Trevor Mark Pitman; Stella Gazelle and Hacked-Off Jersey. The 'Not the State Media!' team - in brief and in each others words explain why they got involved. As readers will also hopefully understand the need to protect our two industry-sensitive insiders' identities - particularly within a climate of State collusion in the harassment of dissidents and their families - has meant the publication of biographical information they may have wished to provide under different circumstances has not been possible. In time we very much hope this situation may change.
Trevor Mark Pitman:
Trevor is already known to many within the Citizens' Media community through his original 'Bald Truth Jersey' political blog. Having also twice been elected as a dissident Member of the States Assembly - the Jersey Legislature - being the only one of us with an established 'public persona' and so used to the attacks this can bring Trevor readily agreed to take on the role of 'Not the State Media! frontman.
War time British Premiere Winston Churchill is said to have famously once told a complaining colleague: 'You have enemies in politics? Good! That means you must have stood up for something, at some point.' I refer to this because in my opinion very few political figures from Jersey could claim such an accolade but Trevor is definitely one who can. He is a striking contrast to the majority who seem to see 'keeping their head down' on anything remotely controversial as the key to political survival.
As I have seen for myself Trevor has stood up against the injustice and unaccountability of what I have come to know as 'the Jersey Way' again and again. A great example of this has been his support of the victims of Haut de la Garenne. Incredibly even the blow of Trevor and his wife Shona losing both their home and political seats at the hands of the local Establishment's politicised courts in January 2014 (a feat the Establishment could never achieve via the ballot box) has not been able to break him or shake his principles and commitment to fighting for social justice. 'Its winning the war that matters' he says 'not losing a few battles'.
I think this new 'Not the State Media!' blog initiative hammers that point home yet again.
Stella Gazelle
Stella Gazelle:War time British Premiere Winston Churchill is said to have famously once told a complaining colleague: 'You have enemies in politics? Good! That means you must have stood up for something, at some point.' I refer to this because in my opinion very few political figures from Jersey could claim such an accolade but Trevor is definitely one who can. He is a striking contrast to the majority who seem to see 'keeping their head down' on anything remotely controversial as the key to political survival.
As I have seen for myself Trevor has stood up against the injustice and unaccountability of what I have come to know as 'the Jersey Way' again and again. A great example of this has been his support of the victims of Haut de la Garenne. Incredibly even the blow of Trevor and his wife Shona losing both their home and political seats at the hands of the local Establishment's politicised courts in January 2014 (a feat the Establishment could never achieve via the ballot box) has not been able to break him or shake his principles and commitment to fighting for social justice. 'Its winning the war that matters' he says 'not losing a few battles'.
I think this new 'Not the State Media!' blog initiative hammers that point home yet again.
Stella Gazelle
Stella Gazelle first met Trevor Pitman at the now legendary 30th anniversary Marc Bolan 'celebration' concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in September 2007. Both aficionados of the Electric Warrior, then working within the City of London, Stella was to keep in touch with Trevor and his wife Shona until some two years later when fate would see her suddenly offered the opportunity to move across the water herself.
Move into what she assumed would be the honest and wonderful world of whiter-than-white Jersey Off-Shore finance. Yet as Stella now candidly admits to those who she wholly trusts: this was to be a career move that would instead open her eyes to the murkier machinations of global finance. And leave her struggling to reconcile the need to earn a decent wage within a very expensive Island with her ever-growing sense of personal disquiet at some of the financial constructs helping enable her to do this.
Move into what she assumed would be the honest and wonderful world of whiter-than-white Jersey Off-Shore finance. Yet as Stella now candidly admits to those who she wholly trusts: this was to be a career move that would instead open her eyes to the murkier machinations of global finance. And leave her struggling to reconcile the need to earn a decent wage within a very expensive Island with her ever-growing sense of personal disquiet at some of the financial constructs helping enable her to do this.
'People might not wish to face up to this; but the truth in my experience is much of what goes on in Jersey Finance is at best wholly unethical. Certain elements - regardless of the denials - is simply plain dishonest.' says Stella. Consequently she states that she is absolutely determined to escape before she kisses farewell to her 30s. Or to use Stella's exact words: 'before my soul becomes irredeemable!'
Becoming a contributor to 'Not the State Media!' is perhaps her first tentative step toward redemption?
Hacked-Off Jersey
Hacked-Off Jersey:
You may want to read this next paragraph twice. For apart from a childhood summer innocently dreaming of being a train driver our third member of the 'Not the States Media!' team eventually fulfilled another ambition: he/she became a bona-fide Jersey journalist! But please - don't hold this proverbial Mark of Cain against him/her just yet. Hacked-Off has in fact gradually become every bit as disillusioned with the local media's modus operandi as Stella has within Off-Shore Finance.
Its 'lack of integrity' - and in particular what Hacked-Off describes as its unwritten rule that journalists should 'never dig too deeply beyond the Establishment "party line" on any potentially damaging issues'. And so having known me (Trevor) since 2008/2009 through reporting on local politics and the now defunct JDA Hacked-Off was also finally lured away from the Dark Side - and into 'the underground resistance' over a few glasses of red wine in the Cock n' Bottle pub in July 2014.
As to us adding anything further to this brief biography perhaps ever-mindful of letting slip his/her identity Hacked-Off states only this. Above all else as a journalist he/she looks forward to the day 'when Jersey media inches/air time are finally afforded solely according to the quality of what a candidate/politician has to offer in the interests of the wider community - rather than according to who they are or their willingness to support the status quo.'
A hope that quite probably sums up the current key difference in attitude to Jersey politics between State and Citizens' medias to a tee?
Trevor Pitman
You may want to read this next paragraph twice. For apart from a childhood summer innocently dreaming of being a train driver our third member of the 'Not the States Media!' team eventually fulfilled another ambition: he/she became a bona-fide Jersey journalist! But please - don't hold this proverbial Mark of Cain against him/her just yet. Hacked-Off has in fact gradually become every bit as disillusioned with the local media's modus operandi as Stella has within Off-Shore Finance.
Its 'lack of integrity' - and in particular what Hacked-Off describes as its unwritten rule that journalists should 'never dig too deeply beyond the Establishment "party line" on any potentially damaging issues'. And so having known me (Trevor) since 2008/2009 through reporting on local politics and the now defunct JDA Hacked-Off was also finally lured away from the Dark Side - and into 'the underground resistance' over a few glasses of red wine in the Cock n' Bottle pub in July 2014.
As to us adding anything further to this brief biography perhaps ever-mindful of letting slip his/her identity Hacked-Off states only this. Above all else as a journalist he/she looks forward to the day 'when Jersey media inches/air time are finally afforded solely according to the quality of what a candidate/politician has to offer in the interests of the wider community - rather than according to who they are or their willingness to support the status quo.'
A hope that quite probably sums up the current key difference in attitude to Jersey politics between State and Citizens' medias to a tee?
Trevor Pitman
