We deserve both sides of debate

RARELY have I been so disappointed in your editorial stance as last week’s decision to give front-page billing to yet another weary, baseless and ultimately ludicrous anti-independence scare story (‘Independent Scotland a terror risk’, 29 April). On current form, Scotland is headed for a media-led crisis of national confidence so acute that, come autumn 2014, it will be a miracle if we have the courage to emerge from beneath our duvets, let alone vote for independence.

Such a backdrop of relentless media negativity towards independence makes it possible to understand, if not to excuse, Alex Salmond’s unedifying courtship of the Murdoch media empire. When all else are against you then one potential media ally – and a powerful one at that – must have substantial appeal. The irony here is that Scotland’s newspapers are, by lining up against independence, signing their own death warrants. In a torrid environment for print media, probably the only scenario which would guarantee medium-term viability for at least some wholly Scottish newspapers is the enthusiasm, distinctness and need for proper coverage that would be created by independence.

Setting aside purely commercial self-interest, does Scotland’s media sector not owe us a better, more intelligent debate in the run-up to a once-in-a-lifetime decision about the future of our nation? Where are the articles that challenge both sides of this argument in equal measure? Where are the visits to Norway, Ireland and Denmark to cover how our nearest neighbours feel to be independent nations of around five million people? When I walk into my local newsagent next Sunday to find racks of headlines about calamities that would befall us if we stay in the UK, I’ll know the balance has shifted. I’m not holding my breath.

C Hegarty, North Berwick