Comment posted Commons Culture Committee loses all perspective in Murdoch declaration by newsroom.
I think he’s much less dangerous and has done much less harm than Blair or Straw.
Lynda
newsroom also commented
- Wouldn’t disagree with any of this – but moral standpoints come a touch rich from politicians who vote through on false premises measures affecting the nation; and who close ranks for party advantage against indefensible wrongs – like the war in Iraq and extraordinary rendition.
We have no quarrel with the Murdoch judgment, per se (although it is over-egged) but with the source of it – aggravated to a secondary degree by the fact that the committee members’ combined management experience of anything substantial will be on the slender side. - As with our utilities and major businesses.
Recent comments by newsroom
- Iain McCallum: the human bridge between Campbeltown and Heroes Challenge UK
Alan – we’ll try to get a message to the team for you – and will pass on your email to them for dir3ect contact.
The communications side of things is a weak link – not just with wifi and mobile signal problems but with accurate information on ETAs and even destinations.
We spent the afternoon today chasing around unsuccessfully to find them at their stated destination in Campbeltown – confirmed before we set off to drive – when in fact they finished at The Putechan Hotel, which is on the west coast of Kintyre and well short of Campbeltown. Very frustrating.
We did see the team doing the hard stuff though – passing them on the way south. They were cycling in two clusters, impressively easily and very disciplined in the way they were dealing with traffic streams behind them.
You should know that we now understand that they will row tomorrow from Campbeltown to Glenarm and not to Ballycastle; and that it looks as if they will row back not form Newcastle but from Bangor to Portpatrick.
They’ll be delighted to see you mi-channel. Great idea. - Argyll and Bute Council: Where are we now?
The difference is that the new ferry to Campbeltown had an arrival time and actually arrived.
A major part of what we work to do is to support initiatives at all levels that are focused on regeneration and are driven by positive, creative energies that make things happen.
Campbeltown wins hands down over Kilmory any minute of any day on these criteria – and we never spare ourselves travelling and hard work on a cause that has some hope of going somewhere.
And just in case you are implying that this was a jolly – which we never do: I myself drove to Campbeltown – 1 hr 30m – did the work and drove back again immediately. - Argyll and Bute Council: Where are we now?
This amusing spin disguises the fact that there was no political ‘speculation’.
There was formally recorded political realignment and manoeuvering by all councillors – which was done in some urgency before the council meeting, yet appears to have stalled – for some reason and for the time time being at least.
Councillors do not seem to realise that this adds to the alienation of voters rather than assuage concerns. - Big welcome at Campbeltown for new Ardrossan ferry
We understand she carried about 60 passengers and although, flying around to catch as much as possible, we didn’t have time to count the cars coming off, we did look out for this and there were a respectable number of them. - Argyll and Bute Council: Councillor McCuish leads again
We appreciate that it is inconvenient for a light to be shone on doings your party would prefer to keep hidden in shady places from those it asks to vote for it.
That is a dishonourable contract.
As the former Alliance of Independent Councillors [which had nothing at all do with Michael Russell ] knows very well, when it was damaging Argyll and Bute by its conduct during the 2010-11 schools closure wars, we were even more vigilant in keeping them under scrutiny and publishing on their manoeuvres.
We had to be even more vigilant because they were skilled at keeping things under wraps – where the SNP has conducted its acts of political genocide en plein air. All anyone has had to do is draw up a chair.
It should be obvious from our stance in recent weeks that we have no ‘vendetta’ against Councillor Dick Walsh, whom we dealt with arguably more harshly than we have done with Mr Russell.
A central function of our role is to contribute to the holding to account of those elected to serve the people. We do our best to fulfil this fairly – and hard. But we have no vendetta against anyone.
In Mr Russell’s case we simply feel he is a hot air balloon who has imploded over Argyll and done a great deal of harm – profoundly so to his own party, which we used to support. The evidence for our view is in the public domain.
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So, really Newsie you think Rupert Murdoch is ok??
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I think he’s much less dangerous and has done much less harm than Blair or Straw.
