Britain has caved in to a vociferous population of xenophobic, unskilled workers who, sadly, are not so much in the minority as one might hope. Indeed, British xenophobia is at most a poorly-kept secret. One need make no claim to clairvoyance to predict confidently that the lives of these same wotkers will not be ameliorated after Brexit; they will be worse, as will the British economy. These workers resent the presence of "foreigners" who are taking jobs away from British citizens, whilst tacitly boasting that these are jobs they, themselves, would never "stoop" to doing!
Likewise, no piercing perspicacity is required to understand that legislating xenophobia into economic policy has not only proven over and again to be a painful economic tragedy, but that what is economic policy today will inevitably be social policy tomorrow. The judgement of history on that tragedy is all too clear.
If The Sun is guilty of anything, it is fanning the flames of Britain's undeniable but usually inchoate anti-immigrant inclination, and doing so for the most sinister of reasons:. Because they can. Because despite their circulation stats, they know they have the power to exert an outsized influence on public opinion and even on their competitors. Such power is irresistible, even when exercised solely for its own sake and irrespective of fact. Tony Gallaghet dies not come off here as a man who is reticent to those temptations.
Likewise, no piercing perspicacity is required to understand that legislating xenophobia into economic policy has not only proven over and again to be a painful economic tragedy, but that what is economic policy today will inevitably be social policy tomorrow. The judgement of history on that tragedy is all too clear.
If The Sun is guilty of anything, it is fanning the flames of Britain's undeniable but usually inchoate anti-immigrant inclination, and doing so for the most sinister of reasons:. Because they can. Because despite their circulation stats, they know they have the power to exert an outsized influence on public opinion and even on their competitors. Such power is irresistible, even when exercised solely for its own sake and irrespective of fact. Tony Gallaghet dies not come off here as a man who is reticent to those temptations.
10
Hmm, so are you saying the old democracies of the UK and the USA are run by a guy from Australia?
Sort of upside-down-under?
Sort of upside-down-under?
12
The common denominator is Rupert Murdoch and his international media empire feeding the world a daily diet of tabloid/fake news.
23
For decades, the Britis,h "gutter press" has been among the shock troops of Britain's class wars and Brexit has proved to be the ultimate Battle of Britain. Americans don't realize just how insidious and pervasive this system is, despite some improvements in access to education and job opportunities. A guilty pleasure of mine in the online version of the Daily Mail and its Femail section. The articles are not instructive, but the readers' comments are, particularly when it comes to the Duchess of Cambridge, who is regularly vilified for everything from laziness and wardrobe and makeup choices to her middle class family origins. This Middletons are self-made millionaires and the middle and upper classes resent their now moving in Royal circles and poised to wear the crown. The young royal couple are also the focus of much lower class resentment of privilege. Brexit brought much of that to a head, just as Trump dd here.
10
The very use of words like "tablet " and "populist" are words of TOFFS and British Aristocracy to show their contempt towards "us the 99 %" and downgrading the general population and their supporters .
If that doesn't work then they have other words like Anarchists, riffraffs , hooligans and such epithets to mislead the unsuspecting public.
The earlier the British elites and Aristocracy and their mouthpiece media learn to speak on equal terms with "us the 99%" with more respect the better for them and that would help their survival too once the people take control of Britain which would happen sooner than they fear.
This kind of attitude of the British ruling aristocracy is worse than racism and that which distances the rest of the population from the brash arrogant aristocrats with their feelings of entitlements which they don't deserve.
Brexit is the consequence of the long and continued neglect of the middle class and the working class by the too privileged British aristocracy with disproportionate entitlements not compatible with modern ideas and
principles of DEMOCRACY which needs to be socialistic with sense of social responsibility and social sensitiveness.
The next in the firing line of these elites is the ubiquitous social media with which the middle class and working class profusely communicate with each other totally side lining the nose-up-in-the -air aristocrats which are a
dwindling minority on their way out .
If that doesn't work then they have other words like Anarchists, riffraffs , hooligans and such epithets to mislead the unsuspecting public.
The earlier the British elites and Aristocracy and their mouthpiece media learn to speak on equal terms with "us the 99%" with more respect the better for them and that would help their survival too once the people take control of Britain which would happen sooner than they fear.
This kind of attitude of the British ruling aristocracy is worse than racism and that which distances the rest of the population from the brash arrogant aristocrats with their feelings of entitlements which they don't deserve.
Brexit is the consequence of the long and continued neglect of the middle class and the working class by the too privileged British aristocracy with disproportionate entitlements not compatible with modern ideas and
principles of DEMOCRACY which needs to be socialistic with sense of social responsibility and social sensitiveness.
The next in the firing line of these elites is the ubiquitous social media with which the middle class and working class profusely communicate with each other totally side lining the nose-up-in-the -air aristocrats which are a
dwindling minority on their way out .
2
The main tabloids functions are to cause opinion about other people, rather than talk with people, and to cause controversial sides, rather than cooperative sides, and subsequently gain influence and money out of it.
The tabloids only care about extrapolating and exaggerrating views that sound so unrealistic and out of context with the main public view, that it makes "news" which is hard to believe and at the same time very hard to get out of people's mind.
This is where populist politicians come in. They hop on the tabloid bus and borrow headlines and opinion making statements, nail down these out of context opinions into real voting processes.
Just like Nigel Farrage (UK Politician) did with his branded tourbus: "350 Million pounds a week for healthcare".
I suppose many British voters went into the assumption that the EU was being paid this sum each week, instead of this money being paid to British healthcare systems.
A tabloid extrapolation was used by a main populist politician to swing the public to a certain vote. The day after the Brexit vote, Farrage made a 180° turn, and had to deny the Brexit team would spend 350 Million a week on healthcare.
Does this type of "tabloid media polarisations transform into politics" ring any bells in the USA? Have you seen similar cases?
P.S. Have a look here, it would be quite funny if it was not such a serious issue:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/24/nigel-farage-350-million-pled...
The tabloids only care about extrapolating and exaggerrating views that sound so unrealistic and out of context with the main public view, that it makes "news" which is hard to believe and at the same time very hard to get out of people's mind.
This is where populist politicians come in. They hop on the tabloid bus and borrow headlines and opinion making statements, nail down these out of context opinions into real voting processes.
Just like Nigel Farrage (UK Politician) did with his branded tourbus: "350 Million pounds a week for healthcare".
I suppose many British voters went into the assumption that the EU was being paid this sum each week, instead of this money being paid to British healthcare systems.
A tabloid extrapolation was used by a main populist politician to swing the public to a certain vote. The day after the Brexit vote, Farrage made a 180° turn, and had to deny the Brexit team would spend 350 Million a week on healthcare.
Does this type of "tabloid media polarisations transform into politics" ring any bells in the USA? Have you seen similar cases?
P.S. Have a look here, it would be quite funny if it was not such a serious issue:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/24/nigel-farage-350-million-pled...
3
The main thing here is just get away from the E.U. which really is only Germany. No Germany, no E.U. Let Germany take all the refugees. Doesn't seem to be working out so well for them. We all must continue to learn lessons from Germany.
9
Greater unification is good if the management is right but we know from the economic treatment of Greece, and then Syria (via NATO) that the EU has no interest in greater freedom and prosperity for humans.
4
I hope Gallagher's children who didn't vote read this article one day and realise just how much he constrained their futures by not only his vote but his fake news articles stuffed betwixt semi-naked women on pages he approved for publication.
3
Turkey not joining the EU? How can the NY Times be so sure?
3
Well, if the UK stays (or had stayed) in the EU, it could have vetoed Turkey's accession to the EU, as all existing members have to agree to allow new members... Looks like, under Erdogan, Turkey will never meet the EU's standards of democracy for entry anyway - and Turkey, now falling under Putin's spell, will most likely not want to join.
3
ERROR, in your article's headline!
"To Understand ‘Brexit,’
Look to Britain’s Tabloids"
...Should be:
"To MISUnderstand ‘Brexit,’
Look to Britain’s Tabloids"
Smoke and mirrors, pepper spray direct to any open eyes, thick rolling fog at the surface, no in-depth historical coverage of European construction beneath, and all rhythmed by the constant barrage of scare tactics almost but not quite worthy of a Halloween party thrown for neighbourhood ignoramuses' children (blindfolded kids feel a piece of liver, are told it's the heart [of their sovereign nation!] being ripped out, etc.).
Immigrant hobgoblins at the gates!
Britain's tabloids' "continuing education" has been invaluable in pointing a majority of low-quality information-laden adults toward voting for bound-for-disaster (not Glory) Brexit last June, in maintaining the high anger, belligerence and benightedness levels needed to ensure passengers don't jump off before the train wreck.
Forward from "regime change" (Brown => Cameron) in 2010, the tabloids and their accessories out-Cameroned Cameron himself, both his hollow, cynical "Big Society" ploy AND the layers of corruption and manipulation he surrounded himself. Now Little Lord Fauntleroy is driven out, bull-headed turncoat and timeserver Theresa May is doing just that. She had "kind of" campaigned for "Remain", but PM power's raw lure drove her lust for it to overcome any ascetic discipline she had previously, maybe, entertained.
A sad, sensationalist lot!
"To Understand ‘Brexit,’
Look to Britain’s Tabloids"
...Should be:
"To MISUnderstand ‘Brexit,’
Look to Britain’s Tabloids"
Smoke and mirrors, pepper spray direct to any open eyes, thick rolling fog at the surface, no in-depth historical coverage of European construction beneath, and all rhythmed by the constant barrage of scare tactics almost but not quite worthy of a Halloween party thrown for neighbourhood ignoramuses' children (blindfolded kids feel a piece of liver, are told it's the heart [of their sovereign nation!] being ripped out, etc.).
Immigrant hobgoblins at the gates!
Britain's tabloids' "continuing education" has been invaluable in pointing a majority of low-quality information-laden adults toward voting for bound-for-disaster (not Glory) Brexit last June, in maintaining the high anger, belligerence and benightedness levels needed to ensure passengers don't jump off before the train wreck.
Forward from "regime change" (Brown => Cameron) in 2010, the tabloids and their accessories out-Cameroned Cameron himself, both his hollow, cynical "Big Society" ploy AND the layers of corruption and manipulation he surrounded himself. Now Little Lord Fauntleroy is driven out, bull-headed turncoat and timeserver Theresa May is doing just that. She had "kind of" campaigned for "Remain", but PM power's raw lure drove her lust for it to overcome any ascetic discipline she had previously, maybe, entertained.
A sad, sensationalist lot!
4
What you describe sounds more like pandering than journalism. Don't let it worry you that he thinks your news conferences are stodgy.
3
I'm a Trump zealot, and once again, democracy (UK version) is faulted when the voters vote 'wrong.' Now it is the English newspapers who 'make' people vote wrong.' (More recently it was Fox news.)
