Modern journalists, it seems, are such sensitive souls. They chase after their targets, hassle them, engage in doorstep scrums, bang on doors, shout through letterboxes, invade privacy, smear, defame, invent, and on occasion partake in means of information gathering that arouses the interest of law enforcement authorities. But woe betide anyone who shows the mildest dissent at their behaviour.
No, he still doesn't look sinister to me
This has been illustrated superbly today, as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been putting the case for supporting the campaign for Britain to remain in the European Union. He had a dig at the press. Some of those present - not seriously, it seems - booed one of the press pack. As a result, said press pack descended into a self-pitying mass of whining, protesting, blubbering, victim-playing, overgrown children.
Corbyn might have been better advised not to have that dig; in this, he is not helping his cause. But he did tell those booing to be quiet. One would not have realised this from the wailing and gnashing of teeth. “What a nasty bunch these Corbyn activists appear to be” opined one (false assumption there). “Would Corbyn think it OK for other employees to be booed and jeered at while at work?” snarked another.
How about a comment from Laura Kuenssberg, who was being defended by so many of the hacks? “Corbyn can't resist a pop at media in answer to @chrisshipitv”. There’s that BBC impartiality for you. What did the Murdoch doggies make of it? As if you need to ask. “Boos and hisses as BBC's @bbclaurak is called to ask a question at Jeremy Corbyn press conference - can't wait for @MrHarryCole 's turn!” sniffed Steve Hawkes.
Rupert Myers, who claims to be a journalist, could only manage “This is disgusting”, although it was unclear what he was referring to. And there were even some pretend journalists to pass comment, like Master Harry Cole, the Sun’s alleged “Westminster correspondent”, who sniffed “Grim. Room of Labour supporters boo and hiss when @bbclaurak is called for a question”. Except it wasn’t quite like that.
The booing was not serious, and even so, Simon Ricketts was not impressed. “The journalists clutching their pearls because one of them was booed is a bit rich”. Ben Fenton reminded everyone this was not a new phenomenon: “Aren't my former colleagues in the media being a bit precious? When I were a lad, it was routine to be booed by Thatcherites or Kinnockites”. And the hacks had forgotten something.
After one Tweeter put the whingers straight with “and actually the boos descended into quiet laughter. Not sinister”, someone had to remind them “Corbyn stopped [the] booing, whereas Boris …”. Yes, Bozza set his audience on Michael Crick of Channel 4 News, and that was perfectly acceptable. Because Bozza is by profession … a journalist. One of them. So he gets a free pass. Because they won’t dump on their own.
What a bunch of thin-skinned, snivelling hypocrites. No change there, then.
6 comments:
'Pretend journalists'
Oh, that made me laugh!
Bloody true.
Did anyone ask why she was booed, her persistent attacks on Corbyn, her part in a orchestrating a shadow cabinet MP to resign on air, and the BBC's refusal to air any bad news fro the Conservative Government including the massive electoral fraud case that is going on.
Alarm call on R4 today headlines this morning. No mention of Tory election expenses scandal. But a piece by Laura K on a specious Union leader "demand" to Corbyn to up his game for VoteRemain. Turned off radio.
Is this the impartial we were used to turn to for an alternative to the opinions of the right wing press barons?
I think not. Laura K may just be a jobsworth doing her job as commanded by her superiors Robbie Gibb and James Harding but it's a poor do when it comes to defending the licence fee. Perhaps that's their aim - part of the plan to make it easier for a Tory government to privatise the business.
As to booing, it has become an accepted part of football to boo "your" team if they are not performing to their potential (intensified by Sky and BT coverage. If the BBC don't give any adequate reasons as to why they are not covering such an important matter for our democracy what else can licence fee payers do to make their unhappiness with the current service, at least on the political side, known? By all reports it wasn't that serious anyway, just blown up by the usual suspects of attention seeking right wing pundits (although it doesn't seem to help their case, that the Beeb is a "leftie" organisation).
Perhaps we can get a Laura K piece tomorrow upping her game and looking over there at CCHQ and their current problems regarding the election expenses. But will she be allowed to?
Frankly, I would have thrown buckets of water over the twats. Then pelted them with rotten eggs.
The miserable, hypocritical, self-pitying, lying, extreme right wing gobshites have had it coming for years.
Kuenssberg is just another OoLook At Me! meff with about the same interest in truth and fairness as the rest of them. Which is why that "profession" is held in such contempt.
The lot of them are shit scared at losing their "jobs."
Corbyn makes them look like the tenth rate tin drummers they are. Good on him.
It has to be said that the media do generally tend to act like spoiled little Joffreys - rules are for other people etc - but unfortunately they're still the ones defining and reporting the story for the vast majority of people who don't go beyond the mainstream coverage. So pissing them off isn't the smartest thing to do.
You missed the fact the when Guido Fawkes posted a clip of the event he deliberately amplified the booing to make the sound more extreme and sinister than it actually was.
If you watch the unedited clip from ITN you can hear that the booing was muted and descended into nervous laughter. Not sinister at all.
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