Thursday 29 April 2010

The three party, one media consensus politics

There now follows an 'election broadcast' by the Media Lens Editors - which may profoundly alter your understanding of politics and the way it gets reported:

The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - the 2010 General Election

While the media pack scurry around reporting Brown's faux pas over Mrs Duffy
(unguarded words which - her own rant on immigration, aside - neatly illustrate how the elite really view 'ordinary' people - like ants) this timely article from ML illustrates the cosy, controlled consensus that exists between the high political class and mainstream media in framing the permissable agenda for discussion.

Thus, Brown can be vilified for a sneering gaffe while his primary part in the vast war crime of Iraq is totally ignored. Meanwhile, Clegg's rationalisation of the carnage in Afghanistan and his Orange Book neoliberalism are deftly disregarded by the liberal media as they gush over his role in 'forging a new politics'. And, like the other leaders, Cameron is allowed to wax noble about public spending cuts and the need for 'proper military equipment' without ever mentioning the Iraqi and Afghan victims of those wars or the countless billions spent prosecuting them.

The media who facilitate and report these debates see no apparent need, either, to pursue such matters.

As the ML Editors accurately remind us, there remains the need not just for a radical politics but, ultimately, an alternative, corporate-free media to help forge it.

John

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