David-Camerons-self-serving-attack-on-press-freedom – Telegraph.

The oligarch supporters of President Yeltsin discovered by accident how to get their drunken but reliably corrupt puppet re-elected, despite national embarrassment at his failings. In desperation, they bought the national TV stations, whose newsdesks informed the political opinions of a decisive majority. To their surprise it worked. Their unsavoury skins were saved.

When Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was made Yeltsin’s political heir, their media machine got him elected. They were confident he would reward them, but they underestimated their man. He and his “Chekist” faction didn’t want to depend on them for power, so they seized those TV stations “for the nation”. They used them to develop what they amusingly call a “managed democracy”.

Having ensured a consistent line from key news desks, they found they could cheerfully ignore the otherwise free press. You can read criticism of VVP in Russian newspapers and magazines. You can hear it on local TV and radio too. He will happily point to it as evidence of Russia’s free press. But you won’t hear a word of effective criticism on national TV, which is all he cares about.

The occasional murder of a journalist seems born of exuberance, not necessity.

Living in Russia for several years, I wondered if the Chekists got their ideas from observing the relationship between the BBC and the British ruling elite. Why did the Conservatives not win the last election outright, despite economic circumstances that would have made Labour unelectable in any other place and time? Two reasons. Firstly a rigged election system. Voting figures that would have given Labour a working majority were insufficient for the Tories. Secondly the BBC News team (and their incestuous faux-competitors at Channel 4) did the same job for Labour that their Russian counterparts do for United Russia. The same team now consistently keens and wails about “Tory cuts” despite the fact that public spending is still rising, thus keeping the hapless Boy David firmly to leftist lines in all key respects.

By the way, how can that rigged election system remain in place? Because the BBC will never give airtime to anyone who points it out – and will report any attempt to reform it as Tory election-rigging. So there’s really only one reason.

Love him or hate him (and he doesn’t make himself easy to love) Rupert Murdoch represented the only well-funded and plausible threat to the BBC hegemony in British opinion-forming. For the good of the same ruling elite that loved him when they were successfully bribing him to do their bidding, he therefore had to be stopped from gaining full control of BSkyB. His reported remark that Sky News would be more like Fox News if his British management ever listened to him made that very clear.

Search Twitter today for the hashtag #newsnight and see the vengeful, malicious British Left in full triumphant cry. Having pitched the pompous right-on comedian Steve Coogan against a carefully-selected rat-like specimen of the tabloid press, the BBC’s Newsnight team could barely contain its near-sexual excitement last night. It was glorying (as the BBC has for days) in doing immense damage to its only serious enemy.

Today’s Telegraph leader has it almost right.

To punish the whole of the press for News International’s misdemeanours is wrong; so, too, is the sneering disdain of the political classes for the tabloid newspapers that are read by the majority of their constituents. It was a revolting spectacle to see Labour politicians cheer the closure of one of this country’s oldest newspapers, with the loss of 200 staff, most of whom had nothing to do with the scandal – especially since they only found their voice once News International had ended its support of their party.

Why almost? Because this is not about “them” – the Press, but about us, the people. What the dangerous new coalition of vengeful slebs, spurned and furious Labourites and politicians determined to ensure no repetition of the expenses scandal threatens is our very way of life.

The Britain I knew and loved, now fighting for its feeble life, was formed by centuries of press freedom.  The broadsheets might debate the issues of the day, but few were following them. It was the ferocious tabloid press that kept the elites in line. It instilled fear into those who, by dishonesty, excess, immorality or even mere snootiness towards the public that feeds them, deserved popular disapproval.

The BBC is a primary source of work for Coogan. It has the ability to enhance the career of Hugh Grant. They and other celebrities have their own reasons (for which the public had no sympathy before Millygate) to hate and fear the tabloids. After all these are the papers that personify the prurient interest in their private lives of the British public on whom they live – and for whom they feel such disdain.

We know what they want from new regulators. We also know what the BBC and Guardian will want. Most of all we know what the politicians of all parties will want. But it’s not their disparate agendas that are the problem, it’s what they have in common. That is a desire for working people to have neither ready access to anti-statist views, nor regular evidence of the moral corruption of the British ruling elite and its luvvie running dogs.

We don’t need to like Mr Murdoch to recognize this. His employees’ disgraceful misconduct has given our elites their greatest chance for decades to undermine that sturdy contempt or the powerful that makes us free men.

Tom Paine

Michael
Fowke July 12, 2011 at 09:20

So why doesn’t Cameron get rid of the BBC?

Ordinary Bloke
July 12, 2011 at 10:06

Because none of the children he surrounds himself with have
advised/instructed him to do so.

Tom
Paine July 12, 2011 at 01:03

“Adequate protection of the public exists from private corporations, what
is being missed in the discussion is adequate protection of the public from
big government, after all the sources of most of the information were public
databases and public servants.”

