Coronavirus: the news media is conspiring in its own demise
Monday, April 27, 2020 at 18:26 A poll published last week should have made disturbing reading for the news media.
But they live in such a bubble I'm not sure they will care.
Asked by YouGov who they trusted most on coronavirus, 1652 Britons gave a huge thumbs up to the NHS, followed by chief medical officer Chris Whitty and PM Boris Johnson who was still recovering at Chequers when the poll was conducted.
In contrast an overwhelmingly negative reaction was recorded against 'TV journalists' and 'newspapers'.
I'm firmly in that camp too. In fact I've stopped watching the TV news and I only read the papers for non-coronavirus reports.
The single news programme I still listen to on the radio is PM with Evan Davis on Radio 4. At least Davis sounds like he is listening, not waiting to jump in and interrupt or accuse the government of another crime or misdemeanour.
Although I suspect most things will return, sooner or later, to 'normal' (they usually do), the relentless negativity of journalists and broadcasters throughout this period has, I am sure, inflicted permanent damage to our arrogant, out-of-touch media ‘elite’.
I am sorry to write that because I grew up wanting to be journalist, got side-tracked into public relations, then worked for 15 years as a freelance journalist editing several in-house magazines.
I still have a fascination for newspapers and love reading the memoirs of some of the great Fleet Street journalists, most of them now dead, but the behaviour of the media in relation to the present crisis has been abominable.
I mention this because I was struck by a message that was posted on Facebook over the weekend by one of my FB 'friends' who lives in a neighbouring village.
To put this in perspective, most of his posts are about football. Less frequently he posts information that may be helpful to other local residents.
I can't remember him ever posting anything 'political' until Saturday when he wrote:
A message to all our negative UK press - including Laura Kuenssberg of the BBC, Robert Peston of ITV, Beth Rigby of Sky, Piers Morgan of ITV, BBC News in general and all the other negative UK press.
Journalism is missing the "mood" in this great country of ours - the United Kingdom. We do not want or need blame. We do not want constant criticism of our Government who are doing their very best in a very difficult and unprecedented global emergency.
We want and need a constructive contribution to the national effort to help us out of this crisis. We need hope, optimism and faith, with less negativity and more positive support from these journalists. It is time you all changed your negative and political rhetoric for the health of this nation and start supporting our Government.
No-one speaks for the entire nation but that post speaks for millions, I'm sure.
The question is, how can editors and broadcasters be so out of touch with their audience?
It's a mystery.
Reader Comments (3)
stopped fully watching terrestrial tv in the uk mid feb. Can tolerate it if I press mute and have some good music playing as the soundtrack. for me it it all went wrong when Jeremy kyle was removed from the daily diet. hopefully their output has reached the bottom now so it is now do or die as everybody has wised up)
I began to distrust media when it became the mouthpiece for tobacco control and fully on board the hate campaign against smokers while urging us all to be compassionate, tolerant and understanding of everyone and anyone else.
I hope you do realise that "your friend's" message which you quoted was created for Facebook and Twitter bots to spread wildly through the social media. Go figure...why
It was a copy and paste job exactly what the instruction said to do not much thinking involved and actually quite the opposite.