[Dave]

It's took me a few days to post this up or it would simply look like a rant.

I used to buy the Sun every day and occasionally the Times if I thought I'd have enough time to read it.

However, after buying my usual fags and Sun on the way to work I was quite disgusted that the first 5 pages were simply attacking Gordon Brown over the European Constitution. What on earth is all this about?

I buy a paper to read the news (though I have long known the Sun is rather thin in this respect) not to have the political convictions of the papers masters forced down my throat. I was a little miffed but meh, I'm used to it now.

So, the next day I again pick up the paper and on the cover is Gordon Brown again with some typical Sun rhetoric. Oh right, so 2 days in a row now they see fit to publish the political beliefs of their masters instead of reporting "news". I put the paper back in the rack and vowed to never purchase the stupid rag again, ever.

I suppose my point is that it's virtually impossible to buy a newspaper these days without some political ******** creeping in to it somewhere. Or those that try to remain impartial are obviously aimed at someone who earns 5 times the salary I do.

I've just given up now and don't even bother getting a paper at all. It simply saves me teeth gnashing until I throw it away in despair.

Sorry for the long ramble but I needed to get it off my chest. Any thoughts on this?

[avinitski]

You buy The Sun every day!?! I thought only thicko loud mouth lay abouts bought this.

I find the free Metro paper to be the only impartial paper around.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by avinitski

You buy The Sun every day!?! I thought only thicko loud mouth lay abouts bought this.

Yep, I used to and no I'm not a thick loud mouth layabout.

Unfortunately I very rarely use public transport so the metro is rather hard to get hold of.

[avinitski]

This is in Manchester, not sure for other locations but its also handed out around the town centre, btw i wasn't calling you a lazy loud mouth lay about! lol

[Dave]

Originally Posted by avinitski

This is in Manchester, not sure for other locations but its also handed out around the town centre, btw i wasn't calling you a lazy loud mouth lay about! lol

It's only available on public transport in the midlands as far as I know. I don't work around town centres so have no idea if I could get one there. Shame really cos as you say, it's a cracking paper.

P.S. I know you weren't calling me a lay about. I said I bought it on the way to work.

[Mr_Wistles]

The words "Sun" and "Newspaper" in the same sentence.

[johnscarlet]

Originally Posted by avinitski

This is in Manchester, not sure for other locations but its also handed out around the town centre, btw i wasn't calling you a lazy loud mouth lay about! lol

so who are you calling lazy loud mouth lay about ? Me ?

[bumper31]

Originally Posted by Dave W

It's took me a few days to post this up or it would simply look like a rant.

I used to buy the Sun every day and occasionally the Times if I thought I'd have enough time to read it.

However, after buying my usual fags and Sun on the way to work I was quite disgusted that the first 5 pages were simply attacking Gordon Brown over the European Constitution. What on earth is all this about?

I buy a paper to read the news (though I have long known the Sun is rather thin in this respect) not to have the political convictions of the papers masters forced down my throat. I was a little miffed but meh, I'm used to it now.

So, the next day I again pick up the paper and on the cover is Gordon Brown again with some typical Sun rhetoric. Oh right, so 2 days in a row now they see fit to publish the political beliefs of their masters instead of reporting "news". I put the paper back in the rack and vowed to never purchase the stupid rag again, ever.

I suppose my point is that it's virtually impossible to buy a newspaper these days without some political ******** creeping in to it somewhere. Or those that try to remain impartial are obviously aimed at someone who earns 5 times the salary I do.

I've just given up now and don't even bother getting a paper at all. It simply saves me teeth gnashing until I throw it away in despair.

Sorry for the long ramble but I needed to get it off my chest. Any thoughts on this?

I can't believe this has come as a surprise to you.....The sun and Murdochs empire in general have always dished out this kind of political rhetoric....

I won't touch that rag for anything....the only truly impartial paper is the Daily Sport..not unless You count Nipple counting as policy :D

[mjn]

I buy the sun if i want to look at pictures, while pretending to read the news, but if i actually want to read the news, i'll go for the Times.