Alas, Anglo-US democracy barely lasted 225 years, we in the West really should go back to a restricted franchise, the kind we had in 1789 or so, before we had pesky Fox news,
when? ... only white male landed Christian gentry could vote or hold office
oops
=
So let us shut down the wrong newsies,
==>> Winston Smith call your office, we have much work to do,
=
We once had a phrase, 'don't shoot the messenger,' but my view in response and rebuttal has always been, 'of course you shoot the messenger, b/c you can't do anything about the message.' And denial? is a magnificent coping mechanism,
= =
Around here, in the Fortress (the American franchise of Fortress Inc, an international conglomerate, we had thought of 'Internationale' as our name, but it was taken), the popularity of Br-Exit-supporting newsies, is effect not cause, that deep wellsprings of revulsion and loathing, is now the political majority in UK,
so 'death to the Great Satan political majorities?' or is is 'death to democracy'
=
And if we seek Truth? in news, well Pravda is Truth and Izvestia is News, I told you we wanted 'Internationale' for our name, but it was taken
Alas, Anglo-US democracy barely lasted 225 years, we in the West really should go back to a restricted franchise, the kind we had in 1789 or so, before we had pesky Fox news,
when? ... only white male landed Christian gentry could vote or hold office
oops
=
So let us shut down the wrong newsies,
==>> Winston Smith call your office, we have much work to do,
=
We once had a phrase, 'don't shoot the messenger,' but my view in response and rebuttal has always been, 'of course you shoot the messenger, b/c you can't do anything about the message.' And denial? is a magnificent coping mechanism,
= =
Around here, in the Fortress (the American franchise of Fortress Inc, an international conglomerate, we had thought of 'Internationale' as our name, but it was taken), the popularity of Br-Exit-supporting newsies, is effect not cause, that deep wellsprings of revulsion and loathing, is now the political majority in UK,
so 'death to the Great Satan political majorities?' or is is 'death to democracy'
=
And if we seek Truth? in news, well Pravda is Truth and Izvestia is News, I told you we wanted 'Internationale' for our name, but it was taken
4
"The Sun insinuated that child refugees arriving in Britain were lying about their ages and should have dental X-rays"....almost EVERY Afghan male illegal migrant who has walked into Sweden/Germany/Denmark/wherever the past 3 years has claimed to be 16 years old or younger. It was/is their way of working this "refugee" swindle. They have learned that, especially in Sweden, that claiming to be an "unaccompanied child" will get you an immediate acceptance into the system. So, you make up a horrible story about the Taliban killing your parents--and then call them with the good news when you get into the welfare system. So, thousands of these liars memorized the year 2000 and gave it as their birth year--even if they were clearly 22/23/27 years old. Sweden has stupidly allowed this to go on for years and has not age-tested these lying parasites--thanks to a gutless, incompetent immigration minister named Morgan Johansson. So the scam continues if your country is stupid enough to fall for it. Sweden is and has been. And 23-year old men are put in classrooms with 16 year old Swedish girls. And the number of rapes/sexual assault cases has gone through the roof. Had Britain age-tested this lot from Calais, they would have found that 80% of them are at least 5 years older than they claim. Afghan illegal migrants lie about EVERYTHING. The only important thing is to get into the welfare system. If Europe has learned nothing else the past 3 years, it has surely learned this.
13
'“Boris [Johnson] invented fake news,” said Martin Fletcher....'
I don't think that explains its impact. Perhaps, at least in Christian America, the effect of centuries of fake/ontological narrative is to have "invented" an entire demographic conditioned to accept only stories reflecting what the reader wants to be true.
I don't think that explains its impact. Perhaps, at least in Christian America, the effect of centuries of fake/ontological narrative is to have "invented" an entire demographic conditioned to accept only stories reflecting what the reader wants to be true.
5
What is this newspaper called the Times of London? Never heard of it, just as I've never heard of the Sun of London, or the Daily Telegraph of London. If you're making up names, why don't you call it the Times of Wapping or the Times of England?
1
'The Times of London' is the UKs biggest broadsheet, commonly referred to just as 'The Times'
4
The world is apparently full of illiterate and ill-informed people who are raised that way from birth and I thought they only resided here
5
I love the SUN .
It reflects the view of "us the 99% ." The more the Toffs and the british aristocracy find it unpalatable the more "we the 99%"find it nearer to our views.The Toffs and Aristocrats"the so called 1%" were raping Britain for long and ruined it for good,while fattening themselves."we the people"are watching them,were magnanimously giving them a long rope.But they used that leeway given to them,to hang themselves.They forgot that " we the people" were the foundation on which their upper story life stands on .Toffs and the British aristocracy were gnawing at the foundations and weakening British life while they partied in Las Vegas and Milabu shamelessly.Like Nero when Britain was burning they were singing and playing music.The rulers were totally disconnected with the life of the ordinary British people. Brexit is our Magna Carte .You were making money from Brussels while we were losing our self worth,self respect,dignity and honor unbeknown to you.You would never ever understand how it feels,how hurting it is unless you lose all your wealth and you and your children come down and stay with us.We the people want Brexit. We are looking not for money but for our lost honor, self-respect and dignity to Brussels under your tutelage.We will NOT have it anymore.You are so far away from our reality that you have lost us, your foundation has crumbled . We don't want to carry your dead weight anymore. Toffs and aristocracy might as well exit and go and stay in Europe.
It reflects the view of "us the 99% ." The more the Toffs and the british aristocracy find it unpalatable the more "we the 99%"find it nearer to our views.The Toffs and Aristocrats"the so called 1%" were raping Britain for long and ruined it for good,while fattening themselves."we the people"are watching them,were magnanimously giving them a long rope.But they used that leeway given to them,to hang themselves.They forgot that " we the people" were the foundation on which their upper story life stands on .Toffs and the British aristocracy were gnawing at the foundations and weakening British life while they partied in Las Vegas and Milabu shamelessly.Like Nero when Britain was burning they were singing and playing music.The rulers were totally disconnected with the life of the ordinary British people. Brexit is our Magna Carte .You were making money from Brussels while we were losing our self worth,self respect,dignity and honor unbeknown to you.You would never ever understand how it feels,how hurting it is unless you lose all your wealth and you and your children come down and stay with us.We the people want Brexit. We are looking not for money but for our lost honor, self-respect and dignity to Brussels under your tutelage.We will NOT have it anymore.You are so far away from our reality that you have lost us, your foundation has crumbled . We don't want to carry your dead weight anymore. Toffs and aristocracy might as well exit and go and stay in Europe.
2
The lies told by Boris and others in the tabloids are immoral and have contributed to the poor level of debate. By all means decide to leave the EU, but do it for good reasons, not wrong ones. The fake news they have peddled has poisoned public discourse. Does this sound familiar?
7
The worst part of all of it is that a man and his sons who is Australian is changing the face of the politics of the rest of the English speaking world through ownership of the two most corrupt, lying organs: The Sun in Britain and Fox News in the U.S. We let and they let him buy media in both countries and spout his own, non-British and non-American agenda, and it has changed both countries for the worse. Ironic that the anti-immigrant stance is coming from a person who appears to have no permanent home anywhere, but want to keep us shaking in our boots by nurturing fear in ours.
10
As long as a people read the fake news in such great numbers, reasonable and honest politicians do not stand a chance of getting elected. This, by the way, is true for more countries. A tighter law on misinformation and integrity?
Read reputable papers and fire the fake distorted media by boycotting their sponsors. There is power in the pocketbook and outrage. Get people fired when they lie and distort the truth. Maybe that will change the way real news is told.
1
Thank you NYT for covering Murdoch's grip on UK press in the context of brexit.
You will need to keep the pressure on, because people don't realise what a profound impact their propaganda has had on the EU topic, and why. The UK is the only western democracy which has allowed press to drift dangerously to hard-right. And it's a stark revolving door for journalists-turned tory politicians - numbers of them apart from Boris, check it out.
When one looks at the US and the UK, the difference in the independence & power of the press over the political system is startling. One could write a thesis on it, but let's just say that there's still hope for the US's 4/5th estate to play a significant positive feedback role in minimising any democratic deficit created by the political system against ordinary voters, while the UK's has the exact opposite effect.
Next, it may be worth looking at the conservative think tanks supported by the same lobby they are in the US.
You will need to keep the pressure on, because people don't realise what a profound impact their propaganda has had on the EU topic, and why. The UK is the only western democracy which has allowed press to drift dangerously to hard-right. And it's a stark revolving door for journalists-turned tory politicians - numbers of them apart from Boris, check it out.
When one looks at the US and the UK, the difference in the independence & power of the press over the political system is startling. One could write a thesis on it, but let's just say that there's still hope for the US's 4/5th estate to play a significant positive feedback role in minimising any democratic deficit created by the political system against ordinary voters, while the UK's has the exact opposite effect.
Next, it may be worth looking at the conservative think tanks supported by the same lobby they are in the US.
2
This is a brilliant article, and says exactly what I have been banging about for ages- how the insidious anti- Europe, anti- immigration rhetoric of the UK tabloids has seeped into the British consciousness.
Many I speak to here in France simply cannot understand why Brexit is taking place, many seem to think the British will come to their senses soon enough- I say to them "You don't know the power the UK tabloids have!"
Can I make a suggestion?
Translate the article in French and German and post/publish it here in Europe, I think you will be doing something very worthwhile.
Needless to say, I am horrified at the possibility of Le Pen winning the French presidential election.
Many I speak to here in France simply cannot understand why Brexit is taking place, many seem to think the British will come to their senses soon enough- I say to them "You don't know the power the UK tabloids have!"
Can I make a suggestion?
Translate the article in French and German and post/publish it here in Europe, I think you will be doing something very worthwhile.
Needless to say, I am horrified at the possibility of Le Pen winning the French presidential election.
7
The article mocks the headlines painting the "prospect of millions of Turks’ making their way to Britain if it stayed in the union". However, the agreements of the EU with Turkey to conclude the "refugee crisis" did contain notes about visa free travel.
Later the EU started to drag its feet on this issue. But one has to wonder whether that was always the intention or only a reaction to fierce resistance from the member states.
Later the EU started to drag its feet on this issue. But one has to wonder whether that was always the intention or only a reaction to fierce resistance from the member states.
1
To be quite honest I don't always believe everything I read in the newspapers instead I use my own judgement. When it comes to Brexit I voted to leave the EU and increasing believe I made the right decision. The actions of the EU to date, their vitriolic statements since the UK's decision last year can work two ways, it can frighten people or incense them.
1
Why is Brexit even a story anymore? The UK has put a pistol to their head and will in relatively short order twitch their collective trigger finger. That's what they wanted and now they will live with the consequences. It's their problem and not ours. We have enought to worry about, namely to keep our own nation intact, as if any one here even cares. Empires fade away and as they do they break back again into the cultural and language nationalies of which they were composed. Our turn is coming.
2
UK's tabloid press is "rubbish", as Brits themselves are wont to say. I wouldn't wrap a dead fish in Murdoch's "Sun", unless I hoped to poison my worst enemy.
2
"Don't stitch me up" says the man whose job it is to stitch people up. My Grandfather referred to his regular Daily Mail as a 'comic'. Sadly there is nothing comedic about the brain numbing lack of morality and ethics displayed by editors such as Gallagher and Mackenzie.
4
to be fair to your generally stereotyped and myopic writers an american would not have a clue about what is actually happening in europe. it is cultural and emotional, not economic. that is peripheral. the federalism in europe was never going to work and the only intended beneficiary was ever germany who now seem to have cornered themselves in their own perceived version of austerity which has nigh on destroyed greece, spain and italy. where it is not a great issue in britain leaving a club they never turned up at is one regards what will be "macronomics" who promises "reform" in a hidden agenda of brussels and bonn it is a more distinct and socially acceptable version of 'france first' a la soon to be impeached donny's 'america first.'
While there is no doubt that we in the UK are poorly served by our mass circulation newspapers - it is clear that the US is no more fortunate. This article contains much that is true - though carefully selected to serve an agenda, much that is opinion offered as fact(most bracketed entries)it omits most of the balancing benefits of a free press which while it makes mistakes- don't we all - serves to expose corruption, misrepresentation and incompetence in our elected representatives. I am willing to accept all of the inadequacies of a free press for their undoubted benefits, no democracy can afford to live without a sometimes, ill-mannered, often scurrilous but occasionally enormously effective press.
1
I love picking up the tabloid at Heathrow when passing through, it makes for great comic relief.
1
Rupert Murdoch is a scoundrel, who for the sake of empire is willing to pervert the information flow that directly reaches the most uneducated, gullible and incurious among us, thereby imperiling our naturally fragile liberal democracy. My disgust for him knows no end.
Was Hearst as bad as this? Talk about People of the Lie.
Was Hearst as bad as this? Talk about People of the Lie.
