This is one of the most depressing threads I've read in a long time. It reflects a few things.
Firstly how little we value and understand democracy in this country.
Secondly how important the media is to upholding democracy and keeping it accountable in a healthy manner.
And thirdly how valuable good journalism is for all of us - whether you agree with the opinion or comment made.
This comes a time when journalists are being rounded up in Turkey too, which makes it even more infuriating.
A healthy media should reflect a wide range of different opinions and political persuasions and a wide range of interests of different people. It should be owner by a number of different people in order to ensure that power is spread and not concentrated in a small number of media barons. It should be both localised and national. It should report both domestic and international issues. It should provoke debate and discussion.
Just today, I've been reading on twitter about the decline of local journalism - @Gareth_Davies09for anyone who wants to read - and how it has become little more than click bait. Local media provides local accountability. It also helps people keep in touch and get their voices heard. If you want to talk about why people feel that they are not listened to by Westminster then there is one reason right there. Its not just about local MPs being out of touch. MPs need to know about things going on locally, and if the media don't help in that process, an important force is lost.
Al Jazeera was formed because the western media only provided a voice based on European and North American thinking. It didn't and doesn't value the lives of people living in the Middle East as equal. So Al Jazeera was formed to try and fill that void, and provide a voice - a peaceful, political and powerful one. Put this into context of the alternative being civil unrest and you start to see why this is so important.
The Guardian, might be leftie liberal and not appeal to everyone. THIS IS A GOOD THING. It represents the views of a certain group. It helps to encourage debate, and it helps to challenge ideas that might be wrong. This does not mean the Guardian is always right. In fact it is often blinked in its own thinking, and I won't deny that. But it works and is valuable because it is part of something bigger. It is part of a range of different newspapers and allows people to choose and think critically. if anything we need MORE left leaning perspectives in our media. It is a criticism that Corbyn has had. Not necessarily as highbrow as The Guardian but from a different point of view.
The level and quality of journalism that exists out that, that properly quotes and sources what it reports, rather than simply having a very strong editorial line, is shocking. Again, this goes back to local press and trying to chase advertising revenues rather than talking about important issues and the core problems in society and politics. Its more about popularism and sensationalism. Which is very unhelpful and ends up polarising society rather than being a force for meaningful change that is to all our benefit.
If you only have a few newspapers which reflect a very narrow view point and a very narrow ownership, power becomes concentrated and it leaves democracy open to abuse.
The media is changing a great deal at the moment, due to the internet and falling revenues from the paper press and the ability of people to blog and share ideas through social media. This however, is not a substitute for established media networks and journalists who have the skill, ability and background knowledge and most importantly are purely focused on get to the bottom of an issue because that is their job and they are paid to do that.
Journalists get a hard time in this country, because of the doorstoppers and the scumbags that do the sensationalism. Its unfair and it neglects to acknowledge the hard work of people who do make a different and do work to change things for the better, and do try and listen to the voices of the public.
If you want to slag off The Guardian because you don't like it, that's fine. But to say you want it closed down is just spiteful and akin to shooting yourself in the foot, because you want everything your way. The reality is that the closure of The Guardian would not achieve that. It would not achieve the goal of 'making people realise the problem of immigrants'. It would merely take away some of your chance to hold the government and 'the elite' to account.
Its like everything though, people don't understand things properly, until they are gone and they suddenly become aware of all the little unsung things that they achieved. Things that so many people around the world fight for as a form of liberty and part of democracy. Its so sad that we take this for granted and scorn it and deride media studies instead of celebrating what it actually protects.