Why do people read the Daily Mail

[TwigTwoolett]

why oh why oh why?

Q: "because they're
ignorant/slumming it/semi-literate or all 3??"

Just one example.

It is possible to say something isn't your cup of tea without making wild assumptions about the people who do like it - the majority of whom you don't know from adam.

I find that, on MN, it's the supposedly all understanding, non-judgemental liberals that are the worst for stereotyping and generally bleating on in a superior way about how they can't understand how people can possibly do x, y or z. It's embarrassing.

God is this still going? Does it matter what paper people read or why. Some of this thread sounds so patronizing and superior.

And before you jump to any conclusions..I don't read papers much.

lol PretendFriend - how fab that your ds even noticed

I think the Mail can be quite amusing aswell - I get to pick and choose between all the papers but I always leaf through the Mail to see what they are ranting about. I normally read the Times or Guardian and sometimes the Telegraph if they have a good foreign or featury piece (like today, they have a lovely feature on a dad who gave up his job as a political news journalist to look after his autistic child).

Exactly Tinygang - that's what I was trying to say!

err

who says liberals are tolerant of blatant bigotry and racism as displayed by the DM?

News to me

seriously though, I'm not a "love-everyone" sort of liberal. Being left wing isn't about giving people random hugs, its about believing in universal human rights and benefits , preferably funded through a progressive taxation system, imo.

and I do think the daily mail has a lot to answer for in, for example, its treatment of Gypsies/asylum seekers/women/etc.

I was going to say pretty much what Filly said

bigot  ? noun - a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion

yes quite Jools

The DM is all of those!
Read some of the 45 comments on this story for eg

at those comments

Probably cause they like Princess Diana

Yes, some of those comments (not all) are bad I agree. Some are in a similar tone to the posts on this thread, some are of a similar tone to a lot of posts over these boards (more and more just lately).

this poster is talking about me

"I think they read it because it confirms them in their beleifs. Comforts them that they are not the only ones who discretely hate immigrants whilst at the same time longing to emigrate themselves. ....Those who believe that the poor, the unemployed and single parents are responsible for all the ills in this world ? apart from those caused by immigrants of course. Who, when presented by the fact that immigrants are working in the NHS, providing cheaper plumbing and building, and generally doing jobs that others might not want, have to revert to the argument that they?re ?taking our jobs?."

Please let me know if you think this little nugget is a true representation of how I am perceived here and I'll start my flounce thread forthwith.

I used to know someone who read the papers for the governemnt and often saw first editions before lawyers got involved and thigs were removed. She used to come home with all sorts of stories about what the Daily Mail had tried to print but had been refused. She used to bring home the Mail on Sunday though and we used to read that jsut so we knew what the other side was thinking and because as a lefty liberal female teacher I am everything the daily Mail despises so it amuses me to see what they have to sday about me and my ilk! Our local cofee shop tends to ahve the Mail out and I read it there as well mainly for amusement factor and I like something to internally argue with.

Sometimes I just want a bit of tittle tattle to read that won't challenge my brain , ahve to admit my answer to this would be Heat,something similar or a tabloid but I could see others would read the DM for that reason. AS Drospholia said there is a gap int he market although I think the broadsheets are addressing that. I agree with others who say that you don;t always want to read what you agree with, my gym often has the telegraph out which is not my natural read at all but i often enjoy the odd article and like to hear things from the other point of view.

I do wonder though about people who buy the DM because they believe it all to be Gospek truth and think it is a reasonable balanced account of modern life, have to admit I once dumped what I thought was a lovely boyfriend as he read the DM with absolutely no sense of irony.

I don;t think it represents you but I would say that you are definetly more right wing than me and I don;t think you will take that as in insult - which it isn;t meant to be just an observation of our differences.

But the description does match my image of a daily mail reader - henceme dumping the boyfriend! Just goes to show that as you have stated elsewhere that us leftie luvvies have our own stereotypes and prejudices that perhaps we are less willing to own up to.

Me too Fio - I've just about had enough of MN tbh and it's overbearing smug factor and superiority complex. It's toe curling.

I think we are very smug, my dp political views are very much in line with yours JT and he just can't bear to talk politics with me as he says I am a smug patronising know all! It is a fault I am trying to address but I am not hopeful.

So next time I read a Daily Mail on a train and i get smug looks and grimaces - which Mnetter will it be? You know I used to buy it to read it, because it amused me and I liked the puzzle pages and to be honest I cannot stand the fact that what newspaper you read gets you stereotyped as bigot, racist, labour, conservative, gay. Who cares - I don't. I'll continue to buy whatever newspaper I feel like trashy or not. I have to ask, what is the point of this thread other than to attack people.

I'm just thankful we have a free press in this country (having seen what it is like for journos and readers when that doesn't happen).

Oh Jools - if they want to judge, let them. Don't take it as a personal insult. This country is very good at categorising people - Mondeo Man, School-gate Mums, Daily Mail readers etc. etc. - it's just something that gets done here it seems that probably started out for marketing reasons and silly political focus groups (gawd, how I tired of hearing how Blair was wooing Middle England).

If I had more time, I would read the Daily Mail and any other paper I could get my hands on. It's very difficult to have an opinion of any substance or value, if you don't familiarise yourself with the different elements in the media and the way in which the available facts are interpreted by different organs, IMO. I have made myself watch films which I knew I would hate, in order to be able to join in debate about them. I even forced myself to read a Martin Amis novel for the same reason.

So IMO it's a bit facile to say "You read this paper, so you are X and Y". Although I am guilty of making assumptions about people who write for particular papers, and I've been proved wrong in that a few times as well.

There are plenty of ignorant and crude assumptions made about "lefties" and "guardianistas" on MN at the moment as well, which don't seem to be attracting the same level of righteous indignation, which is interesting.

I personally think it makes more sense to make assumptions about people's political views on the basis of their voting habits than their choice of newspaper. But that's a different thread

I thought we were talking liberal with a small l

not party politics

I read the daily mail or the evening standard because they are a quick read (I can scan the entire paper back to front in 2 minutes). At the weekend I read the times and spend probably 5 minutes longer reading that. I am not racist or a homophobic or anti single mums (I was brought up by one as it happens), I don't share the views of most of the journalists who write it I just read it because it is a quick easy read.

I completely agree with soabox's post on Friday at 8.14pm.

at some of these stereotypes.