6
The concentration of newspaper ownership in the UK with Murdock and the Barclay brothers (who own the Daily Telegraph) controling the majority of newspapers means that the population is fed a completely biased view of reality. The Times and to a lesser extent the Telegraph were seen as relatively balanced in the their approach but after they were purchased by ideologues they moved sharply to the right. Only thanks to the BBC do the public have some countervailing coverage available but the right wing, as in the US, is trying to destroy even that. Perhaps the only way that press freedom can be ensured is to have some form of publicly financed media
2
Just as the British tabloids deal in stereotypes, so too do many of the people from outside the UK who pass their opinion on those tabloids without having taken and read them for a few years.
This article focuses on Brexit and Brexit, yet it ignores the facts that The Sun's main tabloid rival, The Mirror, campaigned against Brexit, as did the Daily Mail's Sunday edition. Although The Sun supported Brexit, Murdoch's other daily, The Times, opposed Brexit.
I read The Times and the Daily Mail every day in paper form and also on the web. I can assure you that the appeal of the Daily Mail (at least) is because of the breadth of its coverage - including sports coverage - not its politics. It is misleading to lump the Daily Mail and The Sun together as "tabloids", as the Daily Mail has long articles based on original investigative work, long opinion/analysis pieces from subject matter experts (not journalists) that appear the next day after major events as well as a Monday-Friday cycle of topics: Health on Tuesday, personal finance on Wednesday, the arts and literature on Friday etc.
Criticism of the British tabloids appears too often to be a surrogate for criticism of their readers, hiding behind criticism of the tabloid's wealthy owners or a self-congratulatory feeling of superiority by readers of "the quality press".
This article focuses on Brexit and Brexit, yet it ignores the facts that The Sun's main tabloid rival, The Mirror, campaigned against Brexit, as did the Daily Mail's Sunday edition. Although The Sun supported Brexit, Murdoch's other daily, The Times, opposed Brexit.
I read The Times and the Daily Mail every day in paper form and also on the web. I can assure you that the appeal of the Daily Mail (at least) is because of the breadth of its coverage - including sports coverage - not its politics. It is misleading to lump the Daily Mail and The Sun together as "tabloids", as the Daily Mail has long articles based on original investigative work, long opinion/analysis pieces from subject matter experts (not journalists) that appear the next day after major events as well as a Monday-Friday cycle of topics: Health on Tuesday, personal finance on Wednesday, the arts and literature on Friday etc.
Criticism of the British tabloids appears too often to be a surrogate for criticism of their readers, hiding behind criticism of the tabloid's wealthy owners or a self-congratulatory feeling of superiority by readers of "the quality press".
3
It seems to me that Mr Gallagher is merely a hard-working, if morally compromised, man who earns what is likely a very good salary to carry out the desires of the very wealthy Mr. Murdoch.
Perhaps there is an amount of money which would induce Mr, Gallagher to smear himself with his own excrement in public if Mr. Murdoch ordered him to do so. THEN things would start to be interesting. We'd all get to speculate on how much money Mr. Gallagher was paid.
Perhaps there is an amount of money which would induce Mr, Gallagher to smear himself with his own excrement in public if Mr. Murdoch ordered him to do so. THEN things would start to be interesting. We'd all get to speculate on how much money Mr. Gallagher was paid.
3
If these papers have such power why don't they tell us where Elvis really is?
Why is "fake news", in other words - intentionally lying in public with hidden agenda, not punishable? If the journal knowingly publishing 'fake news' is punished with a ten millions fine, and the journalist with degradation or dismissal, it will stop. Who can even manage trying to measure the damage the so-called journalists have cued their own country, Europe, and in the end, the entire world economy? And the fate of millions of people bound to these economic structures? Robespierrian measures are called for!
2
The article does not capture the historical contempt and cynicism most people have for their newspapers - and journalists - in the UK.
Scroll back through records in to the 19th Century. It was always a love-hate affair. But, mostly, hate. It has been a rumbustious business of scandal sheets and exposure. Have a look at how The Times, of all newspapers, targeted a widowed Queen Victoria in the 1860's. And no politicvan has ever been safe from censure.
There is also much hypocrisy. People in the UK mutter their contempt for our wide and varied so-called free Press, while regularly turning their own iPhones to film every awful incident and then trying to sell it.
National newspapers are bought here on a daily basis because they broadly reflect the personal views of the buyer, rather than the other way around.
Journalists, bristling with the self-important ego of an actor, always like to think they influence readers.
We do, occasionally, but not by very much...particularly with the bloody-minded Brits.
Scroll back through records in to the 19th Century. It was always a love-hate affair. But, mostly, hate. It has been a rumbustious business of scandal sheets and exposure. Have a look at how The Times, of all newspapers, targeted a widowed Queen Victoria in the 1860's. And no politicvan has ever been safe from censure.
There is also much hypocrisy. People in the UK mutter their contempt for our wide and varied so-called free Press, while regularly turning their own iPhones to film every awful incident and then trying to sell it.
National newspapers are bought here on a daily basis because they broadly reflect the personal views of the buyer, rather than the other way around.
Journalists, bristling with the self-important ego of an actor, always like to think they influence readers.
We do, occasionally, but not by very much...particularly with the bloody-minded Brits.
2
The fact that these tabloids lose money but are carried by their corporate parent, is all the proof one needs that they are just instruments for propaganda.
3
Rupert Murdoch has been and remains Lucifer incarnate. How much damage has this man done to journalism and critical thought. Marx had it so wrong- the tabloid press, not religion, is the opiate of the people. And, like all opiates, it pleasures, then dulls, then kills.
4
To have the editor of the Sun confirm that cool heads prevail at The New York Times, is a sincere compliment for your organization, I think!
2
Mr. MacKenzie just doesn't seem to know when to stop. But, Kelvin, here The New York Times have "GOTCHA!" with "THE TRUTH".
It's a funny old world.
It's a funny old world.
I can't emphasis how much of a rag the Sun is. It's an embarrassment to the UK.
1
What people like the ones who voted for Brexit and some of those who voted for Trump don't realize, is that they are being taken for a ride by individuals who use them for their own purpose. And sadly their purpose has nothing to do with programs but with self-interest. We can, more or less, deal with the "ideology pure" because they have a tendency to isolate themselves within their own bubble, but it is the go-getters, the ones who are out to get as much as they can for themselves, those who are willing to shift with wind, that are hard to pin down.
Like the millionaires that Trump has put in charge of his administration, the billionaire Murdoch has put a bunch of cynics in charge of "defending" the rights of the have-nots.
Like the millionaires that Trump has put in charge of his administration, the billionaire Murdoch has put a bunch of cynics in charge of "defending" the rights of the have-nots.
55
Let's keep in mind that the tabloids and Murdoch do what they do not to further an agenda but, rather, to make money by furthering an agenda that readers and viewers seek out. Rush Limbaugh makes $50 million each year not because he leads people astray but because enough people choose to listen to him that companies will pay through the nose to advertise on his show.
It's business. If you want to effect media change, then you need to organize boycotts of the sponsors, and that likely means giving up products and services you otherwise might be likely to purchase. There is no free lunch.
It's business. If you want to effect media change, then you need to organize boycotts of the sponsors, and that likely means giving up products and services you otherwise might be likely to purchase. There is no free lunch.
70
Not....quite....correct. All people have to do to shutdown Fox News is stop paying for it through their cable or satellite subscriptions. Tell your supplier you don't want any tier with Fox News in it or insist that they take out the Fox News fee from your monthly payment. Simple.
Murdoch doesn't just distort for money, he distorts to support his business interests. He is like a government unto himself, shaping the beliefs of people to get more power and money.
Murdoch doesn't just distort for money, he distorts to support his business interests. He is like a government unto himself, shaping the beliefs of people to get more power and money.
2
It is more complicated than that: in the 70s and 80s, Murdoch made a lot of money from the Sun, which he used to subsidise the Times (a broadsheet newspaper which lost money but was politically influential) and his nascent satellite broadcasting operation. Now it's the TV side that makes they money: as this article notes, he loses money on his papers, presumably he sticks with them because they give him influence.
But Murduch is losing millions of pounds a year at it, not making money. So the agenda is different, and hidden, and therein lies the rub.
What is the essence of cynicism?
And why is it familiar to these American ears?
And why is it familiar to these American ears?
7
The idea that these tabloids, like Fox News here, don't lead opinion in the direction they want it to go is laughable. They do so first by distorting fact. They do so by repetitive coverage of issues they know people are concerned about and they help shape the view of those issues.
Here's the deal: people don't know what to think. Why should they? Someone who lives in Wyoming or the north of England has no idea what is happening in the nation's capital other than that which is brought to him or her in reporting. If that reporting bends sharply one way, and there is no counter information, the person will believe what is read or reported, especially if the report is bent toward pre-existing attitudes.
European media generally make little pretense of objectivity. That's not their stated purpose. They analyze (slant) the news toward the reporter's conclusions and if you work at a right wing newspaper, those conclusions had better be in that direction, too.
Objectivity in our own country allows lies to be passed off as truth because reporters are obligated to repeat what the powerful say. This is the devil's bargain that allowed media in America to grow into a multi-billion dollar industry. This is why the powerful tolerated television's intrusion into news in the 20th century. The powerful knew it could hurt them, but doing so was unlikely, not the default option but the last one.
To my eyes, British reporting isn't even reporting at all. It is politics by another name.
Here's the deal: people don't know what to think. Why should they? Someone who lives in Wyoming or the north of England has no idea what is happening in the nation's capital other than that which is brought to him or her in reporting. If that reporting bends sharply one way, and there is no counter information, the person will believe what is read or reported, especially if the report is bent toward pre-existing attitudes.
European media generally make little pretense of objectivity. That's not their stated purpose. They analyze (slant) the news toward the reporter's conclusions and if you work at a right wing newspaper, those conclusions had better be in that direction, too.
Objectivity in our own country allows lies to be passed off as truth because reporters are obligated to repeat what the powerful say. This is the devil's bargain that allowed media in America to grow into a multi-billion dollar industry. This is why the powerful tolerated television's intrusion into news in the 20th century. The powerful knew it could hurt them, but doing so was unlikely, not the default option but the last one.
To my eyes, British reporting isn't even reporting at all. It is politics by another name.
87
Brexit is old news. Frexit is a real possibility with Marine Le Pen, surging in the polls and running a passionate campaign even thought the polls show she is far behind. The trifecta of surprises is a real possibility with polls being proven wrong. With remembrance of Joan d'Arc (Joan of Arc) yesterday and French nationalism at its peak in recent times, I will not be surprised with president Marine Le Pen as the first woman president of France as early as this weekend.
5
"Brexit is old news"?????? It's old news in that the weather is old in the sense that it's been a topic of news for a long time but Brexit, like the weather, remains contemporary news and is likely to remain so for many years to come because the UK government's response to what took place on 23 June 2016 was to begin a long and painful process of national self-destruction. I suspect Brexit will only be "old news" after that destruction has taken place and after England re-joins the EU but only time will tell.
Some British people have known and seen this for years. Attitudes like this swamping minds, getting worse, in UK and America.
UK "Press" has 3 foul poisonous tongues for each "branch" of the still strong "Class System".Readership has fallen, but websites are heavily used. It has been a steady drip-drip for decades.
1. The Sun - lower working class & unemployed
2. The Daily Mail - upper working &lower middle class
3. Daily Telegraph - middle class and the rest
1. Owned by Rupert Murdoch (right-wing Australian - lives nowhere): 2 Instructed and owned by aristocrat Rothermere family: 3. Barclay Brothers. Foul right wing demagogues who do not live in Britain.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Harmsworth,_4th_Viscount_Rothermere
2 of the 3 are organs of hatred, spouting bile & lies (Sun and Mail). The DT is a bastion of right wing conservatism for more educated readers.
Major reason for BREXIT, not "mirroring" readers but caused much hate, through lies. They will ruined a country's future to get a "European Singapore" for business interests, tax avoidance. London offshore haven.
These men care nothing British people, simply used them. Similar in America. To reverse this will take time/effort. If it is not reversed, game over & Sheldon Wolin's "Inverted Totalitarian" kleptocracy.
