Nepotism In The Media: The Guardian’s Max Gogarty Goes On His Hols
MAX Gogarty, 19, son of Guardian travel editor Paul Gogarty, is preparing to travelblog his way through Asia for his dad’s paper.
Young Max is from London, in his gap year, and “spends his money on food, booze and skinny jeans, writes for Skins in his spare time. He’s off to India and Thailand to have a good time, and you can join him in his weekly blog.”
Writes Max:
I’m kinda shitting myself about travelling. Well not so much the travelling part. It’s India that scares me. The heat, the roads, the snakes, Australian travellers. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited. But shitting myself. And I just know that when I step off that plane and into the maelstrom of Mumbai - well, actually, I don’t know how I’ll react.Practically all of my friends are dotted around the globe scouring every nook and cranny for a bit of culture and enlightenment (but secretly hoping to run into as many full-moon parties as possible). But it seems all gappers I know - wherever they are - will be going to Thailand in March or April, and every one I’ve spoken to is making no secret of the fact that Thailand should be pretty damn decadent. [Guardian Travelog]
And:
I’m not entirely sure what appeals to me about travelling. Maybe the lack of work or study?
The Guardian’s commenters respond.
Old Mr Anorak has never worked for the Guardain, so we just plug away. Emily Bell, are you still there?
February 14th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Good grief, has he got Dehli Belly already?
Can see its going to be quite a diatribe, sorry blog, already
February 14th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
I thought they were fighting the class system??? That’s why I read the Financial Times - apparently it’s full of commies.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:05 am
The comments section for that blog has now been closed by the Guardian.
Young Max’s first blog post is quite a cringeworthy read. That boy and his ilk will never have to work for anything. To be handed a Guardian column at age 19 because your father was able to pull a few strings… words fail me. And he can’t even write well!
rel:dr:15.02:04.57
February 15th, 2008 at 6:05 am
Egbert - Lst year I received an email telling me the Guardian’s editor was a fan of the site. She wanted to meet. Me too. She cancelled twice. Never have met her. Never know why…
Not related to anyone there…
February 15th, 2008 at 6:09 am
wot/ yer spelin and kewstrikin noy op tu thr jib/
February 15th, 2008 at 11:06 am
blimey,agw, didn’t know u cud spl estry
February 15th, 2008 at 11:44 am
This Max Gogarty blog is fascinating, and vaguely familiar. Hmmmm!!! wonder why?
http://waynetype.blogspot.com/
February 18th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
[...] Max Gogarty and Nepotism Reading the Observer yesterday evening brought my attention to a certain Max Gogarty, 19. From north London, this middle class lad is embarking on a gap year trip taking in India and Thailand. Nothing extraordinary there. But his journey across south-east Asia is to be documented on the Guardian’s popular travel blog. Is this the new Charlie Brooker if he’s landed such a prime outlet to document his sojourn? No, he happens to be the son of Paul Gogarty, sometime travel writer for the Guardian. Which is why Wikipedia’s article on nepotism now features him. Unsurprisingly, his blog was panned in a mostly witty fashion, making for very entertaining reading. Commenters admitted they didn’t get much work done on Thursday for their want of refreshing the page every 2 minutes to see who else had pummelled Gogarty Jnr, in an online hammering that’s known as ‘going viral’. Comparisons were drawn between Gogarty’s and Mike Read’s classic 1000+ comments piece, in which the DJ explained why he wasn’t running for Mayor of London but would be lending his support to the Tory contender Boris Johnson. Gogarty’s father weighed in saying it was an example of classism and plain jealousy. The picture link to the blog from the Guardian mainpage was hastily removed once the tone of response screamed nepotism. His son, presumably upon the advice of his father and Guardian editors but probably on his own accord after reading the tirade he had foolishly initiated, pulled the blog and comments were closed. What of the writing itself? Well, Gogarty does write stuff for the C4 teen drama ‘Skins’ so we’re expecting something of higher calibre than the dross of Peaches Geldof on Guardian pages a year or so back. If only. His tone is incredibly smug and self-indulgent and we’re left hoping he doesn’t get laid by one of those beautiful girls he’s daydreaming about and when he does the where’s-the-gag-bag ’finding myself’ thing, he realises what a twat he comes off as. The good thing as I’ve mentioned is that the blog was pulled - think of all the thousands of young aspiring journalists who apply to write pieces for the Guardian but who don’t have fathers who already write for the paper. And nepotism within journalism is getting a good hearing - check out http://www.anorak.co.uk/broadsheets/180734.html [...]
April 16th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Egbert
The comments section for the first couple of editions of young Max’s blog is some of the funniest writing I have ever read on the net (sorry Anorak, you were outclassed there!).
Shame they closed it, it would have become a national treasure, which is more than can be said for Max’s blog.