Enemies of the people: #1, Journalists
Suddenly the economic chaos threatens them. Suddenly, the technological shifts put their jobs at risk. Suddenly, they realise the contempt they’re held in. And suddenly, they find no place to hide, no support, and not a shred of credibility.
Oh, but we perform a valuable public service they cry. Yeah you should, but you don’t. Oh but investigative journalism is essential to democracy they squeal. Yeah it is, but you gave that up in exchange for wine, canapés and intimacy with politicians. Oh but you’ll miss us when we’re gone they bleat – you went many decades ago.
They’re all out there this week, caught out in the Smeargate follow-through, revealed as having collaborated in years of lies, cover-ups, character assasination. It comes as, coincidentally, many publishers are laying off staff, and, not coincidentally, many of us are turning to the amatuer press; bloggers and citizen journalists.
Well fuck you. You lied to us, let us down, betrayed us. Fuck you. Beg for a state subsidy if you like, you’re fucking lucky you’re not being dragged into the street to have your heads shaved.
Mathew Parris, Jeff Randall, you’re exempted – look on as the others are herded like pigs off London Bridge, there to be washed out on the tide with the other excrement.
Tags: collaborators, treason, upagainstthewall
17. April 2009 at 4:40 pm :
PB You sure let it all hang out.
Does it have any impact?
17. April 2009 at 4:49 pm :
That leaves plenty of room for you Mr PB – so get out there and investigate – fulminating is fine but action and results is what we want!
17. April 2009 at 4:55 pm :
Who can tell?
Well. I think maybe yes. What the mass media call the corrosive atmosphere we live in now is, I think, a more honest reflection of popular opinion. I think the blogs and bloggers – such as Guido, and myself – have reflected, guided, nurtured and legitimised the anger people feel. Hazel Blears was right about one theing; people read this fury online, and they think it’s okay to feel likewise; bloggers normalise the rage. Well hell yes. Who wouldn’t be angry? it is perfectly reasonable to be angry.
Now, is it impotent anger, or is it an effective revolutionary force? And let’s not be coy, if popular opinion wins out in the country, that would be revolutionary, even if through the ballot box. Well… we will know, won’t we? We will know within the next few years. Maybe sooner
18. April 2009 at 10:32 pm :
Our journalists are scum – cowardly, lazy, dishonest. They deserve to reap the whirlwind.
But I would widen the net. There has been a comprehensive decay in governance, in the public services, police, NHS, education — nothing seems to work well, and in many areas things have gone totally to shit. The culture of lies and rottenness amongst professional people extends well beyond sociopathic politicians and their bottom feeders, not to mention the useless, very very expensive (>100 billion pa, or roughly 2/3rds of your paye income tax – fancy a 14% tax cut?) and tyrannical quangos. Perhaps if New Labour, lobbyists & journalists come very seriously unstuck soon (thanks to Guido and friends) this will trickle down and encourager les autres — but I’m not holding my breath. The fuckers in Westminster and the press are only part of it.
19. April 2009 at 8:42 am :
Just number 1 in a series Jack….
21. April 2009 at 5:29 pm :
‘You lied to us, let us down, betrayed us’ – http://twurl.nl/qtv8nt
12. June 2009 at 8:30 am :
I would like to make an appeal for clemency on behalf of my friends Alok Jha, Adam Rutherford, James Randerson, Ian Semple, Nel Bose and the other fine journalists relegated to the backwaters of the science section for their devotion to research, fact checking and professionalism?
Now I agree that chopping off Madeleine Bunting’s hands would seriously enhance standards at the Guardian but please don’t tar and feather the good journalists who aren’t lazy and unprofessional.