"Lack of Goodness is nothingness; so death is the absence of life. When man no longer receives life, he dies. Darkness is the absence of light: when there is no light, there is darkness" - Bahá'í
UK "Press" has 3 foul poisonous tongues for each "branch" of the still strong "Class System".Readership has fallen, but websites are heavily used. It has been a steady drip-drip for decades.
1. The Sun - lower working class & unemployed
2. The Daily Mail - upper working &lower middle class
3. Daily Telegraph - middle class and the rest
1. Owned by Rupert Murdoch (right-wing Australian - lives nowhere): 2 Instructed and owned by aristocrat Rothermere family: 3. Barclay Brothers. Foul right wing demagogues who do not live in Britain.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Harmsworth,_4th_Viscount_Rothermere
2 of the 3 are organs of hatred, spouting bile & lies (Sun and Mail). The DT is a bastion of right wing conservatism for more educated readers.
Major reason for BREXIT, not "mirroring" readers but caused much hate, through lies. They will ruined a country's future to get a "European Singapore" for business interests, tax avoidance. London offshore haven.
These men care nothing British people, simply used them. Similar in America. To reverse this will take time/effort. If it is not reversed, game over & Sheldon Wolin's "Inverted Totalitarian" kleptocracy.
"Lack of Goodness is nothingness; so death is the absence of life. When man no longer receives life, he dies. Darkness is the absence of light: when there is no light, there is darkness" - Bahá'í
30
Every media is unified on one point. Zionism. This is the reality behind the iron fist in the velvet glove.
I had met Mr. MacKenzie a week earlier to ask about those headlines. “Your front pages were sometimes funny and sometimes outrageous,” I began, at which point he interrupted and said, “And sometimes untrue!” - did MacKenzie say that with a smile on his face?? I'm disappointed that an article that gives this odious invidual such a platform for his so-called genius headline writing skills didn't even mention his most infamous effort: 'Hillsborough, The Truth' when in the aftermath of Britain's worst football (soccer) disaster which resulted in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans in 1989 MacKenzie led his rag with the aforementioned headline. This deliberate lie blamed the fans for the tragedy and amongst other vile accusations accused fans of stealing from the dead and urinating on police officers. He not only slandered a football team but a whole city and in turn changed many people's attitudes from one of sympathy and solidarity with Liverpool to a negative and hostile reaction which prevented the real story from being told and justice for the 96. Here's a challenge for the NYT reporter - go to Liverpool and try to buy a copy of the S*n, I look forward to reading how you got on. #JFT96
What a load of tosh, do you really think that British people slavishly believe everything they read in the papers! Especially a paper such as the sun, which blatantly lied about Hillsborough disaster causing untold grief to an already suffering city. I note no mention of this!
The only use for this paper is wrapping chips!
As for other tabloids, I believe that most people read them only to pass the time. If anyone is looking for a reason to vote a certain way I'd say discussion with their friends, neighbours and watching news programmes are far more likely to influence people. I'd say this was a very lazy piece written without care to fill a slot, I expect more from NYTimes!!!
The only use for this paper is wrapping chips!
As for other tabloids, I believe that most people read them only to pass the time. If anyone is looking for a reason to vote a certain way I'd say discussion with their friends, neighbours and watching news programmes are far more likely to influence people. I'd say this was a very lazy piece written without care to fill a slot, I expect more from NYTimes!!!
The S*n is one of the most hated newspapers in Britain and a lot of people boycott it for the lies it has told in the past. In Liverpool it is virtually non-existent because of the lies it told about the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. I know lots of people who are Conservative supporters who also find this tabloid to be distasteful and it isn't hard to see why with the hate it projects.
51
This is what you get when everything is for sale and all buyers are welcome. Make sure you save some for Erdogan, Putin, and China.
14
In other words, sensationalism sells. Elsewhere, the New York Times merely deigned to make that headline "Water is wet." But they don't need lawyers in their meetings because they have all the news that's fit to print and at The Sun, they have all the news that provokes. If The Sun is a mere reflection and all those middle English voters were as informed as The Sun wishes for them to be why was the most searched internet item the day following the election "What is the E.U.?" And here in the U.S. we're willing to go down in flames and nuclear fallout because that's better than someone with some questionable emails.
People who think there was no Russian interference in our elections because there was no evidence of people with wrenches crawling out from under the voting machines had our own Sun, and it's not even The National Enquirer anymore, it's Fox News, Brietbart and Alex Jones telling people that. So many are still completely sure that Clinton lost on merits, never once believing that maybe it was all merely the spread of false assertions that made the U.S. loathe so much the most qualified person that ever ran for office in favor of someone with more entertainment value. You don't have to personally like the most qualified candidate, only be mature enough to vote for them. But now it's all a popularity contest and we've got spinners and banner-writers instead of policy makers and protectors. Immaturity and integrity don't know each other.
People who think there was no Russian interference in our elections because there was no evidence of people with wrenches crawling out from under the voting machines had our own Sun, and it's not even The National Enquirer anymore, it's Fox News, Brietbart and Alex Jones telling people that. So many are still completely sure that Clinton lost on merits, never once believing that maybe it was all merely the spread of false assertions that made the U.S. loathe so much the most qualified person that ever ran for office in favor of someone with more entertainment value. You don't have to personally like the most qualified candidate, only be mature enough to vote for them. But now it's all a popularity contest and we've got spinners and banner-writers instead of policy makers and protectors. Immaturity and integrity don't know each other.
97
I regularly read the Daily Mail, Express and Mirror.
The Mail, in particular, fans the flames of jingoism and xenophobia. It's red meat for white nationalists. It's a disgusting, low-brow mix of hate and misinformation.
The Mail, in particular, fans the flames of jingoism and xenophobia. It's red meat for white nationalists. It's a disgusting, low-brow mix of hate and misinformation.
19
Why not try the Guardian instead?
1
The tabloids are dying as subscribers flee while they continue to march the country towards the Brexit fire.
7
For the left if the "news" favors the right its propaganda. For the right if the "news" favors the left it's propaganda. And both sides are correct. Although The left is way heavier into propaganda then the right only because most of the " news" organizations are lefty. The right doesn't go to college for journalism. They get into business and such. Journalism in college is almost all left. College teachers and administration is mostly left by a wide margin. What state capitol district in any state voted republican? If the area is full of government workers and educational institutions the vote is democrat all the time.
I have three kids in college and they no better then to say they voted for Trump. It would effect there grades. I think the biggest reason the pollsters got the vote wrong in WI is because people were afraid to tell the truth because of fear of getting an earful from fanatic democrats.
I have three kids in college and they no better then to say they voted for Trump. It would effect there grades. I think the biggest reason the pollsters got the vote wrong in WI is because people were afraid to tell the truth because of fear of getting an earful from fanatic democrats.
14
(1) "Righties" go into business.
(2) News organizations are businesses.
Wouldn't "Righties" own news organizations and, as owners, set the agenda for the propaganda, like the Murdochs do with Fox News? All those "Lefty" employees can become purveyors of "Righty" propaganda or go look for another job.
(2) News organizations are businesses.
Wouldn't "Righties" own news organizations and, as owners, set the agenda for the propaganda, like the Murdochs do with Fox News? All those "Lefty" employees can become purveyors of "Righty" propaganda or go look for another job.
In general, Jim -- I don't believe you.
I mean, I can believe that your three kids in college might be afraid to say they were for Trump, though it's hard to imagine what class the subject would come up in. But I doubt that their grades would suffer.
And I doubt anybody in Wisconsin was afraid to tell the truth about their support of Trump. They seem to be especially proud of their support. Right now, months after the election, they're still squealing with glee over it.
I mean, I can believe that your three kids in college might be afraid to say they were for Trump, though it's hard to imagine what class the subject would come up in. But I doubt that their grades would suffer.
And I doubt anybody in Wisconsin was afraid to tell the truth about their support of Trump. They seem to be especially proud of their support. Right now, months after the election, they're still squealing with glee over it.
"The left is way heavier into propaganda then the right only because most of the " news" organizations are lefty."
Please. You apparently failed to read the article. A bad start to any review.
Please. You apparently failed to read the article. A bad start to any review.
Kelvin MacKenzie - the little scamp, Ooooh and some
6
Keep your eye on the Murdoch ball. As if the phone hacking scandal wasn't enough, and they nearly kicked him out of the country over it, he's here too pushing his political agenda via loud headlines, loud mouths and repetition.
The "little Englanders" have much in common with our Trumpsters--funny, that. No one can say what one reads/listens to daily doesn't affect the nation. And one man understood that. One extravagantly wealthy man.
Sky News deal with Rupert cannot be allowed to proceed. The man's a menace to free society.
The "little Englanders" have much in common with our Trumpsters--funny, that. No one can say what one reads/listens to daily doesn't affect the nation. And one man understood that. One extravagantly wealthy man.
Sky News deal with Rupert cannot be allowed to proceed. The man's a menace to free society.
26
It's really insulting to be subjected to a string of disjointed anecdotes like spun out at great length in this article that don't add up to a hill of beans. Trump, Brexit, LePen, don't you. NYT, see what's really going on in the world? The deep social malaise caused by globalization, open borders, technological progress. People feel threatened, often with good reason, they are scared and they are running for pat remedies served up by malevolent, ignorant but crafty demagogues. This is what's gripping Western societies. The superficial manifestations shouldn't be mistaken for the root causes.
19
It has always been thus - the 'Plebs' in Roman times, while not concerned with globalisation (or maybe they were, as the Roman Empire expanded!), were concerned with what 'Plebs' today are - providing for themselves and their families, working, but not to exhaustion, keeping themselves free of disease and pain, and bringing up their children to live a secure and comfortable life. Roman 'Plebs' could be persuaded to back the Senator or politician who promised them the best living and the best fun - 'Bread and Circuses' were promised, and sometimes delivered, in return for power and the accompanying opportunities for graft and ill-gotten wealth. Today, Murdoch, Rothermere, The Barclays and the other Brit tabloid proprietors are acting as mouthpieces and 'Circus'-providers for those who seek power and wealth on the back of today's 'Plebs' - and, in return, get to share in the wealth and power. Murdoch plays the same role in the US with Fox 'News'.
The people that caused the malaise: CEO's sending the jobs to third world countries; venture capitalists (now reinvented as "private equity") buying up healthy companies with money on their books and "re-capitalizing" them until they are bankrupt; industrialists who had their paid for Congress rewrite the laws and regulations to favor them and their profits (thank you, Citizens United) and especially the taxes they paid, or did not pay and that allows them to offshore trillions with the rest of the global 1% in a hidden economy that only they are privy to, that we know about, but which the law does nothing about even after they read the Panama Papers and then tut tut and go about the business of serving their masters, the ones who send them big re-election dollars. Then they buy newspapers and tv stations and talk radio and tell you the immigrants took your jobs. Divert, smoke and mirrors, don't look at the man behind the curtain.
1
In the shadow of Trump it's tempting to link Brexit to the "wave of populism" (for it was he who christened himself 'Mr Brexit').
It's nonsense though. Brexit was a steady dripfeed of Brussels negativity that played straight into that isolationist, superior streak that lurks in the back of every British citizen's brain. Yes, I include myself there. You ask, inciting or following? It's inciting. Solely the press? No - politicians exploited it too, far better to blame incorrect predictions, rises in unemployment or poor economic growth on problems created by the great EU-bogeyman. Then there's the hypocrisy - Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail, spends his days vomiting bile onto the pages of his vile anti-EU newspaper and his weekends raking in EU grants to help fish farms on his Scottish estate!
The tabloids and Brexiteers: destroying the country, bending democracy and exploiting an angry unhappy populace to go along with plans that will enrich themselves yet not the voters who will see their public services sold off, their jobs sent abroad and their taxes increased. Now an election that will basically be a coronation, enabling May to steamroller over any pretence to democracy Parliament ever had. "The will of the people" only really counts when the people have had all the facts and not an elaborate smokescreen - maybe if I wrote it on a big red bus MPs would understand? What utter utter stupidity, and with nowhere to run.
