Options
What was your most important story of the week?
With questions being asked about the inordinate amount of time spent by the BBC on Ed Miliband's spat with the Daily Mail, I wondered how many forum members also thought it was the most important story of the week. I'm not interested in rehashing the details of the actual spat or even of whether the BBC is biased - thats for another thread - just want to know whether it was your most important story?
"In a week which saw the Conservative Party conference, the drowning in the Mediterranean of hundreds of African immigrants, and the shutdown of the US government, the row was the biggest story for the BBC by far."
"In a week which saw the Conservative Party conference, the drowning in the Mediterranean of hundreds of African immigrants, and the shutdown of the US government, the row was the biggest story for the BBC by far."
the Miliband spat was the most important issue for me 67 votes
Yes
31%
21 votes
No
68%
46 votes
0
Comments
Diana got more coverage....:eek:
Is the question and that rather daft poll just a lame excuse for yet another thread about Miliband snr?
I put yes on the poll but it should be no because the migrants death and shutdown are more important but the Miliband spat is the most important that directly effects the UK.
The Mail's attempts to slur Ed's dad, and their reaction to him standing up for himself was actually a story about how the print media conducts itself, which isn't very well. Whatever Ed's dad thought of the country isn't really the issue, but the fact one of the biggest selling newspapers in the country deliberately wanted to manipulate public opinion so crassly is.
There has been a considerable amount of coverage of the shut-down in America and the deaths of the migrants, so I don't think there is anything to complain about there.
The Telegraph isn't exactly known for being politically neutral, so even if it doesn't stoop to the levels of the Mail, it will have hated Ed being seen as more human. It is also most similar to the Mail than any other paper, in that it is prone to a good health scare, thinks Kate Middleton wearing a pretty dress is front page news, and takes any opportunity to have a dig at the left.
It will have been struggling to know what to say on the issue. It needs to stay at arms' length from the Mail, to avoid getting tarred with the same brush, but it doesn't want to be too forceful in condemning them either, so the next best thing is to have a go at the BBC.
The Tory conference is unravelling already, on one hand a promise from Shallow Dave to be on the side of working people, within a week Jeremey (H)#unt planning to cancel the 1% pay rise for NHS staff, and even talking about ending contractual service related pay rises.
Like I said yesterday, its like planet Tory is slowing turning into the Republicans, and I suspect the results will be the same, loathed and alienated from the wider electorate.
His father believed in an economic system that caused millions of people to starve and a political system that put millions in prison camps and mental hospitals.
So it is a big story.
How many millions of people have died because of the excesses of capitalism?
Funny, I've never seen a reference to him supporting that in his writings........
Is that what he wanted for the UK?:rolleyes:
It was a big story inasmuch as it showed the Right wing British press as being red in tooth and claw in their opposition to and misinformation about those who want to create a fairer society based on equality and democracy.
They reduce debate to a schoolboy "all Marxists must believe in authoritarian suffering" level and constantly refer to Stalin.(Why?
That's the nub of it. It's the story that generated most debate, because it was all about morality and interpretation and claims and counter-claims.
I would argue that the impact of a badly behaved press is important, and therefore influential, which was part of the broader discussion, but one dodgy story itself isn't a huge deal.
The horrible drowning of the migrants was a big shock to us all, but virtually everyone would agree it was awful, so there was't so much to say. We're beginning to get more on the bigger picture aspects of the story of how and why people end up in that kind of danger. The story isn't over.
The shut-down in America was pretty big news, and did get a lot of coverage, but most of the discussion from the general public was one of shock that they could do such a thing, followed by general eye-rolling at "stupid Americans", and their aversion to a proper health-care system.
The volume of coverage a news story gets is based on much more than how important it is.
Ed had a right to be upset but in the end I believe this was strung out to take the focus off the Tory conferance.
The problem is that as the delivery of news is becoming free due to the internet then the outlets need different methods to get sales and web-clicks. Delivering news is not enough - delivering campaigns is the way they have moved with the times. The Mail goes after one section of society as does the Mirror.
The bias is no longer a mouthpiece for the newspapers owner but something that responds to the marketplace and this is dangerous. The Mail should be content pulling apart Milibands and Labour's policies - there are enough holes in them - rather than this disgraceful incident.
Regardless of the fact that the bulk of the BBC's reporting on Miliband had happened BEFORE the drownings & the US situation.
Used a biased source to accuse another source of bias lol.
Benefit reforms including putting people to slavery affects a far wider ranging group and could alter the ability of school leavers and those at the bottom rung into true poverty and suffering.
regardless of a person's politics, it's utterly despicable to 'go after' someone's dead father (based on a diary entry made when he was 16/17) and to 'sneak in to' a family memorial service in the hope of digging up some 'dirt' in order to smear the leader of a political party, and to accuse a man who fought for this country of "hating it" When the founder of the very SAME, ..... 'news' paper supported Hitler and the Nazis,
I know some 'righties' will sneer, But I would say exactly the same had the Mirror or guardian done the same thing to Cameron,
How low can they go, and what sort of person could defend such behaviour?
It's gone pretty quiet on Syria at the moment - Until the powers that be decide they want it to be front page again and focus the masses attention onto certain 'selected' aspects.
In the meantime the upper echelons of British society continue to orchestrate their attacks on the disadvantaged sections of the populace whilst deflecting attention away from their own nefarious activities.
I think for many in the country, the biggest story of the week was the coverage of that child abuse trail, certainly that's all my mother wants to talk about.
It is very clear now that a Tory future would mean little to no support for those unfortunate enough to find themselves unemployed.
It would mean the end of support fot at least a generation, as the cost of setting back up such destruction would be such a hurdle of any party to encounter. A Tory party majority would pretty much mean the end of any security when out of work, and it's hard to see how any incoming party could bring it back.
But that wasn't the question was it. I specifically said that questions of bias were for another thread, so why you were trying to have a pop at me I'm unsure.
So do you think it was the most important story of the week?
why do left wingers always get personal;?