in particular James Flinders, in what I've done with URY before becoming technical director, I just want to | |||
appologise if I seemed to have oversteped the mark. | |||
I only intended the verbal discussions I had to reflect my views as a member on the technical merits of the ideas, and not to be those of the | |||
society or even a reflection of the wider implications of the scheme. | |||
If they have been perceived as such, I'm sorry and as I am now an officer of the society will treat this sort of issue with much more caution, as I | |||
could be seen to represent a level of authority I do not have.'' | |||
This may have been seen as over-the-top at other times in YSTV, however in the climate at that time, it was an effort to keep everyone happy, and seemed to help. | |||
==Vote of No-Confidence== | ==Vote of No-Confidence== | ||
A vote of no-confidence in James as Station Director was mentioned first by James himself at a station meeting in {{unsure|week 6}}. At this point, the suggestion was not a serious one in most minds, however, as time went on and people became more upset with James' running of YSTV, the question of a vote became more and more serious. | A vote of no-confidence in James as Station Director was mentioned first by James himself at a station meeting in {{unsure|week 6}}. At this point, the suggestion was not a serious one in most minds, however, as time went on and people became more upset with James' running of YSTV, the question of a vote became more and more serious. | ||