It's nonsense though. Brexit was a steady dripfeed of Brussels negativity that played straight into that isolationist, superior streak that lurks in the back of every British citizen's brain. Yes, I include myself there. You ask, inciting or following? It's inciting. Solely the press? No - politicians exploited it too, far better to blame incorrect predictions, rises in unemployment or poor economic growth on problems created by the great EU-bogeyman. Then there's the hypocrisy - Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail, spends his days vomiting bile onto the pages of his vile anti-EU newspaper and his weekends raking in EU grants to help fish farms on his Scottish estate!
The tabloids and Brexiteers: destroying the country, bending democracy and exploiting an angry unhappy populace to go along with plans that will enrich themselves yet not the voters who will see their public services sold off, their jobs sent abroad and their taxes increased. Now an election that will basically be a coronation, enabling May to steamroller over any pretence to democracy Parliament ever had. "The will of the people" only really counts when the people have had all the facts and not an elaborate smokescreen - maybe if I wrote it on a big red bus MPs would understand? What utter utter stupidity, and with nowhere to run.
17
As much as a free press is important, the currents that drive paying readership can create a conflict of interest that is ultimately damaging to the country and to democracy itself.
The people deserve to be informed of facts, not of propaganda.
The people deserve to be informed of facts, not of propaganda.
6
Gallagher is a liar, not a journalist, and the Sun is simply a Brit version of the checkout stand tabloilds at US grocery stores. Gallagher revels in peddling paranoia, lies and hatred without regard for the truth... and he -- like Trump -- makes bank by normalizing peoples' hatred of other who are unlike themselves. He should be ashamed of himself.
18
The creative, intelligent English press is clearly alive. Mr. Gallagher's truthspeak comments about the American press says it all - - The American press is unimaginative, ignorant, dead..
9
Creative isn't what's needed in news. It's accurate and truthful that's required, and Gallagher's rag is not that.
36
Spot on Dan! Unfortunately, my view is that many many people in the UK are unable to distinguish fact from fiction, the headline must be right and say I believe that. If a sales pitch on the TV sells one something in a 20 second sales pitch what does constant bombardment of untruths do?
History of Europe can give some answers to that problem. The NYT article should be splashed on the front page of every newspaper in the UK.
History of Europe can give some answers to that problem. The NYT article should be splashed on the front page of every newspaper in the UK.
Some of the saddest people I ever knew - in the sense of being deeply, aggressively disappointed in themselves - worked for News Ltd.
15
Being a Brit in Brexit Land I actually don't believe the influence of the British press has the same clout it had say 10 or 20 years ago. Yes the news hacks will say that the UK press has an important role to play. However we've never had so much TV and Radio exposure as we do nowadays in the UK. It wasn't so long ago that the voice of the nation was more or less exclusively only heard via the BBC. Nowadays we have constant national radio coverage from Commercial rivals. The voice and the opinions of the masses have never had so much exposure since the election was announced. I for one have not bought a British newspaper in ages. I subscribe to the NYT to get a US perspective on events both domestically within the US as well as International. Personally I hate the press within the UK. The Daily Mail aimed solidly at the over 60 Conservative with it's safe, cosy view of perfection. The Sun aimed at white van man. The guy who munches on his McDonalds then stuffs the wrapper between the windshield and dash whilst he races between jobs. The guy who gets his brief on last nights match with a tiny scattering of political comment. The Daily Express obsessed with extreme weather and sensationalist headlines. The Star - if anyone has a brain then that's one to totally avoid. Nope! In my opinion the nations popular views will be shaped by the broadcast media and not by the tabloids rolling off the press here in the UK.
6
Looks like Albion is finally being eaten by its Yellow Press. Good. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, after all. When it is eaten, and the island ever more isolated and emptied as the result of the ill aftereffects of decades of ingestion of unpalatable tabloid "journalism", I am sure the Government of Great Britain (or what is left of it by that time), can perhaps qualify to apply for foreign aid from the Governments in Berlin and Paris (in that order). Or, in case sanity has not suffered too much from ill-fated ingestion, maybe even admit to them it wants to come back into the EU. If it has not become the US' 51st State by then - but the latter is, of course, mere speculation...;-)
1
"....taking back control, and a sense that, as a country, we were no longer able to control our destiny,”
these words remind me of the famous "Tryst with destiny" speech by Nehru , the first PM of independent India , on the eve of Indian independence from British.
Hmm... history repeating itself?
are the British now thinking that they are under the the yoke of colonization, or say, immigration?
these words remind me of the famous "Tryst with destiny" speech by Nehru , the first PM of independent India , on the eve of Indian independence from British.
Hmm... history repeating itself?
are the British now thinking that they are under the the yoke of colonization, or say, immigration?
It is about time that Mr. Rupert Murdoch's US citizenship revoked and sent back to his country of birth - Australia. He has harmed our beloved planet - EARTH.
10
Their coverage of immigration issues couldn't possibly be more distorted than that of the New York Times, which runs thousands of articles extolling the supposed benefits of large-scale uncontrolled immigration and hardly runs anything acknowledging the costs of it.
12
let those who didn't care to be stung by the consequences!! The next time they might remember to vote!!
3
If it helps, I can pretty much assure the assistant chef at The Sun that his kitchen will be staffed by exactly the same people as it is now.
The idea that in March 2019 Britain will be herding Europeans onto the Eurostar like some grotesque parody of Schindler's List is as ridiculous as anything Ms Berthold accuses the tabloid press of.
The idea that in March 2019 Britain will be herding Europeans onto the Eurostar like some grotesque parody of Schindler's List is as ridiculous as anything Ms Berthold accuses the tabloid press of.
4
Boy, talk about the pot calling the kettle black, the subtext of this piece couldn't be more thinly veiled, i.e. Brexit is the result of stupid people who get their information from stupid media, because we all know that people who want the country they reside in to retain sovereign control over immigration and trade are just a bunch of troglodytes, clinging to an atavistic notions of the nation state. I'm sorry, but all the tarted up, ivy league writing in the world can't hide the fact that the New York Times is now the FOX News of the left/center. Where is Jill Abramson and the real, unbiased reporting she fostered when we need it? Guess that had to make way for all those soft focus fluff pieces about all the happy Syrians living peacefully in Germany and Canada.
11
Thank you for saying this; the puff coverage of Syrians is just despicable.
3
“Every populist editor will tell you, ‘We are merely reflecting and articulating the public views,’ ” said Mr. Greenslade, now a journalism professor at City University of London. “But they are publishing inaccuracies and distortions which help people to feel the way they’re feeling.”
-----
All being played like cheap guitars from the corner pawn shop, a universal condition of vulnerability. And, bless 'em, they have the vote that Murdoch and Fox want. Ain't democracy grand ?
-----
All being played like cheap guitars from the corner pawn shop, a universal condition of vulnerability. And, bless 'em, they have the vote that Murdoch and Fox want. Ain't democracy grand ?
11
Thank you Katrin Bennhold for an informative and insightful piece.
My reaction was.... Ahh this explains it; the tone and relentless coverage, fake news headlines, "publishing inaccuracies and distortions which help people to feel the way they are feeling"- that describes it perfectly. I'm talking not about Brexit, but about the same tabloid media's portrayal of the issues surrounding diesel cars and car makers in Britain and the EU over the last 18 months. Where any published quasi-science paper now matter how insignificant is inflated like a balloon, as if a cure to mans worst disease, not based in fact -- but to drive their desired narrative. Some of the issues there- especially certain cheating scandals - are real and deserved the heaping critique they received, but most everything else was always aimed over the top. No other points of view are welcome. Ironically, a favorite word at one of the Tabloids -- even noted in their "use policies" -- is one they don't understand (toxic) but use prolifically.
Good journalism is really important for all of us. This story gives new appreciation for what that is.
My reaction was.... Ahh this explains it; the tone and relentless coverage, fake news headlines, "publishing inaccuracies and distortions which help people to feel the way they are feeling"- that describes it perfectly. I'm talking not about Brexit, but about the same tabloid media's portrayal of the issues surrounding diesel cars and car makers in Britain and the EU over the last 18 months. Where any published quasi-science paper now matter how insignificant is inflated like a balloon, as if a cure to mans worst disease, not based in fact -- but to drive their desired narrative. Some of the issues there- especially certain cheating scandals - are real and deserved the heaping critique they received, but most everything else was always aimed over the top. No other points of view are welcome. Ironically, a favorite word at one of the Tabloids -- even noted in their "use policies" -- is one they don't understand (toxic) but use prolifically.
Good journalism is really important for all of us. This story gives new appreciation for what that is.
3
Are you, Allen, suggesting diesel is not poisonous, is not damaging the air of our cities, and that diesel manufacturers have not lied in the order of 10 to 30- times in order of magnitude about the impact of their products on the air we breathe, in order to circumvent our laws?
The scandal is not the red tops campaigning. It is government - central government, not london's mayor - sweeping the issue under the corporate table.
The scandal is not the red tops campaigning. It is government - central government, not london's mayor - sweeping the issue under the corporate table.
1
Clearly there are emissions issues in London. Certainly diesel contributes to that, as do all other sources of emissions. Manufacturers met the standards in place at the time, which were less stringent than the US on NOx emissions. The testing system in the EU/UK is extraordinarily different, and regulators and industry in the EU were working on closing the gap between real world driving and lab testing certifications. Everyone (air quality regulators and industry and other stakeholders) knew full well then and knows now that lab tests aren't representative of the real world driving conditions for any fueled vehicle in any setting- hence your "10x to 30 x more emissions"... than certified.
My point was the demonizing of the technology by the media. There really are generations of diesel that are super clean and near zero emissions- we have them here in the US right now. I can't speak to your conclusions about "the scandal" .
My point was the demonizing of the technology by the media. There really are generations of diesel that are super clean and near zero emissions- we have them here in the US right now. I can't speak to your conclusions about "the scandal" .
Haven't read most of it yet but "the more midmarket Daily Mail"? Yes, that right-wing piece of garbage. If I found a copy in the gutter I would want to wash the gutter.
15
The British tabloids created the idea of news as entertainment. That has spread to some American news papers and certain US news channels. But it does have some very good daily newspapers Guardian, Telegraph, Times and Independent. But certain tabloids main focus is profit by entertainment not news. This has made certain people very rich. A lot like junk food, I think of it as junk news. It has the same results in the brain as does junk food on the body.
The problem is that some of the British public just like our president has been feed a diet of junk news so that he no longer knows what real news is. This results in large portions of the population being disconnected from reality.
The problem is that some of the British public just like our president has been feed a diet of junk news so that he no longer knows what real news is. This results in large portions of the population being disconnected from reality.
11
To set the balance people such as Nigel Farage will portray the UK as a country hungry to exit the EU. I'm sure this continues to be endorsed by President Trump as our Nigel popped up at his election rally. The real truth is that just under half the country preferred to remain within the EU. The tabloid press is an ever diminishing feature within the UK. Those who continue to get their news from these ghastly daily 'rags' are the ones who more than likely yearn for a return to the so called 'good old days' before we joined the then Common Market. More and more influential news within the UK is digested via the airwaves and not by the press.
6
The British have a proud culture that many in Britain feel has been put in grave danger due to the influx of 'refugees'. The British commitment to BRIXIT is the primary driver in immigration.
Their culture and heritage is at risk. This is the actual and very understandable reason behind the BRIXIT vote.
Their culture and heritage is at risk. This is the actual and very understandable reason behind the BRIXIT vote.
4
It's Brexit not Brixit, and when, for example, the Daily Mail puts photos of High Court judges on the front page under the headline "Enemies of the People', or complains about Parliament's being allowed a vote on crucial issues, it's flying in the face of culture and tradition.
11
I would not call it pride nor call it British but I would call it English arrogance and it is this misplaced belief in English exceptionalism that is the cancer that led to Brexit. Until it's lanced from the English identity, it's hard to see how the country can move forward to a brighter future.
Remember when Great Britain was a world power?
