It was pure chance that I put out a video on the media and its news coverage yesterday. It was recorded before I left for my holiday. I thought it was a topic worth addressing. But I had no clue a row was going to erupt at the BBC yesterday. Serendipity sometimes works.
I was, however, interested in the responses to the polls we published. These are significant in the light of the discussion of BBC News coverage. This was the result on this blog:
More voted on YouTube:
The broad message is the same: informed and interested people have given up on the mainstream media for news, knowing that what they get is biased.
We should be very worried about that: no wonder the far-right can manipulate those who are not as questioning.
And the point is clear: we need reliable media back. They are the bedrock of democracy, and that foundation has been undermined deliberately.
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For me, it was when we started to see a lot of stock market reporting in the early 80’s – it was always one of the first things on the radio and TV – as if we should all be bothered for some reason. It seemed to knock other content off the air – what was happening abroad etc. Then the Sunday magazines started focussing on lifestyle stuff and we’ve been funnelled down a consumerist sort of route since then.
And instead of real war, all we get now is a pretend and contrived mini-wars , a long list of ‘reality’ based competitive style programmes where there can only be one winner of course – from baking to dancing , even marriages and stuff that is closer to porn on mainstream media. I think that even Thatcher was not too impressed when she let the privateers in. And then there are the cop programmes, then the reality cop programmes.
Again, it goes back to some basic concepts about what we know about human behaviour – this element of having to protect against ourselves, that there is no recognition of human fallibility (to exploit and be exploited) at all except to make the sick and the poor, the elderly, fallibilities.
And that is some sick sort of society, let me tell you.
As I keep saying, we need to care. For 45 years we have been taught indifference and even contempt.
It was a tad unfortunate that the BBC had Kelvin Mackenzie on to talk about standards in broadcasting!
Alas, the correlation between quality democracies and a free press is demonstrably the case, as is a general reduction in press freedom as totalitarianism, of various degrees and forms, increases.
https://www.google.com/search?q=correlation+between+the+most+democratic+countries+and+the+freedom+of+their+presses&oq=correlation+between+the+most+democratic+countries+and+the+freedom+of+their+presses&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvb
“Liberty depends upon the freedom of the press and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
(From Thomas Jefferson)
“Press freedom means the right to tell people what they do not wish to hear,”
(From George Orwell)
Hah! For me, like a lot of informed Scots it was the MSM coverage of the Yes campaign, in the lead-up to the 2014 referendum.
Nick Robinson: “.. answer came there none”.
The Scottish contributions to the tv tax-take took a nose-dive that year!
I am not surprised tbh.
I have gone from being an avid news reader eg DT, Guardian, Spectator, Economist, NYT, FT to an occaisional one.
On broadcasters I struggle now to listen to any of the main ones. Used to watch panorama, question time, file on 4. Very rarely watch anything now. Quality and Trust have been damaged imo.
Social Media is now a big part of my news along with email newsletters and some specialists like GP online and substack.
I think mainstream news media is finished. I think many young people ie under 40 don’t bother with it at all.