In a two-page spread inside the newspaper, Kennedy writes that Edinburgh — where the Sputnik radio operation is based — was at the heart of easing relations between the Soviet Union and the West during the Cold War.
"The late John Erickson, a historian of the Russian army so brilliant that his work was secretly studied by the Soviet Union's elite, used to bring together military chiefs from the USSR and United States for regular face-to-face discussions called the Edinburgh conversations," he wrote.
Glamorous
Immediately following these groundbreaking revelations, Sputnik's office was inundated with CVs from aspiring journalists wanting to join the organization. Bureau Chief Oxana Brazhnik said:
"We have had scores of applications from Scotland, England, Wales and other countries ever since the publicity given to us by The Times, so we are hugely grateful for their support."
Despite the fact that Kennedy alleges that staff in Edinburgh are unprofessional, droves of — presumably — equally unprofessional reporters are lining up to join the team in Edinburgh.
The story was quickly taken up by another heavyweight London-based newspaper, the Daily Mail, which hailed the "glamorous women fronting a new Russian news agency in Britain", referring to senior staff in Sputnik.
The Times Kennedy — praised for his level-headedness and fastidious discipline — was forced to apologize in 2015 after suggesting that most pedophiles were either "Jewish or gay".
One Twitter user responded: "You should investigate how not to invoke the holocaust to justify baseless sensationalism. Or better yet: delete your account."
Other media outlets have made similar allegations, including the Scottish Herald, Japan Times and — naturally — the totally impartial Huffington Post, which all goes to show that Telling the Untold is a weighty endeavour.