Then came "Britain First".
Then came "Britain First".
8
News when it informs instead of agitates is often dull, all those details and qualifiers which must be included to make the story accurate. This may be the reason Mr. Gallager found the NYT headline writing sessions dull too. The Sun needs to have lawyers present when it writes headlines because they often skirt the truth which activates libel laws. The real question remains: what is the prupose of a newspaper to inform or to tittilate to report the news or to make the news? Nuance is not the same as innuendo which is the Sun's specialty. They have had their moment in the sun (pun intended) but with readership down by over 3 million and the red ink mounting, how much longer can they continue,especially now that Rupert Murdoch is turning his empire over to his son?. Both men, unlike their father, seem to be motivated by profit not power.
13
to understand Brexit look at the tabloids
to understand Trump look at twitter
how will politics evolve from here?
to understand Trump look at twitter
how will politics evolve from here?
14
Like Hillary trying trying to figure out why she lost the Presidency, its quite humorous to watch all the Socialist, one-world government crowd try to figure out how the Brexit happened. It is quite simple. People who have been paying the price for the implementation and failure of global Socialism are sick and tired of it. It is not unelected, overpaid, bureaucrats who are losing their jobs and being raped and murdered throughout Europe, it is the common people and they are fed up. It really is that simple.
10
Those pesky unelected beauracrats! *shakes fist* does anyone ever actually have anyone in mind when they say that?
So William, you too swallow the lies. Where are these rapes and murders throughout Europe? Reported crime figures give lie to your claims but I guess sitting in Ohio you have to swallow what you are fed. Sad.
1
Some years ago when Thatcher was in power and about to run for re-election, Rupert Murtdoch let it be known that he would be at Heathrow airport for a few hours prior to departing for the States. In response, all three party leaders rushed out to Heathrow to genuflect (separately) and try to persuade RM to have The SUN support him or her.
Thatcher's was the winning bid. Soon after being re-elected, she arranged for a waiver of the prohibition on cross-ownership of print and t.v. media - for Rupert. The piece of Sky that he is trying to buy now is the part he didn't get then. That is one reason it is so controversial. It would consolidate ownership while a bad smell still surrounds the original acquisition. All of this derives from the power of one tabloid, The SUN.
Thatcher's was the winning bid. Soon after being re-elected, she arranged for a waiver of the prohibition on cross-ownership of print and t.v. media - for Rupert. The piece of Sky that he is trying to buy now is the part he didn't get then. That is one reason it is so controversial. It would consolidate ownership while a bad smell still surrounds the original acquisition. All of this derives from the power of one tabloid, The SUN.
10
"Yet The Sun sells only 1.6 million copies today (more than 80 percent of them outside London and the country’s wealthy southeast), down from a peak of 4.7 million in the mid-1990s. It lost more than £60 million, about $75 million, last year."
You can't really measure readership for newspapers purely in terms of print circulation anymore. I have mostly come across British tabloids via links people post on Facebook, and I do not live in the UK. I can only imagine British people are far more inundated. I found these tabloid articles to be highly inflammatory and pretty inaccurate. However, the headlines are even worse. They are the worst examples of clickbait. They misrepresent not just the facts, but the contents of the article itself.
There are a lot of people who absorb news only through headlines without ever reading the article, evidenced by a famous experiment where people reacted to an outrageous headline on the PBS website when the body of the article indicated clearly it was an April Fool's Joke. In measuring the impact of tabloids, I think this effect of disseminating fake news via headlines in social media has to be taken into consideration.
You can't really measure readership for newspapers purely in terms of print circulation anymore. I have mostly come across British tabloids via links people post on Facebook, and I do not live in the UK. I can only imagine British people are far more inundated. I found these tabloid articles to be highly inflammatory and pretty inaccurate. However, the headlines are even worse. They are the worst examples of clickbait. They misrepresent not just the facts, but the contents of the article itself.
There are a lot of people who absorb news only through headlines without ever reading the article, evidenced by a famous experiment where people reacted to an outrageous headline on the PBS website when the body of the article indicated clearly it was an April Fool's Joke. In measuring the impact of tabloids, I think this effect of disseminating fake news via headlines in social media has to be taken into consideration.
28
The readers, of the tabloids, think the FT (the NYTimes rough equivalent) has a 'striking grip on power". Thinks they are just as biased, as the tabloids. The FT types think the tabloids are populist troublemakers. The tabloid readers, some of them, anyway, think the FT (and the Times) mouth pieces for Davos Neoliberalism.
And in the mean time, both nations sink, the UK and the USA.
And in the mean time, both nations sink, the UK and the USA.
6
I love the British press -- all of it -- from the completely disgraceful Mirror to the surprisingly interesting and informative Daily Mail and, of course, the totally English Daily Telegraph. Even the Guardian offers unique viewpoints. I find their human focus a welcome change from the judgmental "grey lady" of American journalism -- the New York Times.
14
I guess it's more entertaining to read things that show no evidence of judgment.
5
For Murdoch it has always been about seeking the lowest common denominator which is sensationalism and not about the news or truth and all in a drive to make money regardless of who it hurts. He is immoral.
6
To understand Brexit see how an Iranian terrorist who took hostages at the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1980 and was the only survivor (which was famously broken up in a televised SAS raid) - and which killed hostages and a police officer, is mandated to have to stay in the UK and cannot be deported to Iran due to the European Court. He is staying in the UK, is on disability due to a bad back and is living off the taxpayer. You can't make this stuff up.
13
What?
5
You absolutely CAN make it up. You can make anything up and, in 2017, pass it off as "news" on the internet.
The EU court's ruling is based on European Convention on Human Rights, to which the U.K. Is a signatory. The ELECTED UK government signed the treaty. Nothing in the ruling says anything about the guy's bad back, by the way. Even assuming that part is true, don't blame the EU.
But thanks for giving a very fine example of how tabloid style false headlines, propagated through social media, lead to Brexit.
The EU court's ruling is based on European Convention on Human Rights, to which the U.K. Is a signatory. The ELECTED UK government signed the treaty. Nothing in the ruling says anything about the guy's bad back, by the way. Even assuming that part is true, don't blame the EU.
But thanks for giving a very fine example of how tabloid style false headlines, propagated through social media, lead to Brexit.
2
The European Court of Human Rights has nothing to do with the EU - or Brexit. The UK is a founder member of the ECHR and is the author of its charter - and will continue to be subject to the ECHR after Brexit. The "Iranian Terrorist" is allowed asylum status under the ECHR, not the EU, due to the likelihood that Iran would execute him. European states, including the UK, do not deport people to the USA who might face execution - under the same ECHR principles. Your comment illustrates the type of ignorance that caused many Brits to vote for Brexit, unfortunately.
gigo. Garbage in garbage out. This is the ultimate weakness of all democracies.
The day the US allows unfettered immigration from all of the American landmass is the day I will respect an opinion that Brexit is for racists. The UK population has to allow this . We also see the failure of the Euro and the devastation it has wreaked on the club med countries. The EU is non democratic it imposes referenda until it gets the answer it wants or simply ignores them as it did with France.
20
Hey England! Take lots of pictures as you begin circling the drain and finally slip beneath the waters of your royal flush. Such pictures will be a great deal like watching a car wreck.
Have a good trip, and remember your carry on when you bail.
Have a good trip, and remember your carry on when you bail.
3
"Mirroring or Inciting Readers?" In the U.S. this is an equally strange phenomenon. Many centers of what is pure "entertainment" or "news" according to the vendor (broadcaster) or even the viewer, more closely fit the definition of "sect" or "philosophy" because drama, news and comedy are always dependent on some "normal" foundation.
The scabrous right-wing Murdoch-owned media is having the same effect on Britain as it has in the USA: passing off lies as news, debasing debate, and coarsening the public dialog and even its ability to rationally evaluate its future.
And all some care about is that it's "funny" or "witty"?
Speaking of which stating that Boris Johnson is "wild-haired and witty" is half-correct! Batting. 500 may be good in baseball but it should be an EMBARRASSMENT in news reporting. Physician, heal thyself!
And all some care about is that it's "funny" or "witty"?
Speaking of which stating that Boris Johnson is "wild-haired and witty" is half-correct! Batting. 500 may be good in baseball but it should be an EMBARRASSMENT in news reporting. Physician, heal thyself!
9
Pot, meet kettle. Reading over its homepage, the the TIMES looks very much like a tabloid - it reminds me of Woody Allen's line from "Annie Hall" when he reduces the woman he's just met to, as she sarcastically points out, a vast sociological cliche: "Ok, I'm a bigot - but for the left," he replies.
To call this article biased is to beggar description.
Perhaps one of these years the TIMES will run a truthful article about the widening cracks in the EU, all of its own making.
The tabloids are no more biased than The Guardian, but as The Guardian's biases are the same ones held by the liberal left, they aren't called biases: they're called political views. Like the TIMES, The Guardian spends most of its time dehumanising LEAVE voters, jeering at them, and threatening the End of Days for a Britain outside the EU, but spends little to no time exploring the fissures under the EU that are feeding rather than mitigating "populism".
The tabs serve a useful purpose: they eport on incidents that outlets like the TIMES and Guardian want out of sight quickly when such incidents interfere with their relentlessly internationalist agenda.
Perhaps a read of. e.g., Michael Dougherty's "Kill the EU" article from 24 April in "The Week" might open some eyes - you know, every once in awhile, the tabs and those working class ignoramuses are on to something.
http://theweek.com/articles/693814/kill-eu
The TIMES slants the news just as the tabloids do; just in a different direction.
To call this article biased is to beggar description.
Perhaps one of these years the TIMES will run a truthful article about the widening cracks in the EU, all of its own making.
The tabloids are no more biased than The Guardian, but as The Guardian's biases are the same ones held by the liberal left, they aren't called biases: they're called political views. Like the TIMES, The Guardian spends most of its time dehumanising LEAVE voters, jeering at them, and threatening the End of Days for a Britain outside the EU, but spends little to no time exploring the fissures under the EU that are feeding rather than mitigating "populism".
The tabs serve a useful purpose: they eport on incidents that outlets like the TIMES and Guardian want out of sight quickly when such incidents interfere with their relentlessly internationalist agenda.
Perhaps a read of. e.g., Michael Dougherty's "Kill the EU" article from 24 April in "The Week" might open some eyes - you know, every once in awhile, the tabs and those working class ignoramuses are on to something.
http://theweek.com/articles/693814/kill-eu
The TIMES slants the news just as the tabloids do; just in a different direction.
19
'The growth in social tolerance and liberality in Europe is a pan-Western phenomenon, led by the culture of the United States.' From Kill the EU quoted above. That's rich coming from a Trump led nation down on Mexicans, Muslims and anybody else who does not conform to the stereotypical American image. This guy hasn't a clue.
6
On a regular basis, the Guardian prints op-ed columns by commentators who do not follow its editorial line -- a rare phenomenon in the Sun, Mail, Express, or, for that matter the Wall Street Journal.
The claim that most Leavers are working-class is more than a little dodgy. Brexit has a strong following among middle-class readers of the Mail and Telegraph. Moreover, such large cities with strong working-class traditions as Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Glasgow, and Dundee voted Remain.
The claim that most Leavers are working-class is more than a little dodgy. Brexit has a strong following among middle-class readers of the Mail and Telegraph. Moreover, such large cities with strong working-class traditions as Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Glasgow, and Dundee voted Remain.
5
Newcastle was predicted to vote REMAIN by a comfortable margin; instead, it voted REMAIN by about 1% - like Birmingham. The first bellwether that REMAIN was in trouble was when Sunderland next door, voted LEAVE. Leeds, Manchester, Leicester all have very large immigrant populations, most of whom voted REMAIN. As for Glasgow and Dundee, two-thirds of Scotland voted REMAIN-is it a surprise that Glasgow did?