[Sonic67]

Read Private Eye. Full of satire and humour and digs at the press.

[Razor]

I havent bought a newspaper in years. I got fed up of getting dirty hands from the print.

[la gran siete]

what we have in this country are political propaganda rags ,not newspapers that should be taken with a pinch of salt.Always makes me laugh when they complain about the BBCs left wing bias.
Murdoch is known for his detestation of both the EC and the BBC

[Singh400]

I find the Metro pretty good, theres always a copy on the buses around here. Plus, it's free.

[Wild Weasel]

There's nothing wrong with a little campaigning journalism now and then. It's something the red top papers love to do every few months or so. Usually it's for something laudable, like stopping child cruelty or trying to get the Prime Minister to stop weaseling out of a manifesto commitment to a referendum. Seeing as nobody aged under 50 has ever had a vote on Europe, I don't have a particular problem with that.

I think it's irritating when it's done all the time though. The Independent 'newspaper' is the worst for this. They always have the front cover and pages 1 and 2 bitching about some bleeding heart issue or other. It's a pathetic shadow of what it used to be.

[ed_mcl]

It's not just the big national papers either. There's plenty of absolute crap printed in the local rags as well, Liverpool Daily Post and Echo being a fine example.

[RMCF]

To be honest, to call any of the tabloids 'news'papers now should be against the Trades Description Act.

Although they have always covered popular events, they are now appealing to the lowest common demoninator.

They are 75% gossip about non-entity 'celebs', or page after page about the latest TV show, be it X-Factor or Big Brother, or page after page photos of Danielle Lloyd for 6 weeks solid, or Shilpa Sheety, or Britney Spears, or some drunk party-goers.

Lets be honest - is this all news?

I have not bought a tabloid in about 10 years. I rarely buy any newspaper as the news tends to be already out of date and I still have the net to catch all the breaking news.

I do enjoy reading some sports coverage, but mor of that is also coming from the net.

[la gran siete]

Newspaper should be required to print the news as objectively as possible, editorial columns shpuld be banned, opinion columns would be allowed but each of those woul be countered by an alternative.A view from the right and a view from the left so no one feels a particular political agenda is being forced doiwn their throats.There need only be about 3 or 4 papers, The amount ogf gossip would be strictly controlled and the hounding of particular individuals would also be limited especially if it concerns their sexual activities.Private lives are private lives

[johntheexpat]

Originally Posted by Dave W

..... Or those that try to remain impartial are.....

Non existent

[PoochJD]

Hi,

FWIW I've never thought of any of the tabloids as newspapers, as there's never any actual news that they would print, solely because it would be deemed too "complex" for their average readers. If the story can't be condensed into sentences of less than 10 words, and one paragraph, then you won't find it in The Sun, or any other red-top wrag!

In all seriousness though, alll media outlets (print, audio, visual or Net) have their own slant to push, be it political, social or something else. Even "The Independent" is not truly equal in the stories it publishes, but at least it tries to maintain some integrity and stick to a neutral ground. The web can also be just as biased, depending on which site it appears on. And, in all honesty, any site that printed just nothing but facts, would find there isn't much of a "story" to be made.

An easy, and obvious example is the recent story about Madeline McCann (sp?). From Day 1, there's not really been a story to tell. The only actual facts are as follows:
- older child was left with two younger siblings, whilst parents went out
- parents checked on kids every half-hour or so
- elder child goes AWOL, presumed kidnapped
- hunt continues for missing elder child

That's it! That's not a story, though. It's just hard facts, with no substance to it. If that's all you want, it's easy enough to pick out from the various versions of a story (TV, radio, press, etc), what the actual facts are. The rest is just journalistic second-guessing, thoughts and opinions - which are all the parts that make-up the rest of the piece, and end-up becoming the "story" that gets printed or spoken about.

