We believe what we read!
We live in a modern world with a ‘free press,’ and a host
of communication systems. We have
several television stations offering news, sometimes 24 hours a day, many news radio stations, and newspapers in hand or online. We
can surf the net for independent thought regarding every
happening of the day, foreign newspapers and media, bloggers, books, photographs, videos and live streams of events far and near. All these allow us to reach independent
opinions on the world’s events, but we still fall for ‘propaganda!’
We accept without deep
thought anything put in front of us. The
majority in the UK watch the BBC for
news, or scan a tabloid paper. While the
BBC and other TV and radio news agencies may have quality journalists among
them this does not remove the inherent bias, and the news placed in front of us must be the choice of each editor, and editors follow the party line as much as the next man. The Leveson whitewash inquiry has shown, as if we did not know, how one man's opinion is found throughout his newpapers. An important world story, say regarding the
present Syrian situation, might be considered an important world event but may
pushed further down the agenda because a member of the royal family has
fallen down stairs or a famous actor has died! Millions, mostly
women, would rather hear of ‘Kate’ wearing a new dress than a thousand Arabs having their
throat cut. News from a ‘far away
country of which we know nothing’ is less important than Lady Gaga being banned
from Malaya! This
is something the tabloids have always known.
The fake front page of any downmarket tabloid reads, “LADY GAGA
STRIPS OFF,” and “FOOTBALLER CHARGED, ” while lower down in small
letters, “World War III breaks out, see
page 5.” A remarkable example of
this occurred in the small town of Bishops Stortford
some years ago. At a time when Glenn
Hoddle was famously known to be manager of the England
football team he was mentioned in the local paper as “Glen Hoddle, who used to
own a sports shop in the High Street…..”
Local news is always more important than anything else.
The point is that while much presented is factual the choice
of what we are shown is indeed limited to that which suits the media. This gives us an overall impression of how
they wish us to see the world, and this is not always to our advantage. The ‘spirit of the age’ is both reflected and
encouraged by the media. Propaganda comes from news, drama, comedy on TV and radio as well as from news programme. While they claim this media reflects society it also drives that society. The 'Eastenders' show has gone worldwide teaching the generations watching that shouting abuse, immorality, hurting people and never smiling is normal. While it may be the case in some areas it has never been the world in which I dwell. And the 'East End' today is mostly full of Bangladesh types, and this is never shown, I wonder why? The opinions of the media form propaganda and we let them without question offer it to us.
During the
Great War the papers were the only news media and the sole means of informing the nation of the
progress of the war. The press barons
worked ceaselessly, to their own advantage, to support the nation by offering the propaganda that began with the war cabinet.
Writers tirelessly informed the nation to enlist and serve, and question
those who don’t. Many writers spent a
great deal of their time writing in the American press in a desperate struggle
to gain support, the French and Germans doing likewise. It was one of these men, H.G.Wells, who came
up with the phrase ‘The war to end wars.’
A notable but nonsensical phrase which has stuck in our minds to our detriment ever
since. Much quoted it represents nothing about how the war was viewed at the time, but propaganda at its best keeps the phrase alive. Lies and half truths stay with
us, probably because we wish them to stay as we wish them to be true; even
though we are well aware they are absurd.
Famously Lord Beaverbrook produced the ‘John Bull’ magazine. This was well named as it was full of ‘Bull,’ while intended to
inspire the men in their cause and stir the nation to work for victory it was detested by the men as it bore no relation to the war they knew. On a trip to the ‘front,’ the press baron himself was
photographed looking over a trench. The noble Lord claimed to have “Been at the front line,” and “Looked over the top.” Beaverbrook was in fact far back in what represented
the third line of a quiet area, and even then was afraid to put his head over
the top when encouraged to do so by the photographer, although this was regarded as quite safe at the time. He passed an officer and corporal as he took
up his position and alas did not hear the corporal ask “Shall I bayonet him now
sir?” Nor did he hear the reply, “No,
that’s my job.” Propaganda does not work
among those who see reality.
During world war two the BBC resisted Churchill’s attempts
to turn it into a propaganda machine.
Lord Reith had served in the trenches and was keen to ensure a fair and
balanced news service. While it served
the war effort in many ways it refused, and still refuses, to be a government
mouthpiece. This brings many attacks
from the government of the day, especially when the faults are paraded and policy questioned. The BBC ended the war with much respect worldwide for the honesty it offered. Many Germans soldiers have reported listening to the BBC reports in an effort to understand how things stood. The had learned early not to believe their own radio. The dictator must always control the TV and radio, and in the world today struggles to dominate the internet.
However the ‘spirit of the age’ permeates the
BBC. The programmes are full of today’s
opinions and these are often following fashion rather than a cross section of
public opinion. Several themes are seen
to be offered at all times. A ‘liberal’
view of the world is taken for granted; this is not surprising as media people
tend to be liberal, as is the entertainment industry. Programmes therefore push forward their
liberal agenda. For instance, ’Great Lives,’ once an
interesting programme on ‘great lives,’ now appears to be concerned only with
homosexuals and lesbians, either as a ‘great’ or someone choosing to offer such
an individual as ‘great.’ Maybe ‘Gay
Lives’ would be a better name for this show, a preferable name to the
well known gayboy presenter, and one time Tory Member of Parliament, Matthew
Parris.
A more blatant attempt at propaganda has failed, yet still continues in Scotland. The Glasgow football
media during the last year have gone out of their way to indicate a man called
Craig Whyte is responsible for all the problems at Rangers football club. They have deliberately ignored Sir David
Murray, the man responsible for the mess, while doing this.
To their shame all Scotland
knows the situation yet the press persist in lying
barefaced about it. This as we know is
because there are more Rangers folk buying the nonsense than anyone else. Propaganda or sheer greed, you decide! The media today is desperate to survive, newspapers are dying everywhere as the
internet and TV/Radio speed the news direct into our homes. What matters now is what sells and meaningless
celebrities such as Gaga and Beckham sell more papers than a North Korean bomb
falling on Seoul. In my humble view dropping a North Korean
bomb on Beckham or Gaga would cause me to rush out of the house to buy every
paper that wrote about it, if only! There is some
suggestion at the moment that doctors may strike over the attacks on their
pensions, I recall the ancillary workers striking in 1979 and the media propaganda of the day. The press became full of
wild headlines about people dying and patient suffering because of this strike. A while later the junior doctors also struck,
the media was then filled with many reassurances regarding the safety of
patients! Maybe patients were safer
under the porters and cleaners?
We accept at face value what is written all too often. Fear, disinterest, self concern, all leave us
with a lack of appreciation of what is happening to the world around. In 1914 Europe followed the imperialist, nationalistic
spirit that arose during the late nineteenth century and that collapsed with the Great
War. We still follow what we are told
by the world around us without thinking deeply about what they say. Who informs us about the world? What is their personal agenda, or that of their employer? What are they NOT telling us about? What is deliberately hidden by the reporter or the authorities. How free and independent can an individual journalist actually be? The political developments in Europe are beyond
us, so we ignore them, the moral changes about us are ‘none of our business,’ and 'each to his own,' so we carry on regardless, we are surely sleepwalking into the future accepting so much of what we are told, as if those who speak to
us are trustworthy! How many of us can perceive the world as she really is? Do we care?
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