The Guardian runs articles that do not follow its editorial line once in a great while. Reading the btl comments there, the language used toward LEAVE voters (knuckledraggers, xenophobes, Neanderthals, Little Englanders, not to mention the use of the word BREXIT transformed into a description of excrement) id shocking; The Guardian leaves most of them up.
The problem for Labour in the UK, particularly England's beleaguered northeast, which put the LEAVE vote across, is that whilst more Labour voters went REMAIN, the heart of its white working-class base in the northeast voted LEAVE. Many districts in both Birmingham and Manchester voted LEAVE. Manchester had the strongest REMAIN vote in the northwest - but most of its outlying districts voted LEAVE. At the time, Interim Mayor Tony Lloyd acknowledged that it was "not the result we hoped for." I watched BBC all night last 23-24 June.
So it isn't all that cut and dried. You are misleading Americans who would not know how slim some of those margins were.
And The Mirror backed REMAIN.
The Guardian runs articles that do not follow its editorial line once in a great while. Reading the btl comments there, the language used toward LEAVE voters (knuckledraggers, xenophobes, Neanderthals, Little Englanders, not to mention the use of the word BREXIT transformed into a description of excrement) id shocking; The Guardian leaves most of them up.
The problem for Labour in the UK, particularly England's beleaguered northeast, which put the LEAVE vote across, is that whilst more Labour voters went REMAIN, the heart of its white working-class base in the northeast voted LEAVE. Many districts in both Birmingham and Manchester voted LEAVE. Manchester had the strongest REMAIN vote in the northwest - but most of its outlying districts voted LEAVE. At the time, Interim Mayor Tony Lloyd acknowledged that it was "not the result we hoped for." I watched BBC all night last 23-24 June.
So it isn't all that cut and dried. You are misleading Americans who would not know how slim some of those margins were.
And The Mirror backed REMAIN.
1
Gallagher added, "the idea that we can somehow drag otherwise unwilling readers to a point of view that they don’t otherwise have is delusional.”
Joseph Goebbels would disagree.
I find myself wondering, how does Rupert Murdoch profit from Brexit? This is the real story. The 50+ white working class males will mostly have expired in 25 years with little to no improvement in their lives (like the average Trump voter). But the Murdoch family will continue with the proaganda and profits.
Joseph Goebbels would disagree.
I find myself wondering, how does Rupert Murdoch profit from Brexit? This is the real story. The 50+ white working class males will mostly have expired in 25 years with little to no improvement in their lives (like the average Trump voter). But the Murdoch family will continue with the proaganda and profits.
11
The Brexit disaster is the fault of the tabloids. If Mrs May becomes Prime Minister again, the election will not be that much fairer than Mr Putin's election as President of Russia. Brexit on WTO rules might shrink our GDP at a stroke by 6%.
10
Before deriding Brexit supporters as ignorant rubes under the thrall of Nigel Farage, Americans should put themselves in the place of the inhabitants of England and consider just one issue - overpopulation. Imagine that the US had the same population density as England - 1089/square mile. So the US, with its 3.8 million square miles, has 3.9 billion people. Overcrowding has become a serious problem. Infrastructure is straining under the load, with roads and public transportation packed. Would Americans allow an international government of the Americas to control half of our immigration, with minimal input from US voters? American opponents of Brexit are being hypocritical unless they can honestly answer this question in the affirmative.
16
What Nicholas fails to mention is that the UK birth rate of its citizens is the highest in Western Europe and that is adding more to our population than EU workers who accept jobs that many English people won't. Yes, England is crowded whereas Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not. Another fact not mentioned, the unemployment rate is currently 4.9 percent and the number of EU workers (from neurosurgeons to gardeners) is 9 present. Who is going to fill those jobs Nicholas?
8
Overpopulation as a result of immigration is a red herring in the Brexit issue.
Immigration is a key component of the UK economy. Government, especially the Conservatives, welcomes immigrants to do the jobs the British won't do. In the process it has always been prepared to overlook social issues, like housing and education, so as to serve big business and employers.
Even Theresa May acknowledges that there will likely be no decrease in immigration numbers. All that will likely change is points of origin. Instead of coming from Europe they will come from places in the former Commonwealth, like India and Nigeria.
It is quite ironic really, given the racist tendencies of many Brexit supporters.
Immigration is a key component of the UK economy. Government, especially the Conservatives, welcomes immigrants to do the jobs the British won't do. In the process it has always been prepared to overlook social issues, like housing and education, so as to serve big business and employers.
Even Theresa May acknowledges that there will likely be no decrease in immigration numbers. All that will likely change is points of origin. Instead of coming from Europe they will come from places in the former Commonwealth, like India and Nigeria.
It is quite ironic really, given the racist tendencies of many Brexit supporters.
11
I'd also point out that the most densely populated area of the UK (Brexit is not just about England) is Greater London, at around 11,500 per square mile and over 13% of the entire UK population (Google suggests that NYC has a density of 27,000 per square mile).
Across Greater London of those registered and eligible who voted 60% supported 'Remain', 40% Brexit.
As a proud Londoner and Brit, I for one am always interested to learn how the world sees our actions (and if they even notice).
Across Greater London of those registered and eligible who voted 60% supported 'Remain', 40% Brexit.
As a proud Londoner and Brit, I for one am always interested to learn how the world sees our actions (and if they even notice).
1
Doesn't Rupert Murdoch own 1 or 2 of the 'red tops'? And Fox News. Great he now has ruined 2 countries and counting......
84
Three... don't forget his native Australia!
10
With the exception of the owner of the Daily Express, every pro-Brexit newspaper proprietor lives outside the UK.
1
Australia too, his home base. It's said Murdoch controls 80% of the press in Australia.
"Murdoch Over the People" would update Barbara Morgan's "Hearst Over the People" from the 1930s.
Yet in the end, the people overcome. People now remember Hearst for his California real estate castle.
"Murdoch Over the People" would update Barbara Morgan's "Hearst Over the People" from the 1930s.
Yet in the end, the people overcome. People now remember Hearst for his California real estate castle.
2
After having lived years in the UK, I still find the British press, left, right, and centre, to be a sheer delight, and far, far, superior to the American press.
In the States the (almost entirely) left-liberal press pretends to be fair and objective, but in reality are relentlessly partisan in a disingenuous way. They are also monochrome and univocal.
In the UK, the press is completely up-front about their politics, which frees them to be much more free-wheeling and interesting. They also have a lot more columnists, who are not relegated to some "op-ed" section but are sprinkled throughout, who are very, very clear about their underlying politics, very clever and witty, and acknowledge the strength of other arguments besides theirs.
What is fascinating is that the UK press is not monochrome: in the same issue of each publication you will find columnists who are left, right, centre, oddball, eccentric, and unclassifiable. Sheer delight.
Don't swallow the NYT line; go online and check out the Times, Standard, Telegraph, Sun, Guardian, Independent, Daily Mail, and the Spectator. Expose yourselves to a much wider range of views. If you like news, politics, culture, and real debate, you'll love it.
In the States the (almost entirely) left-liberal press pretends to be fair and objective, but in reality are relentlessly partisan in a disingenuous way. They are also monochrome and univocal.
In the UK, the press is completely up-front about their politics, which frees them to be much more free-wheeling and interesting. They also have a lot more columnists, who are not relegated to some "op-ed" section but are sprinkled throughout, who are very, very clear about their underlying politics, very clever and witty, and acknowledge the strength of other arguments besides theirs.
What is fascinating is that the UK press is not monochrome: in the same issue of each publication you will find columnists who are left, right, centre, oddball, eccentric, and unclassifiable. Sheer delight.
Don't swallow the NYT line; go online and check out the Times, Standard, Telegraph, Sun, Guardian, Independent, Daily Mail, and the Spectator. Expose yourselves to a much wider range of views. If you like news, politics, culture, and real debate, you'll love it.
45
This is rubbish of course. Did you read the article, 80% of the British press is very right wing.
6
You forgot the best one of all, the Economist.
3
With all due respect, I disagree., Mail, and Sun are the equivalent of Fox
news.. (I think they are owned by the same guy). I read Guardian every day
(probably until they start charging)., But even Guardian, pretends to be
independent and (semi_progressive) but in many ways,,,they are the left
the same way that our DNC is the left here. (Give me a break).
news.. (I think they are owned by the same guy). I read Guardian every day
(probably until they start charging)., But even Guardian, pretends to be
independent and (semi_progressive) but in many ways,,,they are the left
the same way that our DNC is the left here. (Give me a break).
7
The British tabloids have helped create the scariest news story in Europe in a generation, the first step away from European integration since the Benelux agreement started the ball rolling in 1944. They have done this by consistently printing what they knew to be fake news and hate speech. And many people involved have made good money in the process. Plus there is lots of collateral damage, whether the Dutch housewife married to a British citizen who now has trouble getting the residency permit she never needed before, or the entire Irish peace process. These guys make even the National Enquirer look good.
47
People wanting to be free from the burdens of government, regulation, taxes and bureaucrats? Oh, no. Not that.
17
Burdens? Like the inter-state highway system supported by the gas tax? Health care supported by mandated benefits for basic care? The Voting Rights Act which gave all Americans the right to vote? (Black voters in the South might disagree with you on that one alone) We still allow corporations to keep their profits off shore; however, if they want to bring their profits home, they will have to pay a tax, more than 15%. We are one country; we are ALL part of the Social Contract established at the outset. Please cite one major national "burden" which could be covered by a single State via taxes in that State. Perhaps you think PA could support all the protection and benefits provided by the Coast Guard, TSA, Airports, NASA et al? I lived in CT for 33 years; worked with a man born and raised in Pittsburgh, and he wouldn't agree with you. Maybe you would like to return to paying tolls which go into the General Fund. We had that in CT until we got rid of it; the General Fund did nothing for local voters, because the money stayed in New Haven. The roads were terrible, pot holed, disintegrating edges, barriers which did not prevent accidents, insufficient lighting and signage, and rampant graft. MA had better roads; they also had a tax base to support that. The Feds might not be perfect, but they are not controlled by Joe Smith in some small town or county.
4
Further, to understand the underlying reason for the tabloids' popularity, it should be noted that even in Britain, most people are racist and rather unintelligent. This seems to be true worldwide and throughout history.
27
Fortunately we have the clever, educated and very respectful of the people liberal elite...
7
Dear Matt,
Certainly there are clever and educated people. But there is no reason to be respectful of unintelligent racists who yearn for a fascist state. Just like there's no reason to respect the KKK, as should be readily apparent.
Certainly there are clever and educated people. But there is no reason to be respectful of unintelligent racists who yearn for a fascist state. Just like there's no reason to respect the KKK, as should be readily apparent.
5
Being a Brit I couldn't disagree more. Yes like in many places around the World we do have our quota of racist and rather narrow minded individuals. But to generalise as you do is absolutely not true. Just under half of the country voted to stay in Europe last Summer. People who wanted to continue and embrace freedom of movement and closer links with our European counterparts. We were pipped at the post! Literally! Basically we're a nation split down the middle and I for one am not a fan of our tabloid press. I firmly believe it's a medium well on the decrease here in the UK. Those that retain their tabloid loyalty are in an ever diminishing minority.
4
The Sun has always been about: Sun (as in holidays somewhere warm), Sex, Sin, and Sports. Their holy grail is all four in the same story. They are a pretentious Breitbart.
29
Has readership fallen that much in the UK - still one of the strongest nations for daily consumption of new print.
1
The author is spinning the story in an anti-Brexit direction. The UK pays a net $250 million a week to be a member of the EU. The higher number of $450 million is its gross contribution. It also gets money back from the EU.
Turkey is in talks about joining the EU. David Cameron told the Turks in 2010 that he would help them join the EU. He said something similar in 2014. London is not typical of the UK, around 37 per cent of Londoners were born abroad. The prosperous south East surrounding London mostly votes for the Conservative Party, and 58% of Conservatives voted to leave.
Turkey is in talks about joining the EU. David Cameron told the Turks in 2010 that he would help them join the EU. He said something similar in 2014. London is not typical of the UK, around 37 per cent of Londoners were born abroad. The prosperous south East surrounding London mostly votes for the Conservative Party, and 58% of Conservatives voted to leave.