Lynda
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I suppose any politician in a democracy has to try not to alienate the moguls of the news media, with their ability to form public opinion (to put it politely), but it gives those moguls immense power over the workings of democracy.
There’s a clear risk of abuse and – in the case of the Murdoch dynasty – increasing power in the hands of people who aren’t British citizens, and who cannot be assumed to have the interests of us Brits at heart any more than they do those of the country that made them, the country they’ve grown too big for. That’s not to say they’re unique – from Robert Maxwell through Conrad Black there have arguably been worse, and now we’ve got a pornographer, and more recently a Russian oligarch. Surely there’s a need for some form of closer vetting of people buying themselves influence over our politicians.
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As with our utilities and major businesses.
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True, but aren’t newsmedia moguls likely to have far more influence over the way we’re governed (especially if they gain control over an increasingly large chunk of the media) than the big players in any other business sector?
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And that has to include the other even more influential player – The BBC – which is non stop – all day – mild but deliberate propaganda. (depending which side of the fence your are on )
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Malcolm, either substantiate this or save us the bother of reading it.
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Malcolm – what kind of propaganda do you consider the BBC to be putting out? Examples?
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So what do you suggest we do with BBC Scotland?
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Balance.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2012/04/rupert_murdoch_-_a_portrait_of_1.html
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I agree. The BBC and BBC Scotland in particular are often lamentable.
Only today with a revised schedule Politics Today failed to cover FMQ although there was no clash with Prime Minister’s Questions as Westminster has, apparently, “risen” Instead, we were treated to a long and extremely boring discussion about drought which Andrew Neil assured us was affecting “the entire nation” About time sonebody gave him a ring from Paisley.
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Robert – you and your pals are so verbally aggressive and offensive – what’s wrong with you all ? Anyway far too busy to continue with this so enjoy ! Some good headlines on Salmond in the media today – Cheers !
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Much enjoying this recent photo. It is not only the Labour Party that stands accused of hypocrisy but the wide range of Scottish media which is deliberately ignoring it.
http://www.markpack.org.uk/28860/photo-of-ed-miliband-standing-up-to-rupert-murdoch/
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Well if we are all doing links…. http://news.stv.tv/politics/97629-alex-salmond-faces-grilling-from-msps-over-ties-to-rupert-murdoch/
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Obviously, Simon, you’ve missed the point again. I suppose we should be used to that by now.
Salmond has been all over all the papers on this issue, mostly front page, so your link is entirely redundant and immaterial.
Which newspaper had Milliband all over it?
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“Simon” Did you read your link? Or did you just grab the headline?
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The Sun, obviously, only not in Scotland.
I am a fan of the Newspaper Review that takes place at 1130 pm on SkyNews where two assorted media people comment on the newspapers as they are published. Obviously the issues that they cover are the important “metropolitan” ones and I am struck at the variations that appear on the Scottish editions when I see them on my newsagents displays the next morning.
The Daily Telegraph and the Scottish (sic) Daily Mail regularly and The Times and the Scottish (ha ha) Daily Express frequently carry anti-Scottish Government slants to their front covers. These sell so few copies here that we needn’t be unduly concerned at any influence that they might aspire to.
The Guardian, though well presented and written, makes few, if any concessions to the Scottish political scene, I suspect that Scottish Labour, while useful at one time, causes them some embarassment, and I am surprised that it sells here at all.
The Record, bless it, sticks rigorously to the old Labour line apart from Joan MacAlpine once a week, and the other red tops seem much more interested in Simon Cowell than in our one.
Labour’s sour grapes at losing the support of The Sun seem like a gross over reaction.
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How does the Independent rank, Ken?
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Robert,
I have to confess I have never bought it although it seldom seems to follow the pack and its front pages are mostly original in design and approach.Should I give it a try?
I don’t buy it myself but I read the P&J closely every day in connection with my work and the Argyll & Bute weeklies but I find FA a very useful source of opinion and reaction.
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Worth a try, I think (and I must admit to not reading the P&J though it’s clearly often worth checking (but not always – it seems to have fought shy of some of the Aberdeen city business / politics ‘affairs’ of recent years, maybe for good commercial reasons and supporting Newsroom’s comment ‘as with our utilities and major businesses’)
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The whole report is going to the full House of Commons for a vote. I wonder what way the SNP MPs will vote? Will they follow the Tories through the lobby, agreeing that Rupert is a ‘fit person’ to run a media empire?