I guess the bigger problem, though, is the fact that the tabloids don't even print stories now, but just opinions and material that's as close to slander as you can legally get. There's not a single ounce of "news" in anything they publish. Even headlines are questions and opinions, or attention-grabbing self-congratulatory slaps-on-the-back e.g. Serial Killer caught, thanks to your Daily Mail, etc, etc.

Sadly, it's this kind of parasitic bile, that the average person is happy to shell 45p (or whatever) to read, and stay "informed" with what's happening in the world. But it's not genuine news!

And, if the story's published in The Sun, then it absolutely must be the truth, mustn't it?!


Pooch

[city fan]

A very good thread.

I've had strong opinions on this subject for a while, and pooch has saved me some typing! Pretty much spot on, pooch.

Basically red tops are comics. You may as well wipe your **** with them. Probably find something more interesting on it afterwards too

You've then got your semi-comics the Mail, Express. These I believe are the most insideous. They pretend to be serious, but are only extensions of their editors political leanings and popularist headling grabbing.

If your going to read a paper it has to be a broadsheet.They also have the problem of being left or right wing and are full of political bias. If you can get through this then generally you can glean some worthwile news.

I've read them all. (The Guardian once). I believe The Times is at the moment the only paper that gives an objective view as possible.

It has some serious news stories, coupled with a good few well respected columnists. Plenty of thought provoking articles. Also the sports coverage is top notch as well.

I know News Corp (Murdoch) is the parent company of the Times, but I don't see any of his politcal bias in the paper. I'm sure there is some in there, but I can get round that.

[Wild Weasel]

Originally Posted by la gran siete

Newspaper should be required to print the news as objectively as possible, editorial columns shpuld be banned, opinion columns would be allowed but each of those woul be countered by an alternative.A view from the right and a view from the left so no one feels a particular political agenda is being forced doiwn their throats.There need only be about 3 or 4 papers, The amount ogf gossip would be strictly controlled and the hounding of particular individuals would also be limited especially if it concerns their sexual activities.Private lives are private lives

Great, you can market it at retards who can't make up their own mind.

[overkill]

Originally Posted by Wild Weasel

There's nothing wrong with a little campaigning journalism now and then. It's something the red top papers love to do every few months or so. Usually it's for something laudable, like stopping child cruelty or trying to get the Prime Minister to stop weaseling out of a manifesto commitment to a referendum. Seeing as nobody aged under 50 has ever had a vote on Europe, I don't have a particular problem with that.

I think it's irritating when it's done all the time though. The Independent 'newspaper' is the worst for this. They always have the front cover and pages 1 and 2 bitching about some bleeding heart issue or other. It's a pathetic shadow of what it used to be.

Campaigning journalism? From our 'majors'? When and where? Even when they run an article on the one hand about 'problems in Africa' it's tainted on the other by them five pages later playing the 'blame game' and washing the West's hands clean of any dirt.

Our press are all (bar that rag the Mirror) right wing propaganda sheets, and as such should be required to post, on page one, that fact, rather than hiding behind the 'objectivity of the press'. I say this, as sadly, a large majority of our paper reading public really don't know that all the Mail, Express, Sun, Toryograph et al do is constantly pump out pro Tory, xenophobic bile (and lies). On the European issue alone, and probably why we don't get a referendum, as they've stirred up so much anti EU hate, the press have told lie after lie after lie about the EU. There is a list showing all the porkies they've told and what the reality is behind the stories.

City fan, the Times by it's own admission is pro Tory. However, It's the one paper I do enjoy occasionally. Oh, and where are these 'left wing' newspapers? I've yet to find one?! Unless you mean the joke known as the Mirror..................

Pooch, old m8, scary as it may sound, I worked with people in the building trade who actually believed that the Sun, and the rest of the press 'told the truth'. They weren't and aren't alone, and this is what makes the right wing, partisan nature of our press so dangerous.

