By Alison Banville (BSNews Editor)

Part One – ‘As Good As It Gets’

[Published 30 Aug 2012]

The Assange case is just the latest example of the Channel 4 News modus operandi, one that is, despite what its well compensated journalists and editors like to boast, firmly rooted in the ‘propaganda model’; the same model all other corporate media organisations strictly adhere to, the model outlined by Ed Herman and Noam Chomsky in their highly recommended book, ‘Manufacturing Consent’, a must read for any awakened individual who cares about the carnage wreaked by governments emboldened by a weak mainstream media that is constantly parroting official sources rather than questioning them, with tragic consequences. Read more…

Part Two – ‘Its What You Leave Out…’

[Published 30 April 2013]

Part one of this series examined the widely accepted view that Channel 4 News is, within the UK mainstream media (msm), fiercely independent and scrupulous in holding power to account. But as we discovered, when its coverage is scrutinised this image is revealed to be a myth. Channel 4 News is as rooted in The Propaganda Model as any other corporate news outlet, its reporters routinely parroting government statements rather than challenging them resulting in a fatally narrow discourse from which alternative, genuinely critical and radical voices are excluded.  As Media Lens have wryly observed, this is, depressingly, ‘as good as it gets’ in the mainstream. The premise from which all Channel 4 News journalists work is quite clearly ‘we are the good guys’ in terms of British foreign policy and consequently all of their interviews and investigations are based on this ‘act of faith’ assumption. Read more…

Part Three – Why Doesn’t Alex Thomson Have the Guts to Resign? The Plight of the Captive Corporate Journalist

[Published 15 Nov 2013]

Here we are at part three of my series on Channel 4 News. But can there be anything left to say? Plenty is the answer, because in examining Channel 4 News, widely perceived as the best the mainstream news media has to offer, we are exploring the entire issue of why state/corporate sources of news are problematic and that is a big subject. If you have read parts one and two of this series you will be aware of my premise: Channel 4 News is as rooted in The Propaganda Mode as any other corporate news programme and its claim of scrupulous objectivity and fierce independence is a myth. Indeed, it couldn’t be any other way when its journalists and editors are all employed by a profit-seeking company, ITN (more of this in part IV). Read more…