BSNews Engaging with the Mainstream media
News you wont find on BBC or ITN
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Engaging with the Mainstream Media
Alison Banville writes to Andrew Marr 12 Sept 2011
A Wikileaks cable from the US Embassy in London to Hillary Clinton concerning the BBC's Andrew Marr Show raises some fascinating questions about the relationship between the mainstream media and political elites, questions we put to Marr and his editor. The response was interesting to the say the least.... Read more...
Mike Raddie writes to Alex Thomson 21 Sept 2011
Alex Thomson is chief correspondent for Channel 4 News (part of ITN). Earlier this year we contacted Alex to request a meeting to gain a better understanding of the media’s role in wars and in particular, the current war in Libya. Initially he did seem receptive to the idea. After weeks of clashing schedules, we decided to email him some questions. It was only then the barriers came up. Read more...
We've noticed something a little strange and sad about mainstream journalists. They appear perfectly healthy but they are, in fact, suffering from a serious ailment - and they need our urgent help! It's a psychological condition and yes, these things can be treated with drugs, but we here at BS News prefer the holistic approach. We're not concerned with symptoms but with causes. Only then can true healing occur.
How does this illness manifest itself in our msm journos? Well, major symptoms include an overwhelming urge to tell the public how accountable they are; a compulsion to emphasize with utmost sincerity how much they care about viewers' opinions, and a drive to assure them that they are acting in their interests by holding to account politicians and other elites.
Sadly, like an over-eater who lists only lettuce and bean-sprouts in his food diary but is actually shovelling down junk food like there's no tomorrow, the reality reveals a staggering level of self-delusion. And just as the belly fat and bingo wings give away the would-be slimmer, so do the broadcasts of the msm betray their journalists' self-deception.
But this is why the illness is so hard to treat ladies and gentlemen, for the patient must acknowledge it in order to fully overcome it. However, when being sick brings great rewards then what is the motivation to become well? A fat salary, mug on the telly, influence, the satisfaction of having reached the 'pinnacle' of one's profession, the adulation of one's peers, these are tempting compensations for the loss of vital health, otherwise known as - integrity.
But why are we bothering to rush to the aid of those who are unlikely ever to thank us? Because we really care about our highly paid newsreaders and correspondents that's why. And so should you! Yes, we know it may be a lot to ask in these straightened times for you to have empathy for people earning more than most of you could dream of but that's not the point. Their illness infects you also, with a noxious miasma that sends you into a waking trance, unless, of course, you have immunity or can find the antidote.
Immunity comes from already being awake in a world where most are spoon-fed their news - and the antidote? You found it when you hit our website - congratulations!
On this page you will find plentiful evidence of 'greasy-pole syndrome' and, now you are qualified to diagnose it, you can become a healer yourself. Bless you.
Alison Banville writes to Ria Chatterjee 21 Oct 2011
Hi Natasha and Ria,
Can I ask why Ria, during your second report on the closure of St.Paul's on this evening's show you said 'there are major fire safety issues'. You must have been aware that in their statement the camp said:
'This afternoon we have been told, in a telephone call, by the fire brigade, that they have not issued any new requirements above and beyond those already communicated directly to the camp. Therefore, there are no outstanding fire safety issues. What outstanding issues there are appear to be concerned with, firstly, health and safety and, secondly, the Cathedral’s commercial concerns. We seek clarification from the Cathedral as to the precise nature of those health and safety concerns.' Read more...
ITN’s Ria Chatterjee
Alison Banville writes to Susanna Reid 19 Feb 2012
Hi Susanna,
I'm an independent writer currently concerned with mainstream media reporting of the 'Iranian nuclear threat'.
There are actions now being planned to confront (peacefully) journalists such as yourself who are failing to question the government position on this issue - a questioning which is the job of any objective journalist. See Jeremy Paxman's discredited admission that he was 'hoodwinked' over Iraq because he believed Colin Powell to be a trustworthy man!!! But as Media Lens pointed out when they took apart his excuse: 'Does not government submission of evidence mark the point where serious journalism begins rather than ends? What is the reason for journalism at all, if the responsibility is simply to accept what a US Secretary of State says because we “know” he “is an intelligent, thoughtful man, and a sceptical man”?'
