Wednesday 7 March 2018

Ignoring the Media


I've been ignoring the press.
Now I like to now what is going on, I like good journalism, I like to hear, when I'm in the mood, about the world around both at home and abroad. Since the late 70's I listened to the BBC World Service for many years respecting the journalism and enjoying many of the programmes.  Sad to say since the Foreign Office stopped paying for this it has become just another portion of BBC Islington and features more programmes full of middle class women telling us of their sufferings poor things, so I rarely listen these days.  I also had a small 'world' radio with which I used to listen to the many radio stations based behind the 'Iron curtain'' on shortwave.  This was a tremendous insight into the failings within these lands and a completely different and biased view of life telling of their nations glories, as long as the electricity did not break down.  Sadly those days have gone and most of those nations populations have ventured into the west to work for half the money the locals earn and many have returned very wealthy to resume their lives in ever improving homelands, well sometimes.
Now the biased views I hear come from the daily papers who spend each day selling less and less copies and the BBC now employed as an arm of the Conservative Party in England and Wales and the Labour Party in Scotland.  News always has a political slant, usually to the right, and the rest of the offerings are half truths, items deliberately taken out of context, blatant lies or the activities of famous persons which I see no need to find in print.  To ease the drop in sales all papers have gone downhill, this has not helped.  Tits and bums only sell so many papers and the loss of almost all the proper journalists leaves the 'workies,' the unpaid staff learning on the job, doing the work, this leads to most items being 'cut & paste' jobs from elsewhere, facebook or Twitter.  The lack of education and knowledge indicates many are foreign and their mistakes being allowed shows the lack of sub-editors to check or care.  
Where do we hear news these days?
I stopped reading the papers in the morning, this prevented my head being filled with their biased nonsense and stopped me arguing with folks on the comments sections to no avail.  Instead I hear, usually, the basic headlines offered by Radio 3 and find I cannot get away from news items on Twitter or facebook, sometimes these are accurate!  There are of course many online news blogs now available, often by unemployed journalists and many online papers also.  Sad to say the majority are left wing, usually too left wing and do not offer the journalism I seek, however they are an antidote to the mainstream media and often provide the news hidden from us via the BBC etc.
What a terrible state to be in.  Eastern Europe could find better news by listening to their radios via shortwave, the UK public have to do similar but via the internet today, what a state of affairs.   
The media has always been full of lies.  
The best newsmen know what their readers want and have no moral scruples about providing this.  Sensation, shock, titillation, crime and scandal sell and the editor will provide this.  The owners political views also drives the media, Rupert Murdoch, less politically motivated than by money and power, works alongside the Barclay brothers and Lord Rothermere to provide us with slanted coverage and half truths, this time to push through a Brexit which will enable them to earn more tax dodging pounds and never mind the effect on the population in general.  
The readers buy the papers so they can strengthen the beliefs they wish to believe, the fear of immigrants, EU domination and rampant crime all around are the items driving sales in recent years much more than titillation and scandal.  Being told your opinion is correct by the media allows many to rest in peace even if the belief is incorrect.  
The Guardian is alone in encouraging the young liberal middle classes to pretend they are socialists with a caring heart.  However women and gays appear to be the backbone of their sales these days and the quality of writing is often supported by advertisements from the big businesses criticised by the writers.  That alone tells us much about both the papers and how business fears these writers opinions.
There is no paper worth reading, little decent news outlets, and I have found by ignoring the papers fro the past few weeks when I now try to look at them I am just to disgusted to continue.  The lies never change and the truth is not 'out there' and published by the media.  I am happy with a few headlines and happy that my life has not been changed one iota by ignoring the press.  If only the rest of the country would do the same maybe journalism would revive.


5 comments:

Jenny Woolf said...

Was talking to some people ofvery different political opinions and backgrounds from me but we were saying how we couldn't stick reading most papers and watching news programmes anymore. I will look at Guardian, FT and sometimes the daily Times. T feel that twitter can help with taking action to oppose Brexit as the risks these idiots in govt poses to health are terrifying. So I use twitter and read relevant links on Twitter but even that is horrible & need to protect myself. Can't see myself ever returning to the BBC.

Big Dave said...

My old journalism teacher would be rolling over in his grave to see what passes for 'respectable' news coverage these days. First lesson he taught: be objective. But I thought this bias was mainly a problem here in the U.S.; didn't know it was a problem 'across the pond' as well.

Adullamite said...

Jenny, I agree, it is difficult to find decent writing. It takes time to search.

Big Dave, Dying papers save money by dumping 'journalists' and employing free 'interns.' Quality does not matter in every area of the media.

Kay G. said...

Have you seen the film "Quiz Show". Based on a true story, it tells you in no uncertain terms how much the television networks lie to us. If you haven't seen it, I think you would like it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiz_Show_(film)

I very much miss the English newspapers. I do so much enjoy reading them in the 1980's. Sounds like they have gone the way that they have in America.

Adullamite said...

Kay, You know I don't watch films, waste of time. All media is corrupt and as they lose money they get desperate.