The Tory "dirty tricks brigade" and the media

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

Today's Guardian editorial is certainly coming down hard on them...

MPs' sleaze: Byers for sale | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian

...still, what can you expect from such a rightwing, reactionary rag? It's Tory dirty tricks I tell you!

What's the unbiased world of publishing coming to?

Even that well known right-wing rag, the New Stateman, has the Byers for cash/hire story.

New Statesman - Cameron calls for investigation into lobbying claims

[garinda]

I do hope that by me helping to highlight these less than positive stories about Labour politicans, the 'usual supspects don't come crawling out' as per usual, with a barrage of abuse, accusing me of right-wing political bias.

[Stumped]

Originally Posted by Mancie

nowt changed there then Stumped..you still imagine you have friends

Are you telling me that you aren't a figment of my imagination, Mancie?

[Margaret Pilkington]

Oh Mancie,......dear dear......who said I believed anything that the newspapers print, or for that matter what the BBC tells us.
I know that if a politician (of any shade) has a mouth that is moving, he is either telling lies(or spin is what they call it to make it sound better...but it is still lies) or he is trying to bamboozle the unsuspecting electorate into voting for him.(again, lies to promote his own greedy ends)

At 62 years of age I have heard all the lies, and just want someone who will tell it like it is and dig us out of this mess that the current encumbents seem to have progressively worsened.

I do not wish to hear the men who want to be elected, trading playground type insults......this is not how adults should conduct themselves, let alone those who believe they have the talent to lead us.

[Ken Moss]

Originally Posted by garinda

For years the Tories have accused the BBC of having leftist tendencies. Now Mancie says it's actually the other way round, and really they are anti-Labour. Even though there was the recent exposé about Dr. Who, attempting to bring down Thatcher's government in the mid eighties.

The 23 year old 'news' story about the Sylvester McCoy era of Doctor Who being political was actually a reference to an minor element of one story in which three rival gangs of teenage girls fight amongst themselves. They happen to be coloured red and blue, the yellow ones being wiped out in the first five minutes and the red slogan being 'Red Kangs are best'. In the end, they form a coalition....

Bear in mind that in those days it was scheduled against Coronation Street in a desperate effort by the BBC to kill it off. Obviously a strong political campaign against Thatcher going on there then.

On a local level, I met my opponent last week and did the gentlemanly thing of shaking his hand and wishing him the best. His reaction that I wasn't a seething ball of spite seemed to be one of absolute astonishment, although perhaps not surprising as I have since witnessed him desperately trying to make me feel uncomfortable with the locals in the workmen's club in Rishton. It didn't work and didn't go down well either.

From speaking to people door-to-door, the one thing the electorate have least time for is an attitude of 'our party is best and they're rubbish'. I feel quietly smug that I haven't needed to resort to those tactics at all.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Ken Moss

The 23 year old 'news' story about the Sylvester McCoy era of Doctor Who being political was actually a reference to an minor element of one story

One story that ran over three episodes.

I don't know why you chose to place 'news' in quotation marks.

It was recently reported in the news, after the leftist idealists involved told of their devilish plan for Dr. Who to bring down Thatcher's government, in their youthful naivety.



Doctor Who in war with Planet Maggie - Times Online

[garinda]

All news is edited, even what we chose to broadcast it via our conversations.

We decide what we think is important enough to pass on to someone else.

[Ken Moss]

Originally Posted by garinda

One story that ran over three episodes.

I don't know why you chose to place 'news' in quotation marks.

It was recently reported in the news, after the leftist idealists involved told of their devilish plan for Dr. Who to bring down Thatcher's government, in their youthful naivety.



Doctor Who in war with Planet Maggie - Times Online

'News' as in 23 years after the event. Hmm. That's one hell of a long-term political campaign if it's worth digging up now, 20 years after Maggie stepped down.

Matt Smith is wearing a red bow tie in the new series. That's got to mean something, hasn't it?

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Ken Moss

'News' as in 23 years after the event. Hmm. That's one hell of a long-term political campaign if it's worth digging up now, 20 years after Maggie stepped down.

Matt Smith is wearing a red bow tie in the new series. That's got to mean something, hasn't it?

If people decide to talk openly about something they previously haven't, that makes it newsworthy.

If a survivor from Waterloo decides, after all this time, to tell of his experiences, that might be deemed 'news' too.



I think the trouble with the Beeb, and the accusations of political bias, is that as well as supposedly reporting the news accurately, they also have licence to carry out investagative journalism, Panorama, Newsnight etc.

Since there's probably more interesting things to investigate about the governing party, rather than the relatively powerless opposition, that leads the government of the day to cry political bias.

Which happened in the eighties, when the Tories accused the BBC of left-wing allegiance, and which today Mancie's now proclaiming is an anti-Labour bias.

I'm sure each successive government will carry on shouting 'They're pickin' on us', when the news is not what they'd like to see reported.

[Ken Moss]

The story I was referring to was Paradise Towers which isn't actually referenced in that article at all but probably the nearest they got to anything political.

It is with some interest that the writers of the stories they do refer to have all gone on record stating that they were not intended to be a dig at the government but they were interpreted as such by a small group of fans.

Mind you, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy wasn't supposed to be a pop at obsessive fans but it was taken that way. Read into it what you will. If you even care.

Anyway, back on topic. Those Tories, eh?

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Ken Moss

The story I was referring to was Paradise Towers which isn't actually referenced in that article at all but probably the nearest they got to anything political.

So there was more than one storyline, attempting to bring down the government?

See, you've uncovered a 'news' scoop.

[Ken Moss]

Originally Posted by garinda

Since there's probably more interesting things to investigate about the governing party, rather than the relatively powerless opposition, that leads the government of the day to cry political bias.

You'd think they'd be pleased. The predominant colour in the BBC news programmes was predominantly blue from 1984 to 1997 and then they had a bit of a revamp, when the predominant colour became red.

Could be a coincidence, but I'll be keeping a close eye on those pesky biased kids at the BBC come May if there's a new Conservative government....

[garinda]

I think in this media-savvy, spin infested, political world we live in today, whenever something is reported that doesn't fit in with any party's agenda, they're going to cry foul play.

[Ken Moss]

Originally Posted by garinda

So there was more than one storyline, attempting to bring down the government?

See, you've uncovered a 'news' scoop.

It's nice to see that they've watched practically all of McCoy's era and made the most innocuous stories look political, yet missed the blindingly obvious.

Fleet Street journalism at its very best!

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Ken Moss

You'd think they'd be pleased. The predominant colour in the BBC news programmes was predominantly blue from 1984 to 1997 and then they had a bit of a revamp, when the predominant colour became red.

Could be a coincidence, but I'll be keeping a close eye on those pesky biased kids at the BBC come May if there's a new Conservative government....

Blue Peter!

More evidence.

Fifty two years of forcing Conservatism down poor youngster's throats.

That needs readdressing.