Jeremy Duns Is Still Lying To You

Jeremy Duns has been attacking the writer Johann Hari again - you can see the latest example here and here.

His complaints about Hari I will leave to other people to judge.

But the issue for this blog is whether it is actually Duns who is lying - about being a journalist.

He constantly claims to be a journalist, and he justifies his attacks on Hari and others as somehow policing his profession.

A few weeks ago, this blog raised the question of whether he could be justified in that description of himself as a journalist, when it is in fact the case that it is very hard to find any examples of his published work.

Duns replied on the comment section. He has never been restricted from commenting on this blog, although the reason it was set up was because he would not let me comment on his (Duns believes in free speech for himself, but not for others - or at least only for right-wing public schoolboys).

Asked for examples of his journalism, he pointed to this article.http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21628728

And that it is.

Check the date, this appeared in March 2013. That is 18 months ago. In the last 3 and a half years, that is the only example of Duns's journalism that he can offer. I do not, I have to say, believe that it counts. That is a history radio broadcast, not journalism as most people would describe it. After all, journalism must have something to do with reporting or analysing the news  - and that is not news.

But allow us to leave that point to one side.

If a person has done one piece of paid journalism in 3 and a half years, is is acceptable for them to describe themselves as a professional journalist?

No.

Duns also says he has a company that does journalism. It is not credible. In half an hour I can set up a company and describe it as an automobile manufacturer. Or oil explorer. Does that make me a car-maker or an oil-person? No, it does not. The question is whether this company has any work.His one does not. If this is not true, Duns is welcome to publish the accounts, or to provide details so that I can look up this so-called journalism company.

Lots of people work hard at journalism. It is not acceptable for someone to just come along and describe themselves as journalist.

It's a lie.

It is a far bigger lie than any one of Hari's.

And it is about time that he was exposed. Duns is entitled to argue against journalists if he wants to. But he is not entitled to call himself one.