I don’t recall if on Monday when Dom was being interviewed, whether it was known that he’d gone to the Castle on his wife’s birthday, but it would have been great if they’d asked him “can you confirm the date you drove to the castle” … “and does that date coincide with your wife’s birthday”.
See, this is where the "media are scum / complicit" argument comes back round.
I agree, [b]some parts[/b] of the media are scum and they've hardly covered themselves in glory over the past couple of decades. Phone hacking being the obvious one but contempt of court and libel charges have been successfully filed against several papers on several occasions, plus there's high-profile stuff like Hillsborough. Investigative, fact-checking journalism has been replaced by rolling news, the desperate need to be first with breaking news (no matter how true half of it is), interviews with "eyewitnesses" and pundits rather than experts, speculation and the pathetic need for "balance" which has been misinterpreted to say "every time you interview an expert, you must also give a YouTube nutjob / far-right politician an equal amount of airtime".
And if the entire media empire is run by a Tory-backing billionaire, you're not going to expose them for the shower of shits that they really are because that might backfire a bit!
FT dissection of his statement and chosen not to put it behind their paywall
https://www.ft.com/video/e82b5a00-3ad5-4d2c-9703-ff14942aa5b1
Mash has it
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/cummings-revealed-to-be-one-of-boris-children-20200527196897
Stolen from FB ‘he can’t be, BJ would’ve abandoned him by now...’
they should be forced to go on a TV comedy panel show* where they get remorselessly grilled by comedians and satirists.
I think you've aimed a bit light there perchy.
Personally I'm thinking more along the lines of lions and arenas. It's a bit retro but I understand was popular back in the day.
The UK seems to have been reduced to two implacably opposed camps engaged in a zero sum game which is being cynically exploited by those chasing power.
There is a third group, and it’s huge… at the last election large swaths of the electorate voted for the least worst option in front of them, they didn’t see themselves as part of either camp, but had to vote with one of them anyway. We only ever have a choice of two Prime Minster candidates really… so things tend to look quite polar, even if the population hold many different positions (or alternatively aren’t really that engaged at all).
BillMC
SubscriberI wonder whether Boris is actually capable of toughing it out.
Heart attack, stroke, breakdown?.....I was ambivalent about the outcome of his brush with Covid 19 and the righteous pilled on, I care even less about the **** now
See, this is where the “media are scum / complicit” argument comes back round.
Journalism is no different to most careers. I mostly a blame a corporate culture which rewards people who know how to play the system to get to the top. Anyone who works in an office environment will have seen people rise to the top not because they're good at their jobs, but because they're good attaching themselves to the right people/projects and distancing themselves from trouble. That's exactly what the likes of Peston and Kuenssberg do and their journalism reflects it. On the flip side you have talented journalists like Maitlis, Goodall, Cadwalladdr, Mason etc who haven't reached the heights (in seniority terms) of Peston/Kuenssberg because they prefer to stay true to their jobs and not compromise themselves.
@greentricky thanks for the FT link. very interesting listen, and impressive that it's not behind their paywall.
Assuming that FT piece hasn’t been written by “scum”, I think we should all read it…
Mash has it
Now the Mash has me wondering if Cummings’ son is actually Johnson’s son. His wife very much mixes in Johnson’s circle, and has done for longer than there was any social or work link between Johnson and Cummings.
Talking of decent journalism and in defense of the BBC, the consistently brilliant Emma Barnett is presently tearing some Tory nodding dog a new one on Five Live.
He's stammering and stuttering in defending the indefensible like they've all been clearly ordered to do. They sound increasingly ridiculous as they debase themselves to cover for Dom. My blood pressure is on the way up again listening to this ****! They seriously just continue to insult our intelligence with this shite
Some amazing assumptions which I will leave you all to.
I'll go and talk about bikes on this bike forum.
@Kelvin, of all the daily newspapers, I find the FT is generally the least biased. It mostly has a reportage feel to it IME, but that presupposes that one has some background to what one is reading, as otherwise it's a dry read and can be not massively illuminating.
Some amazing assumptions which I will leave you all to.
@brads, your decision obviously, but other voices and opinions are always welcome especially in political threads, as they can be filed with the same people saying the same things (I lump myself into that category) .
I find the FT is generally the least biased.
They should do a version of the FT that is just the first few pages. It’s always a great source of actual news and reasoned comment.
Also, I’ll be shot down for this, but, the Sunday Times may carry a lot of one sided opinion pieces, but is also has a plurality of opinions overall, and its news items do tend to be actual reporting, so isn’t far behind the FT [ignoring ownership issues].
Some amazing assumptions which I will leave you all to.
I’ll go and talk about bikes on this bike forum.
Bottom line is there's a self-righteous as well as lacking in self-awareness crowd on here who regularly shout down anyone with a different opinion. This results in current affairs and political threads being much of a muchness and oh so predictable.
Leave 'em to it I say.
The ‘opinion’, was that all media are scum, and all are worse than all politicians. No one had to agree with that. I don’t. Do you?
That’s exactly what the likes of Peston and Kuenssberg do and their journalism reflects it.
Personally I think of them both as town criers. I think they both have a difficult balancing act to pull off, retain enough trust in the Politicians to get them to tell you stuff, retain enough trust from the public to be able to allow yourself to be part unofficial spokesperson part office chatterbox part instant reporting... sometimes its going to be biased to what the politicians want, sometimes it isn't. They're useful as weather vanes, but largely no more than that.
Also, I’ll be shot down for this
Not at all, the Sunday Times does some excellent investigative stuff, and the opinion pieces (l'm thinking Matthew Parris) are at least intelligible rather than rabidly partisan like the telegraph. If it wasn't putting money into the pockets of Murdoch I'd buy it.
FT dissection of his statement and chosen not to put it behind their paywall
> https://www.ft.com/video/e82b5a00-3ad5-4d2c-9703-ff14942aa5b1
I was about to post this - found it very interesting. it's David Allen Green, a lawyer with a large twitter following.
It was interesting to see him point out things that your average doris might miss, but are obvious as soon as your attention is drawn to them - like how it switches from super detailed - "on the evening of April 12.... on the morning of April 13..." to very vague: "At some point during the following week...." and then back again. This will have been very deliberate, and serves a particular purpose, but it's easy for a layperson like me to miss.
Agree about the Sunday Times also, I'd buy it if the money didn't end up at Murdoch Inc.
Agree about the Sunday Times also,
I quite like the Sunday Times but I stopped buying it when the sheer amount of supplements I would never read dwarfed the actual paper.
Most of what I read at the moment is Guardian online. Washington Post and NY Times are good too. I rarely watch TV news mostly because I can't stand hearing the voices of Donald Trump, BoJo and most other politicians.
Also, I didn't say that "the media are scum", I said that "some aspects" of the media are scum. There's a big difference!
Yes, you applied the same nuance as the rest of us crazy-legs. We “shouted down” someone else, we shouldn’t have. Actually, I just asked questions, as did most others. The main question is that if all the media should butt out of politics, why does that not apply to those running the country who were part of that media and used their papers to gain power, and of course their other halves who are still part of the media and often use it try and sure up their partners’ hold on power?
Not at all, the Sunday Times does some excellent investigative stuff
That's why I buy it. It's the weekend inside view into the machinations of government. My only Murdoch purchase. Otherwise it's the FT via a work online subscription.
Anyone rate Al Jazeera's output? I barely see it mentioned on here, whether positively or negatively.
Mefty – are you also put off by the BBC’s centre right to rather more than centre right bias? I’d agree that LK with Boris is sickening.
Nope. I think Marr's oft quoted view of BBC "bias" is the closest to the truth. Never understood the LK criticism, she is just doing her job, seems to have a refreshing lack of ego and has a non confrontational interviewing style - Sarah Montague on the Today programme (now World at 1) is similar and hugely effective. I thought the Brexit documentary she did was very fair. Just think ITV are better avoiding presenters giving their opinions - that Mattlis clip is a classic example of something that brings into question an organisation's impartiality.
Very sorry to hear about the funeral, extraordinary tough times, there is no right way to grieve, do you what you need to do for your family.
Anyone rate Al Jazeera’s output? I barely see it mentioned on here, whether positively or negatively.
I haven't read it in a couple of years for no reason in particular but used to find it a decent read on UK issues, obviously more biased when it came to international affairs
Never understood the LK criticism
A bit free of fact checking, a bit 'straight from the desk of Dominic Cummings', a bit 'must be first to publish'.
Some of the stuff during the last election was a bit comical, tantamount to flat out repeating the Tory bot farm twitterbook output.
I’d watch that.
I know there's a view that contemporary politics is beyond satire, but what we need is a height of its powers Spitting Image back on (maybe with Brooker et al contributing).
One person’s lack of “a journalist’s personal opinion” is another person’s “repeat a line provided by an anonymous source without fact checking or verifying”.
On the contrary, even the Daily Mail was critical of Cummings and BJ in this case.
Blaming the media is exactly what those on the Brexit/alt-right side of this cultural conflict do.
To them, Cummings is a hero because he's defying the self-righteous 'liberal-media' who are trying to bully him and bring down Brexit.
Brexit and Trump represent a weird refusal-defiance against what is perceived to be an entitled liberal-elite. Their supporters share not much more in common than the urge to stick two fingers up at 'the establishment'. The policies aren't populist per se just the symbolism of it all is.
Just two of the many highly depressing things about this episode are that......
1. I'm now following Piers Morgan on Twitter and agreeing with him
2. The number of people who are condoning and/or excusing the indefensible.
I really thought the average person in the UK
had a bit more intelligence but it seems not 🙁
To them, Cummings is a hero because he’s defying the self-righteous ‘liberal-media’ who are trying to bully him and bring down Brexit.
Remind them that the PM was a columnist. Remind them that Gove was a journalist. Remind them that the wives of both Gove and Cummings are columnists. Don’t let them use the “media elites” line without being constantly reminded that those now in power are part of the media, part of the elite.
LK is like a dizzy schoolgirl on work experience.
Sadly we live in a post-fact world, this is why I say the symbolism is more important like in a dream. In that sense, Cummings played his hand like a pro. He doesn't have to convince his enemies only play to the gallery of his supporters (Brexit mob). Consensus politics is history.
#Mediawitchhunt is now trending on twitter. So get out there and remind people that those in power got there by being part of the media. Dig just under the skin, and these people are just against any scrutiny of their heroes when they get things wrong, not really against the media at all. And yes, that doesn’t just apply to them, obviously.
You know things are really bad when you find yourself agreeing with Piers Morgan. He's become the Canary in the coal mime in this episode, interesting to see how hard he sticks with it as the rest of the RW media back off.
In voice of Nelson from the Simpsons... Haha!: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/27/anti-porn-filters-stop-dominic-cummings-trending-on-twitter
I really thought the average person in the UK
had a bit more intelligence but it seems not 🙁
A large majority think that Cummings is in the wrong. Those useful idiots making the most noise on social media are very much the minority.
Blaming the media is exactly what those on the Brexit/alt-right side of this cultural conflict do.
Err, not just the preserve of the right, i remember being told repeatedly how poor Jeremy wasn't getting fair media coverage either.
+1 for the comments above pointing out it was Johnson et al who were the media elite not so long ago and more recently a certain ex chancellor went the other way.
From a political standpoint him staying does more damage to the tory party than his going because this thing ain't going to go away. Johnson will be constantly asked 'did you check that with your boss' everytime he opens his mouth and any problems with future lockdown enforcment issues will revisit this affair.
The bigger issue is that the gov't has lost the Police. The first responsibly of government is to provide security for the people and that's in Jeapody, although things are calm out there at the moment it does however feel like we're living in a state of benign anarchy.
Just two of the many highly depressing things about this episode are that……
1. I’m now following Piers Morgan on Twitter and agreeing with him
2. The number of people who are condoning and/or excusing the indefensible.I really thought the average person in the UK had a bit more intelligence but it seems not
Even if you find yourself agreeing with Piers Morgan that doesn't mean you have to follow him
It is good that you have at least realised that the average person in the UK is an idiot (see Brexit and last Tory massive majority for examples)
The “average person in the UK” is up in arms about the “one rule for us, another for them” approach of those in number 10. An apology might have mitigated that, the arrogant “I did what I thought right, because I’m better than you” response has not.
So, the government is now busy preparing us for the “local lock downs” that will be needed to contain flare ups in future… if this is in the summer holidays, why won’t us parents be hot footing it out of the quarantine zones to be with family somewhere nicer, and “intuitively” safer for our households, rather than stay at home? I’m looking at Cornwall.
Err, not just the preserve of the right, i remember being told repeatedly how poor Jeremy wasn’t getting fair media coverage either.
I remember being told repeatedly that the likes of Kuenssberg were scrupulously objective reporters. Funny how people change their minds when the shoe is on the other foot.
I presume nothing more has come out about Alnwick and Wooler visits as well as Barnard Castle?
I am trusting my spidey senses on this one - spurious rumours put out by Dom's mates to see if they get picked up - he can then shoot them down to score points.
Trouble is, in a post-truth, post-conscience, post-shame world, who and what do you trust? Gaslighting is very effective.
