The workman (Murdoch) blaming his tools?

This screen capture is a sample of tweets which appeared in Rupert Murdoch's timeline today:

He wistfully asks "What happened to 'land of hope and glory' New poll today shows 48 percent of Brits would like to emigrate."

A very small selection of the uplifting headlines on Rupert Murdoch's tabloids' front pages.

Is it possible that these headlines, redolent with hyperbole, cant and inaccuracy, may have added to the malaise the poll in the Sunday Sun seems to have unveiled in this country? How much has the owner of these papers influenced the daily diet of their readership?

"Tweeters who don't like particular newspapers don't have to buy them" - perhaps not, but we do all have to live with the consequences of ideological political decisions supported by a public deprived of balanced, honest reporting. We are all affected by having choice diminished by the suppression of vital information and accurate facts.

"Thousands of crappy blogs available." - More hyperbole here, Mr Murdoch! Most of us are able to rely on trusted blogs for truth and accuracy and to expose those facts otherwise denied to us by some of the press! A prime example of a such a blog is: Jack of Kent belonging to David Allen Green who did much to expose the Nightjack 'outing' by email hacking carried out on behalf of The Times, and another: Zelo Street belonging to Tim Fenton. Both would prove rather uncomfortable reading for someone in Rupert Murdoch's position, but neither would be described as 'crappy' by most people. There are many other such admirable, newsy, investigative blogs to be found.

Letts' List , Let's Not!.

Quentin Richard Stephen Letts, Daily Mail

 Quentin Letts loomed large in Twitter's 'trending' list at lunchtime yesterday.
 Wondering whether he'd popped his clogs or if someone had discovered Mr. Letts to have been employing a ghost-writer, I was astounded to see umpteen posts expressing shock and dismay at this article in the Daily Mail.
(link via freezepage.com)


One of today's 'targets', John Prescott, tweeted thus:

@johnprescott John Prescott

Quentin Letts says I should kill myself, Archbishop Sentamu should get elocution lessons & Keith Vaz 'de-oil' http://bit.ly/sEtGnp #hatemail

Richard William Littlejohn, Daily Mail

Kelvin Calder MacKenzie, Daily Mail

 Letts is the type of writer who is finding that in order to ensure journalistic longevity inevitably means his becoming ever more acerbic, hyperbolic and meaningless. Others of that ilk are Richard Littlejohn and Kelvin MacKenzie.

These writers are self-opinionated, intractable and entirely predictable.

  They write the columns aimed at readers who crave an occasional fix of ridiculous parody from those who see buttons clearly marked 'DO NOT TOUCH' and take great delight in pressing them, aware of the effect their words will have.  Most people are accustomed to their style and give their particular brand of sophistry no more credence than is warranted by the average yapping and irritating Yorkshire terrier.

 The three men I've mentioned are all employed by the Daily Mail. Other titles have their own eccentrics too, - the Daily Mail's quota is just larger.

 Much more dangerous and concerning than the doltish bigotry of this immature trio, is the number of deliberately provocative and completely inaccurate articles printed in many of the the papers, whether red-top or broadsheet.

Paul Dacre, Editor, Daily Mail

 The relatively recent introduction of online fact-checking teams like Full Fact and the many media-watching blogs such as Zelo Street, Minority Thought , dedicated to highlighting the inadequacies and corruption of elements of the press and some journalists here in the UK, is a much needed attempt to remedy a dire situation.

  Perhaps the Leveson Inquiry will come up with a system of press regulation which will ensure those who buy newspapers are presented with facts and not a distortion of the truth intended to further the ambition or forcefully expressed will of their owners or Editors, as seems to happen all too often now. Perhaps.

Paul Dacre's speech to a seminar at the Leveson Inquiry.

Updated:
  

As the end-of-2011 bandwagon trundles noisily past, Richard William Littlejohn tosses aboard this little offering and laboriously hoists himself up to join Q. Letts. How sweet.


(link via freezepage.com)