Agenda

All news outlets have an agenda. Blogs are no different. Reporting with the least bias possible is actually the definition of good journalism, but it’s hard to sell and as such hard to find. No one reports ‘the facts’ on their own anymore, it has to go through the filter of whatever editor or news values the particular outlet has. From the perspective of someone under 30 I find a lot of these positions a bit outdated. It’s obvious to anyone who has even a vague interest in politics that the old certainties of right wing and left wing and now more of a grey muddle, but not many newspapers have embraced this. Scratch that. No newspapers have embraced this. While The Guardian comes up with some great journalism a lot of the more frivolous articles (especially the lifestyle stuff) live up to old stereotypes – the ‘liberal lefty’ middle class sandal wearer who buys organic and worries about shit that will never directly affect them. If it wasn’t for this angle seeping through sometimes it would be without doubt the best newspaper online. It’s not far off already. It is the only remaining leftish newspaper - The Mirror is a joke these days, trying to straddle a line between a half arsed socialist agenda and peddling the same crap as the other tabloids. The rest of the press lives up to a stereotype that has existed for some time in politics and media academia - that the press are much further to the ‘right’ than the general population. And all of them, including the Guardian, like the beat the BBC with any stick that’s thrown their way.

It’s rare for me to be on the same side as Peter Mandelson, but he was spot on when pointing out the likelihood of Sky News following the agenda of other News Corp companies in giving tacit support to the Tories. Rupert Murdoch certainly used to be a very hands on owner (stories of terror sweeping through The Sun offices as he stormed through are legend), and it’s unfeasible to think that he doesn’t have at least some of the chief editors (or does he delegate to a ‘chief whip’ these days?) of his empire on speed dial when he needs to set the angle on the day’s news.

The less said about the Daily Mail the better. Check out the Enemies of Reason blog for regular dissections of their nonsense.

So where is this one coming from then? I’ll let you decide for yourself, as I can’t be entirely sure how this all comes off to someone who isn’t me (if anyone is reading at all).