A former BBC Scotland boss has blasted the online trolls who made her life a misery with their "bile, hatred and misogyny".
Sarah Smith became one of the most high-profile reporters on Scottish politics in the country when she was appointed editor at the broadcaster's Pacific Quay base in Glasgow in 2014.
But the veteran journalist - who is now head of BBC North America - has described how she was "demonised" by social media trolls who routinely criticised her every appearance on TV or radio.
She said she was "demonised quite heavily ... amongst certain parts of the population", who claimed they did not watch the BBC or pay their licence fee "but seem to know an enormous amount about what I say and do on television and on the radio nonetheless".
People would "roll their car windows down to ask me, 'What f*****g lies you're going to be telling on TV tonight, you f*****g lying bitch'," she said.
Smith spoke of her "relief" at leaving Scotland behind for a job where she will be "gloriously anonymous".
The journalist said the BBC was also facing "enormous scrutiny" as Nicola Sturgeon steps up her campaign for a second independence referendum next year.
She said: "I worry a lot that the criticism, bile and hatred ... that I attract from some quarters is damaging the reputation of the BBC."
Smith is the daughter of the late Labour leader John Smith, who died from a heart attack in 1994 aged just 56.
She believes this family link is the cause of much of the abuse aimed at her and looked forward to working in the US where it would not be an issue.
"Nobody will have any idea who my father is," she added. "So, the misogynistic idea that I can't have any of my own thoughts anyway, or rise above my family connections to report impartially will no longer be part of the discourse."
Smith's comments were first reported in The Times. Sharing a link to the article on Twitter, she said: "Sharing this will no doubt invite all my *fans* on twitter to take another shot but trying to be fair and impartial is tough these days."
A spokeswoman for Women in Journalism Scotland said: "We are disgusted to hear of the abuse that Sarah Smith, a hugely accomplished and respected journalist, has endured, but we are not surprised.
"Our members tell us regularly of the sexism and misogyny that is rife within our industry, and wider society.
"According to our last survey of members, abuse is one of the biggest causes of mental illness among female journalists and a major deterrent for women entering our industry, with some leaving because of it.
"While all abuse aimed at journalists is unacceptable, women get it worse. Women are targeted. Rape threats, sexualised language, the word 'bitch' and looks-based criticism should have no place in modern discourse and yet these are commonplace for many women in journalism.
"One of our most requested services is resilience training for online abuse - this speaks volumes. This situation is beyond unacceptable.
"Sarah's departure is Scotland's loss and if Scotland wants a diverse, equal media which welcomes women, then we are long overdue a reckoning."
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