[city fan]

Originally Posted by overkill

City fan, the Times by it's own admission is pro Tory. However, It's the one paper I do enjoy occasionally. Oh, and where are these 'left wing' newspapers? I've yet to find one?! Unless you mean the joke known as the Mirror..................

I certainly don't want to get into a left/right wing debate as it's well off topic, but you can certainly include the Guardian as left wing.

I agree there are more right leaning rags than left. It is worrying that people actually think papers like the Sun and Mirror tell the truth.

With regards to the Times, there may be a bias to the right (traditionally more so, less so today). The editorals I believe are fair minded and certainly praise labour if they believe they've done the correct thing. Mind you, probably because labour has come more towards the centre right anyway . But we won't go there.....

[Pat_C]

Originally Posted by city fan

It is worrying that people actually think papers like the Sun and Mirror tell the truth.

Do they still have 'The Sun Says' to assist people with the troublesome business of forming opinions?

[Kwman]

I actually buy The Sun everyday as it has very good footie news and is actually quite accurate with the rumors.

They don't just slag off labour, but praise them as well when its due.

Also in the past and present they have slagged off conservatives and liberal democrats as well.

So its kinda incorrect to label them Labour haters when they are currently pro-labour atm. They are right wing though.

[hermanmunster]

Originally Posted by overkill

....... scary as it may sound, I worked with people in the building trade who actually believed that the Sun, and the rest of the press 'told the truth'. They weren't and aren't alone, and this is what makes the right wing, partisan nature of our press so dangerous.

May be it's time for an IQ test before you can vote

I'll get me coat and tin hat on

[Dave]

Originally Posted by hermanmunster

May be it's time for an IQ test before you can vote

It's not needed, only 40% of the population bother anyway. The rest rely on their favourite daily rag to bully the politicians in to what the paper tells the readers they want.

[la gran siete]

Originally Posted by Wild Weasel

Great, you can market it at retards who can't make up their own mind.

the point I am making is that I dont mind invited columnists giving us their opinions but the paper itself must be even handed and as impartial as possible. We dont need propapgmda shoved down our throats, especially right wing.

quite like the Observer myself, although the rugby coverage is ****

[Silver Arrow]

I haven't bought a paper in years, as a teenager/early twenty something I realised that I was opinionated enough (and my opinions were generally correct) so I didn't need the force feeding of some editors incorrect opinion.

And I really can't see what is wrong with an IQ test before being allowed to vote... Can I set the rules / standards for passing though!

[Wild Weasel]

Originally Posted by overkill

Campaigning journalism? From our 'majors'? When and where? Even when they run an article on the one hand about 'problems in Africa' it's tainted on the other by them five pages later playing the 'blame game' and washing the West's hands clean of any dirt.

Oh, cry me a river.

Our press are all (bar that rag the Mirror) right wing propaganda sheets, and as such should be required to post, on page one, that fact, rather than hiding behind the 'objectivity of the press'. I say this, as sadly, a large majority of our paper reading public really don't know that all the Mail, Express, Sun, Toryograph et al do is constantly pump out pro Tory, xenophobic bile (and lies). On the European issue alone, and probably why we don't get a referendum, as they've stirred up so much anti EU hate, the press have told lie after lie after lie about the EU. There is a list showing all the porkies they've told and what the reality is behind the stories.

Well I have to say that is an absolutely classic example of patronising left wing disdain for the general public and the democratic process. Good lord! How DO those ignorant, downtrodden masses get by without the ability to think and reason for themselves? Surely the clear evidence that the EU is expensive, unneeded, undemocratic, corrupt, bureaucratic and totally undermines us as a nation could have nothing to do with its' unpopularity? No, it must be right wing press' propaganda wot did it! Damn them and their straight banana stories! Damn also trades unions like Unison, the RMT and GMB, who also want a referendum.

Clearly an 'enlightened' person like you should make it your life's work to educate them in the error of their ways. Go on, show them that media studies degree wasn't a total waste of time.