Crowd-funded propaganda? Ummm…no thanks
“The last few days have been seismic and historic for Britain, the greatest political crisis since the second world war with reverberations felt around the world,” wrote Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner in the Graun yesterday, in what amounts to a begging letter to her diminishing readership, imploring them to throw money the Guardian’s way. She goes on to say:
We’ve been working non-stop to try to make sure that the journalism you find in the Guardian and the Observer properly reflects these extraordinary and complicated times.
Let’s note her choice of words – “properly reflects these extraordinary and complicated times.”
Properly.
Not ‘accurately’. Not ‘honestly’. Not ‘responsibly’. Not even ‘fairly’. In fact she notably doesn’t invoke any of these supposedly essential aspects of good journalism anywhere. Instead we get “fast, well-sourced, calm, accessible and intelligent” journalism, that “provide[s] the answers that people desperately need at this time of anxiety and confusion.” Not questions, which can be open-ended and scary. Answers. Packaged and provided for you courtesy of the Graun. Safe, secure, on message, and of course “properly reflect[ing] these …complicated times.”
So, the proper way to reflect Corbyn’s speech on anti-semitism was to grossly misrepresent both the meaning and content? The proper way to reflect the coup against the Labour leadership was to give unlimited space to only one side of the debate? The proper pursuit of journalistic excellence lies in forming unholy alliances with unashamed propaganda outlets such as Interpreter Magazine and the CIA-created Radio Free Europe, and to run an endless and often ignorantly racist smear campaign against the Russian government and nation? The proper position for a serious news outlet is to publish fan write-ups and apologies for avowedly neo-nazi militias? To advocate for illegal wars, and solicit the opinions of a war criminal on the desirability of further war crimes?
This, presumably, is how they sleep at night. Reassuring themselves that answers are more important than questions and “proper” trumps “true” in terms of real journalism. This is fine, I suppose, if that’s their personal choice, but isn’t it a little rich to ask us to fund them to tell us lies? Still, at least there’s one sentence in Viner’s embarrassing begging letter that I think most of us can agree with.
Producing in-depth, thoughtful, well-reported journalism is difficult and expensive. But supporting us isn’t
Good of you to make the distinction, Kath. Saves us the trouble.
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Fuck the Guardian. Pay to read the ‘New East Network’? Sites that have to practically pay people to read them? No thanks.
I gave money to the Canary – the Guardian can fuck off – many of the people in the Guardian are well past their sell by date and if it wants to retain its readership it needs to take a long hard look at itself (which it won’t). Indeed, in some respects the bloody FT is a more balanced read than the Guardian FFS.
I am praying that these irritating demands that we pay for their propaganda are given their own comments.
At least then the Editor will understand why people are so pissed off.
Friends! My Blog, which supports Our Jeremy 100% – and that’s the absolute minimum! – puts the Hard-Right Neoliberal Fascist Guardian in the shade – quite literally! We never allow any anti-EU opinions to appear anywhere in it, as these are quite clearly Hate Opinions, which not be allowed, as they are yet another manifestation of Intolerance, which we on the Progressive Left are determined to smash in all its guises.
We are demanding a second Referendum, so that the grave mistake that was made 9 days ago, by a totally unrepresentative handful of 17,410,742 bigoted people, can now be overturned.
My post, ” What Do We Want, Friends? “A Second Referendum!” When Do We Want It, Friends? “As Soon As Our EU Will Allow It, That’s When!”, as ever, shows the way:
https://supportourjeremy.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/what-do-we-want-friends-a-second-referendum-when-do-we-want-it-friends-as-soon-as-our-eu-will-allow-it-thats-when/
Only a bigot and a fascist would call half the electorates bigots.
And what sort of person would assume my post was serious?
Calling people bigots is never funny.
Not even when it’s a joke, apart from to the seriously humour-challenged?
No. And it isn’t even a funny joke.
Maybe they should ask AIPAC and the United Jewish solidarity fund to help them hell they r linked with the New York Times last I heard maybe they can get some of the Clinton foundation funds or better yet the so called New Democracy Endowment fund from the washington consensus gang or file for bankruptcy and get bailed out from UK taxpayer. So many options.
I’ve notice in the past year or two, that any articles in the Guardian relation to problems in Palestine, do not allow comments (although “Comments are free”). Given that the Prime Minister of Israel is probably the most deranged and dangerous man on Earth, I would have thought it was important to get contributors opinions. But NO! “Comments not allowed”. ‘Old Media’ can go the way of the Dinosaurs for all I care, and the sooner the better.
The Guardian has been taken over by the Likudniks and their Sabbat Goyim, no doubt about it. And wasn’t it just TOO easy.
“Money talks”……………….
Reblogged this on Worldtruth.
Right on! It makes me nauseous to see those shriveled up unnatural predators spewing their anti-human newspeak. They hoover up nearly all the wealth of the world, use it to terrorize us non-stop, and that gives them the right to rule our world? Hardly! They’re not in prison or worse because they bought the the media, elections and puppets (traitors) like kill & bill. And why don’t they ever die? Vampires? The crowd funding needs to go to truth websites like this that expose the propaganda rags for what they are. Traitors. They’re funded by the perps but want it from you too. We need to nationalize those hoovered funds, use them for humanity, and take back our world. The Yemens and more are starving and homeless and dead due to the perps invasion and destruction and they live in sickening luxury.
Apparently this practice of “proper” journalism is also widespread in the USA, the trick is deciding who started this practice first. In the past one could read the morning paper to get the news, now it takes a lot of time to weed the bullshit out of actual pertinent news.
You can still find non-bullshit? Even the weather reports are fabrications. Sport, I suppose, but a lot of that is rigged-by Russians only, of course. Public life in the West these days is purely hallucinatory, a tragic farce starring psychotics who appear to actually believe their own lies. For example, check out the ABC-Radio National Science Show from today, and the sheer gob-smacking delusions of our ‘Chief Scientist’ (hand-picked by the fanatically denialist, of climate destabilisation and EVERY ecological disaster, Abbott regime)in regard to how he sees Australia in 2030. Either he’s lost the plot entirely, or I’d rather like some of what he’s been smoking.
The US State Department money must have dried up
The sayanim will keep it afloat. Loose change.
Like most people I only visit the Graun to keep abreast of the propaganda narrative. And wind up the trolls.
Just as TV evangelists can procure money from those at a low ebb the Guardian realised this was a good moment to grab some quick cash from their brainwashed muppets.
Apparently printing total bullshit and 3rd hand hearsay on social media while checking how many more Twitter followers you have, is expensive.
Exactly. Why read the Guardian when you can just read twitter. Even better, twitter won’t delete your comments should you feel a need to respond.
Exactly right.
Bang to rights! Well said.