A Free Press?

I have been very critical of the media here before and I really dislike the way that much of the media has focused on the cult of celebrity. To my mind it is unlike the distraction tricks of magicians. Get the public, the people looking the other way so that in the background what we should all be watching happens in the shadows. Equally, if the media makes the real news sound boring and irrelevant then the media can then control major aspects of life. Here in Britain that includes Economics and Europe; where the media has largely made the EU and the Euro really deceive issues. Also issues like prejudice; where the media will focus on supposed injustices where immigrants, immigration are overseas workers are all “lumped together” as the them that are harming our country. All aimed at dividing society and distracting attention away from what is really happening.

The revelation that News International had systematically been “Illegally” hacking into the voice mail accounts of many politicians, Actors, Models, or anyone who is in the public eye looking for “Sex Stories” was not that surprising. Even on the day the story was published by the Guardian, the rest of the Media seemed to be covering and playing this down. Even the BBC seemed to be doing this, as the revelations relate to a conviction that took place two and half years ago when a Private investigator and the Royal Correspondent for a News International excuse for a news paper were convicted. However, the Editor of the comic at the time is now the Spin Doctor for the opposition conservative party. Thus the majority of the media were treating it as a political story.

Finally though the serious journalists realised that this was not just about a political target, but widespread and systematic criminal activity by a major Multi-national company; News International. It is interesting to note that News International has in a carefully worded statement has refuted this. But on BBC news programmes they have shown interviews with the private investigators involved. Therefore News International kept the criminal activity at arms length, so that they could create the plausible deniability.

News International is not just a British Company as it owns a major chunk of the international press and major networks in the US. While I feel that the free press is a little safer over in the US than it is here, it was interesting to see Rupert Murdock refusing to answer any questions on this issue on Fox News, his own channel and the reporter supinely aqueous. However, while there is more independence in the media in the US, I just wonder if Watergate would ever have happened if News International had been the big player then?

And this is the real story here. For many years Rupert Murdock has been allowed to build a major media empire that has exerted real influence across the world. He and his company has stopped any sort of control of his newspapers activities as even a whiff of legislation and he via his papers pulls out the dirt on the politicians who are having affairs and makes it look like legislation is being proposed to hide wrong doing. There is plenty of wrong doing going on in politicos too, but the media, particularly News International, loves a juicy sex scandal. So the real High Crimes and Misdemeanour's get ignored.

A free press is vital to democracy as power corrupts. That is why it is so wrong that so much media power is held in the hands of one man and one family. As all that power stops the press from being free. With all that media within his control Rupert Murdock influences politics and policy across the world.

Here in Britain the News International media has effectively closed down any meaningful debate about the European Union and the Single Currency. Yet had that debate been allowed to take place ten years ago, and Britain joined the Euro, it is unlikely that the British Government would have been able to mortgage the country to the hilt nor would we have suffered the same level of impacts upon the economy from the banking collapse. As news International plays the currency markets with its earnings spread across the globe, it is not surprising that the company did not want to loose that stream of revenue.

However, it is when it comes to issues like climate change and the relationship with the Oil companies and the Car companies that is the real scandal. News International have deliberately lied, via its many outlets about climate change. From denial and claiming its a conspiracy to distorting the facts of the science. What I have never understood abut the conspiracy claim is who is supposed to benefit? I can see the rape and pillage mentality of multi-national business would suffer, but the rest of the people benefit from dealing with Climate change. So if there is any conspiracy, it comes from multi-national businesses like News International.

I have never understood this cult of celebrity personally, there are actors and musicians that I admire, for there work, but I really don't give a flying short term relationship about who someone is sleeping with. While this sort of detail may obsess some, it is not in the public interest. It may be interesting to the public but if an actor appears on screen, that does not give us the right to know how often they fart.

If people were only provided with real news, then perhaps the newspapers would not be facing such a slump in readership and revenues. I personally don't buy a newspaper everyday simply because they are so full of trash about actors in soap operas, or what was happening in some reality TV show. Perhaps the media should understand that newspapers should contain news.

There have been suggestions that many of the celebrities that have been targeted by News International may join forces in a “group action” and sue. I really hope that they do as that way the press will be held to account.

There may be occasions when the press needs to bend the law for the greater good of humanity, but trying to find out if a C list star is shagging another does not help inform and improve the world.