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In the summer of 2004, YSTV went through much upheaval when the newly elected Station Director was subjected to a vote of no-confidence just weeks after his election. The series of events became known by some as 'Ructions' after an initial email regarding the dispute which triggered the problems was sent with the title "Prepare for ructions". The story goes something like this... | In the summer of 2004, YSTV went through much upheaval when the newly elected Station Director was subjected to a vote of no-confidence just weeks after his election. The series of events became known by some as 'Ructions' after an initial email regarding the dispute which triggered the problems was sent with the title "Prepare for ructions". The story goes something like this... | ||
'''IMPORTANT:''' The initial writing of this article was done by Rowan de Pomerai. I probably know more about the string of events than just about anyone else, however it will rightly be pointed out that since this all lead to me becoming station director, my impartiality could be doubted. I have done my very best to ensure that this article is a statement of facts and nothing more, however I do invite others who were there at the time to correct or | '''IMPORTANT:''' The initial writing of this article was done by Rowan de Pomerai. I probably know more about the string of events than just about anyone else, however it will rightly be pointed out that since this all lead to me becoming station director, my impartiality could be doubted. I have done my very best to ensure that this article is a statement of facts and nothing more, however I do invite others who were there at the time to correct or contradict me if they feel appropriate. | ||
'''ARTICLE LOCK:''' It's going to take me a little while to write this I think, so until that time, I have locked the article. Admins may edit it, but I didn't want to open it up to general editing until I've finished. To avoid too many people reading this until it's finished, I have not linked to this page from anywhere else, and I urge you not to either. | '''ARTICLE LOCK:''' It's going to take me a little while to write this I think, so until that time, I have locked the article. Admins may edit it, but I didn't want to open it up to general editing until I've finished. To avoid too many people reading this until it's finished, I have not linked to this page from anywhere else, and I urge you not to either. | ||
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Leading up to the YSTV committee elections in 2004, there were 3 friends, all fairly new to YSTV, who were considering team leader or station director roles. They were [[Jen Ayerst]], [[James Flinders]] and [[Rowan de Pomerai]]. Between themselves, they decided to split up the 3 most senior non-technical positions and just apply for one each, rather than standing against each other. Jen stood for [[Production Director]], Rowan for [[Studio Manager]] and James for [[Station Director]]. Jen's production interests made this the logical position for her, and while Rowan considered SD, he decided against on the basis that (a) James wanted to run and wasn't so keen on Studio Manager, and (b) he could run for SD in his 3rd year if he desired. | Leading up to the YSTV committee elections in 2004, there were 3 friends, all fairly new to YSTV, who were considering team leader or station director roles. They were [[Jen Ayerst]], [[James Flinders]] and [[Rowan de Pomerai]]. Between themselves, they decided to split up the 3 most senior non-technical positions and just apply for one each, rather than standing against each other. Jen stood for [[Production Director]], Rowan for [[Studio Manager]] and James for [[Station Director]]. Jen's production interests made this the logical position for her, and while Rowan considered SD, he decided against on the basis that (a) James wanted to run and wasn't so keen on Studio Manager, and (b) he could run for SD in his 3rd year if he desired. | ||
All 3 were successfully elected to these posts. James unfortunately was in Canada for {{unsure|some time}} following the AGM, and so Rowan, as new Studio Manager, was left as acting SD. Not a lot of note happened during this time in YSTV itself, it was just business as usual. Generally YSTV was doing well, having increased its membership considerably thanks to the efforts of the [[Gang of Four]], and the [[YSTV Clean-Up]] which had | All 3 were successfully elected to these posts. James unfortunately was in Canada for {{unsure|some time}} following the AGM, and so Rowan, as new Studio Manager, was left as acting SD. Not a lot of note happened during this time in YSTV itself, it was just business as usual. Generally YSTV was doing well, having increased its membership considerably thanks to the efforts of the [[Gang of Four]], and the recent [[YSTV Clean-Up]] which had made the place look better and brought the team together. | ||
==URY In Bars== | ==URY In Bars== | ||
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 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 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.'' | ||
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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== | ==Criticism of Richard Ash== | ||
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 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: | ||
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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. | 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. | ||
==Constitutional Ammendment== | |||
Following James' comments about the constitution being unclear on the decision making process (and the disagreement by some with his interpretatation was that he should make major decisions), Richard proposed an ammendment to the constitution to clarify matters. His intention appeared to be simply to avoid problems in the future (''my aim is to clarify the future not to try and rake over the past''), however it may have been seen by James and others as a direct | |||
==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. | ||