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Wonder which way the Scottish MP’s will vote?
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Newsroom wrote:
“Phone hacking, reprehensible as it is, has not lost lives, to the best of our knowledge.”
The Watson parents from Glasgow would disagree; they contend that thoughtless, groundless, amoral press coverage can result in death. They shared their tragic story near the start of Leveson’s inquiry. And I believe that there are other victims who would agree.
But rather than getting into ‘which is the worst of multiple wrongs’, it is, I believe, a defensible position to say: In the regulated business of media ownership, special standards need to apply. And that the selective amnesia displayed by Rupert at least casts doubt on his fitness to run a UK regulated media business where proprietor conduct is open to scrutiny.
Even football sets ‘fit and proper’ standards. And media companies, given their power and influence, cannot conduct themselves with impunity, as Leveson is showing.
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Wouldn’t disagree with any of this – but moral standpoints come a touch rich from politicians who vote through on false premises measures affecting the nation; and who close ranks for party advantage against indefensible wrongs – like the war in Iraq and extraordinary rendition.
We have no quarrel with the Murdoch judgment, per se (although it is over-egged) but with the source of it – aggravated to a secondary degree by the fact that the committee members’ combined management experience of anything substantial will be on the slender side.
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So Newsroom
Are all our politicians a parcel of rogues with no moral compass or just some of them? If you blame all of them, then your premise could be that the masses should rise up as one and remove them. Or, on the other hand, just some in the Executive are evil and corrupt and we let the due process of law deal with them. Is this your argument or have I missed the facts that would support your position?
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Whatever the failings of Rupert Murdoch the anxiety of parliamentarians and hacks to condemn him while police investigations are ongoing show a complete contempt for a basic feature of our constitution, the separation of powers. And the rule of law.
I would rather put my trust in the police and prosecution authorities even with their imperfections than politicians and journalist who are opportunistic in concealing their own misdeeds.
By all means have a public enquiry after the production authorities have completed their enquiries and justice has taken it’s course but let’s not let politicians undermine the judicial process
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Mairi “I wonder what way the SNP MPs will vote? Will they follow the Tories through the lobby”
My prediction is they’ll abstain.
Just as they did way back then – ‘the snp those wonderful politicos that gave you Maggie Thatcher’
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Newsie – this comment is a pile of odure “the committee members’ combined management experience of anything substantial will be on the slender side”.
So, let analyse what you are saying here – it reads like ‘if someone does not have private sector management experience they are not fit to judge those who do’???
Is that really what you are saying??
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Simon,
That simply will not wash and the oft repeated lie does not become any more true from repetition ad nauseum.
What gave “us” Thatcher was the everwhelming votes of the UK electorate, although Scots remained doggedly unenthusiastic, and the UK electors sadly gave us her more than once.
The majority verdict of the Culture Committee appears to have been driven by the obsessive Tom Watson, MP, who blythely manages to overlook the long association of Blair/Brown with News International,e.g. the numerous back door visits to 10 Downing Street, the invitation to be Godfather( is that not appropriate?)to one of Bliar’s children, the sudden dash by Blair to attend a Far East Murdoch summit and the sad huff by Brown when the relationship went sour.
There is an effective Peter Brookes cartoon in today’s Times with Tom Harris stating
After months of evidence…
from this vile, corrupt and morally bankrupt company…
our committee is ready to publish…
my forgeone conclusions.
Sadly by following his lead the Committee has effectively ended with its credibility and its deliberations tainted by overstepping its brief and blindly following the party line.
Needless to state Mr Harris has a book published!
I note that Jim Sheridan is one of the Labour committee members and that in itself would cause me concern. Those who saw him on Newsnight Scotland on Tuesday night will understand what I mean.
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Ouch! Touched a wee raw nerve there did I Ken??
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Not with me I assure you.
I share Bill Jardine’s attitude to the anonymous commentator.
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