You are quite right, sir. The foolish underlying assumption of all the
“proper regulation” chit-chat is the perfection of the state and all its
organs.

Cascadian July 11, 2011 at 22:01

Thomas Paine’s commentary from the recesses of history…….“That government
is best which governs least.”

But perhaps it is too much to expect that the camoron would follow an
Englishman’s words of wisdom.

Kitlers admonition has it about right……….”abolish the licence fee and
cancel all those advertising contracts with the Guardian”. Funding BBC and the
guardian is counter-productive to a free press and the camoron government
should move quickly to level the field by announcing ” a big bang” in
journalism, henceforth anybody participating in journalism does so with
private equity. TV channels wishing to employ third-rate “comedians” as
political commentators are perfectly free to do so at their OWN expense, if
they wish to broadcast the inane comments of a bono or hugh grant they also
free to do so again at their OWN expense.

If private corporations are willing to break the law to source a story they
are free to do so and accept the consequences when they are revealed or they
work within the law.

Adequate protection of the public exists from private corporations, what is
being missed in the discussion is adequate protection of the public from big
government, after all the sources of most of the information were public
databases and public servants. Do you think that this information is secure
from political inquiry?

kitler July 11, 2011 at 20:19

Murdoch should have seen that the Left would make a play against him like
this and should have attacked first. The Sun should have been promoting
endless anti-licence fee propaganda for years but it didn’t. If he had any
sense he would make Cameron abolish the licence fee and cancel all those
advertising contracts with the Guardian. Fuck Cameron’s credibility, he’s
disposable anyway.

Ordinary Bloke
July 11, 2011 at 17:51

Years ago, when I used to attend a Christian house group, one of the
leaders ( a chap who had a degree, gosh) observed the disparate people at a
particular meeting. He remarked (with no trace of cynicism) on the fact that
but for our faith we wouldn’t have had anything to do with each other (again,
not meant in a superior, sneering way).

This is how I feel when I comment on blogs such as yours Anna (all credit
to you Tom for an excellent post). I’m an ordinary comprehensive educated
bloke mixing it with ‘some’ (lol) highly intelligent people.

I get very angry with ‘The Great British Public’ at large. Somehow, I’ve
managed to cut through all the BBCs’ lies and propaganda & sought out the
truth (from blogs such as this). Why would it need a need a coup at the BBC
(etc) before the majority out there see things as they really are?

Mega sigh

binao July 11, 2011 at 22:48

Dear Ordinary Bloke- as another, in my case born and raised in the
‘polygon of doom’, I also get angry.
I get angry with the lack of
ambition of so many and their tolerance of the status quo.
I get angry
with the assumption of the privileged who with no knowledge of real life
presume to decide they know best for us, as MPs, lefty BBC and the
rest.
Is the Murdoch press really any worse than dodgy dossiers, the
hypocritical Brown & Balls with McBride, or Prescott humping the
staff?
In cookery and foundry work, scum and dross come to the
top.
Seems the same for people.
Shame about DC. I thought the
patrician air, the easy confidence, was a sign of an unsold man. We shall
see.

SadButMadLad
July 11, 2011 at 23:16

“observed the disparate people at a particular meeting” – That’s part of
the aim of this blog. Not to be a blog preaching to the converted, but to
encourage a wide and disparate group of people to share ideas and try and
understand each other’s point of view, though we tend to the libertarian
thought pattern.

ReefKnot July 11, 2011 at 17:50

The BBC is the broadcast arm of the Guardian – they would both do anything
to damage an organisation which presents a view of the world at odds with
their agenda.

Jeremy Poynton
July 11, 2011 at 17:25

Aye to all above. Excellent article, and I may well pick bits of it to
taunt the morons at CiF, who seem to be clamouring for an end to press freedom
in the UK.

Lorraine July 11,
2011 at 16:56

“Self serving attack on press freedom”

hyperbole much?

Livewire July 11, 2011 at 15:33

I don’t know what the Raccoonery is serving for lunch these days but recent
articles have been superb, cue the Borgia speech from the Third Man about
corrupt times producing The Renaissance (shameless hyperbole, but stuff the
shame).

Gildas the Monk
July 11, 2011 at 16:18

Can I just say thanks, and I agree things have been really cooking with
high quality blogging. I understand this is about to come to an abrupt end
with a contribution in the near future from my good friend, Sister Eva
Longoria. Lord help us…

boulay July 11, 2011 at 14:02

huzzah! the only sensible voice i have heard on the BBC re this issue was a
biographer of Murdoch who was being interviewed on the World Service who
managed to land a few tasty punches on the BBC for their partisan and
disgraceful approach towards Murdoch before the interviewer managed to cut him
off and mumble about other things for a while….

Gildas the Monk
July 11, 2011 at 13:56

Now that’s what i’m talking about! Get in! And other expressions of high
praise! Worthy of your name sir.