13
The Guardian is also losing money and had to cut staff and is now begging online readers for support. The Independent finally had to abandon its print editions.
Falling circulation is not just afflicting the tabloids.
As for the "anti-immigrant" themes - perhaps if Labour had paid some attention over the last 40 years to the rising anger in its base about what untrammeled immigration was doing to many communities: take a walk through Tower Hamlets, you'll think you're in Riyadh; or Newham, which for eight generations was home to London's Cockneys, now gone, replaced by a huge Muslim population; how do you suppose those Cockneys voted in the referendum, and do you think they needed prompting from the Daily Express?
Perhaps, Ms. Benhold, you have the cart before the horse: the tabs are the only channels left reflecting the views of those voters, not shaping their views.
We leave the "shaping of the views" to nobler outlets like this one.
Falling circulation is not just afflicting the tabloids.
As for the "anti-immigrant" themes - perhaps if Labour had paid some attention over the last 40 years to the rising anger in its base about what untrammeled immigration was doing to many communities: take a walk through Tower Hamlets, you'll think you're in Riyadh; or Newham, which for eight generations was home to London's Cockneys, now gone, replaced by a huge Muslim population; how do you suppose those Cockneys voted in the referendum, and do you think they needed prompting from the Daily Express?
Perhaps, Ms. Benhold, you have the cart before the horse: the tabs are the only channels left reflecting the views of those voters, not shaping their views.
We leave the "shaping of the views" to nobler outlets like this one.
8
If you have a point, please make it....
4
Oh the point is there - you just don't want to acknowledge it. But here, just in case you missed it:
Britain didn't vote BREXIT because of the tabloids.
The tabloids didn't create an anti-immigration climate, poor control of immigration by an indifference British and EU did. Immigration, and Muslim immigration in particular, is a source of immense concern across the EU, not just in Britain.
The broadsheets have turned into marginally respectable version of tabloids, having dispensed with all pretence at "impartiality" and selecting and presenting the news in a way that gives them a "striking grip on power", only for a different point of view.
Tying the Daily Express and The Sun, rather than globalisation, decades of ignoring rising concerns about immigration on the part of governments (including Labour ones), and ignoring the widening divide between the Big Cities and Everywhere Else, to BREXIT is cheap, shallow, and exhibits exactly the tone deafness that gave BREXIT a leg up in the first place.
Cart before horse.
Britain didn't vote BREXIT because of the tabloids.
The tabloids didn't create an anti-immigration climate, poor control of immigration by an indifference British and EU did. Immigration, and Muslim immigration in particular, is a source of immense concern across the EU, not just in Britain.
The broadsheets have turned into marginally respectable version of tabloids, having dispensed with all pretence at "impartiality" and selecting and presenting the news in a way that gives them a "striking grip on power", only for a different point of view.
Tying the Daily Express and The Sun, rather than globalisation, decades of ignoring rising concerns about immigration on the part of governments (including Labour ones), and ignoring the widening divide between the Big Cities and Everywhere Else, to BREXIT is cheap, shallow, and exhibits exactly the tone deafness that gave BREXIT a leg up in the first place.
Cart before horse.
5
“Every populist editor will tell you, ‘We are merely reflecting and articulating the public views,’ ” said Mr. Greenslade.
The New York Times since Trump's win in November is more than guilty of pandering to their readership. And I can't blame them, it's just business.
We the public expect too much from the press. It's just entertainment.
The New York Times since Trump's win in November is more than guilty of pandering to their readership. And I can't blame them, it's just business.
We the public expect too much from the press. It's just entertainment.
17
As a spaniard I can tell you that the brits are not europeans, we dont see them as such and neither do they.
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That is the crux of Americans trying to understand Brexit. They assume since England is in the general area of France, Spain, Italy,etc. that they would share common values. As and English history major, I know that England was at war with France or Spain for at least 100+ years, with pauses for treaties that both sides broke. At the time of the establishment of a common European Market, it made sense for England to join; but the English government never wanted to be truly part of the EU, and therefore it does make sense for them to leave.
18
As a half Brit, half- Spaniard, i can tell you that MANY people in both countries see Britain as a part of Europe. This vote to leave was won on the back of the lies spread by certain elements of the media, such as the Sun, who lack strong principles and ethics.
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\so why did the UK fight two European wars? The UK enjoyed 40 years of prosperity in the EU. it doesn't make any sense to float off and become a backwater in the middle of the Atlantic
10
I think the reason false news and false flags work today, is because there are probably more sociopaths alive today, now that there are fewer wars. They have to be anti-social about something, so they turn on themselves, their own neighbors, their own countries and use as many lies as they can smirk with, at one time. Psychopaths and sociopaths are uplifted to positions of power and influence when sociopathy reigns, and structures of common expression are converted to sociopathic influence peddling using falsehoods and fear-mongering. Destruction is their mantra, and governments that govern via popular edict, instead of rational consensus, use and are themselves used by, the generously deviant path to sociopathy.
8
That's how I remember the British tabloids when I visited Britain more than 20 years ago: Hateful and demeaning articles about the countries on the European continent. The German chancellor Kohl was pictured with a Hitler-mustache, although he wasn't a Nazi at all. I was shocked; I never saw those hateful articles in any other country before. What I think of the New York Times right now: In my view you where part of the overly hyped anti-Trump-campaign that made Trump big and actually brought us Trump. I wish you were less an activist and more an analyzing newspaper, because I'm tired of the one-dimensional view at everything.
40
To extend the argument made here –
To understand Trump look at Fox News. Their viewers, many of them over 50, working class and who live in the heartland, look strikingly like the voters who were crucial to the outcome of last year’s election in which Donald Trump won the Presidency.
Clearly there is worldwide phenomenon whereby people are reluctant to succumb to change, especially when they suspect that those advocating change simply do not know the outcome.
Maybe they’ve decided that it is better to stay with the devil they know.
To understand Trump look at Fox News. Their viewers, many of them over 50, working class and who live in the heartland, look strikingly like the voters who were crucial to the outcome of last year’s election in which Donald Trump won the Presidency.
Clearly there is worldwide phenomenon whereby people are reluctant to succumb to change, especially when they suspect that those advocating change simply do not know the outcome.
Maybe they’ve decided that it is better to stay with the devil they know.
7
Wow- to the question "are we alone in the universe?" in our trumpista, fox news world comes the answer. No we are not- the British are right there with us in their racial animosity and hatred of extra-national globalism and pretty much for the same reasons- Rupert Murdock and the stupidity of their population.
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Hey, hey - don't believe all you read! lol This is nothing but a lazy piece of writing, I'm Scottish and my First Minister has openly stated that everyone is welcome here! (except Murdock and his cronies).
I really do not believe that people in Britain vote as a newspaper tells them too.
The people of Scotland certainly don't!
I really do not believe that people in Britain vote as a newspaper tells them too.
The people of Scotland certainly don't!
"Tony Gallagher...looks down on the government, literally. From the height of his 12th-floor newsroom, all glass and views, the Palace of Westminster seems like a toy castle, something to be played with or ignored at will."
This is certainly a dramatic image - a newspaper building physically dominating the seat of power while its inhabitants dominate the country politically. But unfortunately it's just silly. Westminster looks small from
Gallagher's office not because the News building looms over the Palace, but because the Palace is 2 miles away and across the river. In fact, both towers of Westminster, the Victoria Tower and Big Ben, each more than 300
feet, are taller than the News building, at 289 feet, and are much higher than Gallagher's office. And the 18 story News building is actually a pipsqueak compared to the Times' own 52 story glass-and-steel behemoth. People who live in glass towers shouldn't throw stones! I have no sympathy with the Sun, but get it right, NYT.
This is certainly a dramatic image - a newspaper building physically dominating the seat of power while its inhabitants dominate the country politically. But unfortunately it's just silly. Westminster looks small from
Gallagher's office not because the News building looms over the Palace, but because the Palace is 2 miles away and across the river. In fact, both towers of Westminster, the Victoria Tower and Big Ben, each more than 300
feet, are taller than the News building, at 289 feet, and are much higher than Gallagher's office. And the 18 story News building is actually a pipsqueak compared to the Times' own 52 story glass-and-steel behemoth. People who live in glass towers shouldn't throw stones! I have no sympathy with the Sun, but get it right, NYT.
102
Nice one!
1
So Britain has it Murdoch poison we have his Faux News. Who knew one man could wreck such havoc.
183
Murdoch is walking global racist puppeteer
Fixating only on the sexism angle on just one of his many properties is whitewashing
He's racist and consistently so in most of his news outlets globally
He is an evolution of the southern strategy
He uses racist memes to gain a white following that is loyal to him and enlarge his political clout
He uses this political clout to further his business interests: allowing media consolidation by a foreigner that was previously unheard of.
Fixating only on the sexism angle on just one of his many properties is whitewashing
He's racist and consistently so in most of his news outlets globally
He is an evolution of the southern strategy
He uses racist memes to gain a white following that is loyal to him and enlarge his political clout
He uses this political clout to further his business interests: allowing media consolidation by a foreigner that was previously unheard of.
54
Right here in New York, the New York post performs the same functions as the London tabloids.
24
The NY Post and The Sun are both owned by News Corp....
1
Look at the internet. Look at YouTube UK.
2
Mr Horowitz of Chicago must have read a different article from me, the clear conclusion is that the British media is prepared to mislead, misdirect and outright lie to pursue its own agenda, even if that agenda is not in the best interests of the British people. It gets even worse and virtually froths at the mouth when pursuing advocates of Scottish Independence.
74
This article proves the Murdock companies should not pass the ` fit and proper' test for Sky. They can not be trusted to report the truth as they always put a spin on it for there political views.
127
And Murdoch is cleaning house at Fox news to appear respectable to the UK regulatory instance about to make a decision on Murdoch's plan to take control of SKY - is disinformation, fake news and cultural propaganda the future of corporate media? I will take the NYTimes over any of these, my fear is what if the Murdoch's seek to destroy what is left of serious honest journalism.
141
Well there's no doubt about it. Britain's gutter press has destroyed Britain's future. Good luck putting Humpty Dumpty back together again
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The sentence " It’s quite a creative meeting.”, sums up British tabloid's attitude to news reporting.
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Those that opposed Brexit were on the wrong side of history as the failures of open-borders in the EU is proving. Tell the truth and the public will support you. Continue to lie and push agendas as the US MSMedia are doing and you will soon be a footnote in history.
24
@Barry: "Tell the truth and the public will support you."
Gosh, wouldn't that be nice. Doesn't work like that.
One of the most notorious - and successful - lies of the Leave campaign was to wildly exaggerate the money Britain contributes to the EU, painted in giant letters on the side of a bus, and pretend that we could fund the NHS instead (a deceitful claim that Trump's pal Nigel Farage disowned within hours of the result).
"Those that opposed Brexit" -- nearly half of those who voted, by the way -- "were on the wrong side of history"; no, they simply lost. Both our rights as citizens and our economy benefited from EU membership.
Gosh, wouldn't that be nice. Doesn't work like that.
One of the most notorious - and successful - lies of the Leave campaign was to wildly exaggerate the money Britain contributes to the EU, painted in giant letters on the side of a bus, and pretend that we could fund the NHS instead (a deceitful claim that Trump's pal Nigel Farage disowned within hours of the result).
"Those that opposed Brexit" -- nearly half of those who voted, by the way -- "were on the wrong side of history"; no, they simply lost. Both our rights as citizens and our economy benefited from EU membership.
10
So, does that mean Trump will soon be footnote in history??
2
I also note that the most overlooked angle on the whole remain argument is the general assumption that the EU will still exist 20 years or so. All evidence points towards its collapse from within and continued failure to reform (via its so called main supporters) so why is it such a tragedy the UK leave? Surely it's nothing but sensible given mainland Europe's intractable inclination to slowly sink towards instability (as history shows)