Can we get the media we need – and deserve?
Published
by
Leah Levane
JVL Introduction
Jonathan Coulter and others founded CAMPAIN to push back against misrepresentation in public affairs and the media. Part of the aim was to bridge the gap between the many left-wing groups, legitimately angry about the dishonest publicity about allegations of antisemitism and other matters and those who had been fighting for media reform since the phone-hacking scandal became know in 2011, but who mostly ignored the antisemitism.
It is in this context that we republish Jonathan’s latest blog about two journalists (Brian Cathcart and Patrick Howes) writing in Byline Times, a non-mainstream (or alternative) news outlet. While praising them for pressing for regulatory reform, he finds them over-optimistic about the likelihood that opposition parties, particularly Keir Starmer’s Labour, will seriously engage in such reform, given the media’s silence over extraordinarily undemocratic goings-on in the Labour Party.
If Byline Times is to do what it claims, ie to be a newspaper that seeks to tell us “what the mainstream papers don’t say” and to follow the story “without fear or favour”, then, Jonathan argues, it needs to hold opposition parties fully to account and be prepared to talk about the pro-Israeli/Zionist elephant in the room.
Jonathan Coulter is a member of the JVL Council.
This article was originally published by CAMPAIN on Wed 25 Jan 2023. Read the original here.
Media reform is paramount - but is the opposition willing?
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Regulation
3 strikes and your out of business
In meantime fine them astronomic amounts of money and feed that money into independent journalism
In March 1997 – a few weeks before the general election which brought Tony Blair to power – Chris Smith, Labour’s shadow minister for Culture, Media and Sport, spoke at a rally in Congress House, the TUC headquarters. He declared that the next Labour government would set up an enquiry to tackle the concentration of ownership and the abuse of power by the British press.
After his rousing speech, Smith was asked from the floor why, having been in opposition for 18 years, the party had not already developed a clear and radical programme for reform of this long-recognised and festering problem. Rather than concede any failure, Smith contemptuously swatted aside the question.
Now, after another long spell of imbecilic Tory rule, Labour is as far away as ever from having a coherent policy for cleaning out these Augean stables. But why should they need such a policy when Keir Starmer and his party “grandees” (as we must now call them) – David Lammy, Wes Streeting etc. – are more comfortable writing waffle for the readers of the Telegraph and The Times than they are rubbing shoulders with nurses and teachers on the picket line. After all, Murdoch and Rothermere and the BBC can always be relied upon to turn a flamethrower (to use Tony Benn’s metaphor) on any left-wing deviationists.
Talk of reform is – and always has been – entirely meaningless in terms of the Labour Party. Three Royal Commissions changed nothing; the Monopolies Commission invariably approved newspaper takeovers, and tedious investigations into the Press Council were little more than a hollow
pretence.
The reality is that for the best part of a century Britain has had an ethically debased and politically corrupt mass media – and the Labour Party has had neither the courage nor the political vision to do anything more than utter pious platitudes about reform.
Result: trust in the mainstream media in Britain is lower than almost anywhere in Europe, with journalists sharing the gutter of public esteem with MPs and second-hand car salesmen.
Talk of “reform” is, I believe, largely pointless – a way of distracting the gullible from the central problem: that journalism in the public interest involves the pursuit of truth, and the pursuit of truth cannot go hand in hand with the pursuit of corporate profit.
At the moment, I subscribe to – in no particular order :
JVL
Declassified UK
Skwawkbox
Tribune.
I have contributed to others, including Byline Times, and The Canary, but my problem is the cost. There came a time when paring down became a necessity, and that, I find, is a major part of the problem with the emerging online independents.
When we take into account the bloggers i.e. Electronic Intifada, London Economic, Vox Political, etc, etc, they’re all asking for money to help make a living, from the tremendous work they all do.
There has got to be a way to draw all these outlets into one or two manageable entities where all can cover their costs – and – make a living, without breaking the bank accounts of the subscribers.
There’s a massive readership, out here, waiting for alternatives to the MSM – broadcast and print, incidently – but with limited budgets.
George Peel’s suggestions make a lot of sense.
I hope he emails the various newsletters he’s financially supporting to make the same points. As a well-wisher who helps to pay their costs and wages George is more likely to be listened to by these media than someone less involved and less sympathetic.
agreed George I have Canary Skwawk box and will be adding Declassified and of cause have JVL.. There needs to a way of getting all of them together so they become one voice.
If “mainstream” media had been been even neutral in its reporting, Corbyn would be P.M. today.
The Canary in the mine is the BBC it stands for everything it isn’t
The article is excellent. I thank Jewish Voice for Labour for sending it to me.
The UK establishment mass media is recognised as the worst in the world.
It is bad, from being one-sided, through misrepresentation, to telling lies.
As the original article states, the news media has gravely damaged Britain.
The rotten state of the Labour Party is closely associated with news media, to which the worst politicians have contributed bias, lies and hypocrisy.
Sadly, maybe, I only take in what has come to me through JVL, which, over my few years as an associate, I have observed to be very highly principled, humane, concerned for all, scrupulously honest and never hypocritical.
I was totally absorbed by the article, it covered so much of what is wrong with the Press and the BBC, plus, that the Labour Party suffer the most because of the Rightwing Bias of the Press and also from the BBC, which has joined in with the Newspapers in attacking the Socialists (The Left) in the Party. The Press is aware that the Tories are very unlikely to win the next GE and are looking to make sure that if Labour wins, it will have a Non Socialist Leader, Starmer is pretty much perfect for them, on top of being well to the Right, he has been suspending and expelling those on the Left, especially if they support Palestine and condemn the Israeli Government, which will also suite the Majority of the Newspapers.
I was nodding all the way through Jacob Ecclestone’s comments, I agree totally with what he is saying.
Question. How do we get the well known Social Media Groups to come together, I know that many of us that follow these Media organisations would love to see them come together, many have been named in the Comments. A start would be for us to mention it every time we read one of their excellent articles. Just maybe it will work, I do hope so.
One person I neglected to mention, in my comment above, and should have, is Another Angry Voice(AAV).
Tom Clarke has been ploughing a lone furrow for, more than, ten years, now, and has been consistently excellent.
I believe he guest writes for other, bigger, blogs, from time to time. He should be kept in mind if it ever does come time to consolidate and expand the ‘left’ media.