| When you next see or hear or read "The News" just | | | | themselves to simply reporting events. They prefer |
| consider this: whose news is it? Who has decided | | | | to patronize their audience with information that they |
| what is an important enough event to include in the | | | | do not need nor have ever asked for. As a result the |
| news and, perhaps more importantly, what is not | | | | only way to obtain unfettered news is to use |
| worthy of inclusion? Someone has to decide what to | | | | commercial outlets (and not all of those are without a |
| include and what not to include. Over recent years, | | | | similar affliction). |
| there have been less news stories in main stream | | | | The other problem with having less news stories is |
| news outlets in favour of inclusion of speculation | | | | that, more than ever, most news is not reported at |
| surrounding a particular story. Less reporting and | | | | all. This has always been a fact of life. Not everything |
| more analysis seems to be the order of the day. | | | | can be included. An editor has always been required |
| What they are saying is: "we will do the thinking for | | | | to cut things out. The problem nowadays is that so |
| the public; we will speculate on their behalf; we will | | | | much more is being left unsaid than ever before. This |
| even provide the innuendo and gossip under the | | | | is tantamount to censorship as the media has taken |
| umbrella term "The News". | | | | it upon itself to reduce the range of news items so |
| This kind of journalism is not news at all. It tends not | | | | much. The decision of which stories to run and in |
| to come from news agencies and more from the | | | | what order to run them is a powerful one. News |
| media. The problem with this kind of journalism is that | | | | media outlets wield more power than ever before. |
| speculation and downright gossip - which is what it | | | | By simply leaving out a news story the knock on |
| often amounts to - is by its definition full of valued | | | | effects can be highly significant and could ultimately |
| judgements made by the broadcasters themselves. | | | | affect the route a state might take, including who |
| This new innovation of "gossip news" is usually | | | | wins at the polls. |
| included, to a lesser or greater degree, in most of | | | | The news has a tremendous effect on our opinions |
| the "top" stories. The result is that there is less time | | | | and ultimately affects how we vote or whether vote |
| for many other items. If you scan broadcast news in | | | | at all. Those that make the editorial decisions must |
| particular, you will notice that, over the years, the | | | | remember that they have the weight of many years |
| number of stories covered in any bulletin is far less | | | | of hard fought for independent journalism behind |
| than it used to be. The networks will concentrate on | | | | them. They have the weight on their conscious of |
| just one or two stories and may read out some | | | | reporters trying to report whilst having their |
| one-liners from agency feeds. This is cheaper for the | | | | transmitters bombed, newspapers being printed on |
| broadcasters as less stories means less reporters. For | | | | clandestine presses in order to get the truth out to |
| the commercial outlets this gives them a valuable | | | | the people and tv newsreaders trying to do their job |
| saving. Other less cost conscious bodies - such as the | | | | while being glared at by an "official" censor sitting just |
| over-funded BBC - see this as an opportunity to put | | | | out of camera shot. Every time an organization like |
| more resourceinto "explaining" the news to us in a | | | | the BBC takes it upon themselves to add their own |
| very patronizing way. They tend to analyze the | | | | slant to the news they are endangering the precious |
| story from top to bottom, giving it their slant along | | | | independence that their profession must have in |
| the way. The problem is that the BBC Governors - | | | | order to operate. |
| the executive who are supposed to run the | | | | The irresponsible censorship and bias shown by some |
| organization - lost control over its staff many years | | | | organization is threatening to undermine our |
| ago. Producers, editors and reporters refuse to | | | | democracy. The problem we have, though, is that |
| simply report what has happened. They insist on | | | | democracy must have independent journalism in |
| speculating about what might happen, what the | | | | order to survive. These journalists must go back to |
| implications are, what has happened back in history, | | | | reporting events so that we can all make our |
| how this or that organization or person may react to | | | | ownminds up as to what is right and what is wrong. |
| it and so on. This is not news and furthermore is no | | | | Leave the speculation to us, the people, and our |
| more than the BBC's own opinion. The fact that they | | | | representatives, those representatives for which you |
| were infiltrated some years ago by left wing and | | | | show such contempt. If a journalist wants to |
| liberal elements - and these have now taken hold of | | | | campaign, then they must get elected like others |
| the organization - means that this gossip tends to be | | | | have had to and stop cheating by using journalism for |
| of one particular flavour. They refuse to restrict | | | | their own ends. |
