Page Against The (Culture) Machine

There is not enough time or space here to give a thorough and detailed background study of the current state of the British Press in its entirety but I will try and outline some key themes, some key commentators thoughts and add in lots of resources and links in case someone, somewhere wants to read more!

My reason for posting this contextual information is to justify my research question around the effects of crowdfunded journalism. I am attempting here to show that there is a justified need and rationale behind this online development. The press in Britain has long been 'broken' and as a result there is a need for change. Whether crowdfunded journalism can provide that change is part of my theoretical discussion however I am

The recent phone hacking scandal and subsequent court case aimed at News International and its papers and staff has cast a gloomy shadow over the industry and is probably is fairly indicative of the wider practices that occurred in Fleet Street generally. The overall state of the British press is generally seen  (huge generalisation alert!) as being in decline.

The Journalist and news commentator John Lloyd said, in a witness statement give as part of the Leverson Inquiry set up as part of the response to the hacking scandal, that:

"A free press - which includes every kind of journalism: printed, broadcast, on the Net - is an essential part of a democratic state. Where democracy exists, there is always a press, more or less free. Where it does not, there is never a free press...In the UK, contacts and relationships between journalists and the political class are wide and sometimes deep, though varied. In general, left leaning media have strong contacts with left leaning politicians; the same holds true for the right."

He goes on to give examples of the relationships between heads of state and Rupert Murdoch in particular:

"The visit Tony Blair made to a conference of Murdoch executives at Hayman Island, Australia in 1995 soon after he had become leader of the Labour Party has been much commented on as an example of the power which Murdoch wielded, and the obeisance politicians felt necessary to make to him. Prime Minister David Cameron’s frequent contacts with senior News International executives and his employment of the former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as director of communications is also instanced in this context. Both politicians strongly believed that a party leader, and a Prime Minister, had no choice but to woo, win and retain the support of as many media groups as possible, with Rupert Murdoch’s news rnedia at the head of the queue."

Towards the end of the questioning he highlights the future of the industry and the future of press influence:

"The press is now in peril (as a print medium): TV remains the most powerful medium, and will continue to be for some time. As newspapers move away from paper to the Net, then we will see a greater fragmentation of commentary (already happening strongly in the US). Speculation at this stage is as likely to be wrong as right: but in general, the newspaper press, and the culture that goes with it, will continue to weaken: something different (though partaking of it) is being born, slowly."

(http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140122145147/http:/www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Witness-Statement-of-John-Lloyd.pdf)


You don't have to look or search for very long before you find damning reports on the state of teh Press in Britain:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/business/media/the-state-of-british-journalism.html?_r=0

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/83c6e680-ef48-11e2-bb27-00144feabdc0.html

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jan/22/commentanddebate.mainsection




There seems to be genuine concern as to the lack of freedom or perceived loss of press freedom in recent years. We still have a 'free press' but one that is increasingly fears government intervention and intimidation, as the Guardian newspaper found during its release of the Snowden files:

http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2014/news/world-editors-hit-out-at-uk-over-press-freedom/


There are also plenty of examples of corruption and pandering to a powerful elite. The recent Telegraph story in which it tried to protect its advertising account with HSBC by refusing to cover the money laundering and corruption charges against the bank. This is a clear example of a large British paper in cohorts with, and covering for,  a huge corporation, and as such constitutes atype of hegemonic support:

" The Daily Telegraph was accused of launching a “desperate” smear campaign against rival newspapers yesterday to deflect attention from claims that it routinely suppressed news stories to placate an important advertiser."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/media-anger-over-telegraph-suicide-story-10061981.html


There are also often calls for reform.

http://throughcracks.com/media-reform-uk/

But ultimately if you are still in any doubt that the Newspapers and Broadcast news in western democracies influence the public or have a negative influence on individual ideological autonomy then you could do worse than read the seminal Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky.