Owen Jones Critic Out On The Bitter

The right-leaning part of the press and pundit establishment loves to hate those of inconvenient view, especially when the latter exhibit a grasp of reality that the establishment cannot. They also despise those perceived not to know their place. So the likes of Owen Jones are damned twice over, and moreso when they dare to hold up a mirror to the shortcomings of the Fourth Estate and its inhabitants.

Owen Jones

Those of us who merely observe this sometimes less than edifying spectator sport from the stands know full well that the press and pundit establishment is very much a closed world, and that anything called New Media is not merely frowned on, but frequently sneered at and spat upon. The Sun and Mail can publish the most blatant whoppers, but if the Canary fails to punctuate its posts correctly, there’s all hell to pay.

Sorry, the Tub of Lard couldn't make it

And the attitude to the likes of Jones - a bit too New Left Media, even if he does write for the Guardian - is a case in point, as one observer noted: “Look everyone, it's quite simple: Owen Jones criticising an MP on his twitter is inciting dogpile abuse, while the entirety of the political pundit class using theirs to pillory him as a looney left bully is actually just good and fair journalism”. Jones then expanded on the subject.

“The main thing I've learned from working in the British media is that much of it is a cult. Afflicted by a suffocating groupthink, intolerant of critics, hounds internal dissenters, full of people who made it because of connections and/or personal background rather than merit”. Those who sat through the Leveson Inquiry hearings know exactly where he’s coming from, as do those who suffer the dismal standard of TV and radio punditry.

Jones’ sin is that he brings an interesting and challenging point of view, and an ability to argue his corner, think through his arguments. This was all too much for one who was deficient in these attributes: step forward the odious flannelled fool Master Harry Cole, whose presence before the cameras in indistinguishable from the proverbial tub of lard.

“No, that's what he learned from working at the Guardian. Endless tedious contradictory columns.. and bitter sniping at working hacks. The man couldn't break a window let alone a story. And the realisation that the Corbyn team will never, ever forgive him seems to be eating him up” scoffed someone who only got his break at the Murdoch Sun thanks to the recommendation of an over-promoted News Corp Vice President.

Master Cole's definition of "journalism". No, don't laugh

The reality, of course, is that Master Cole’s idea of “breaking a story” means the kind of thing that got him his first Sun front page - “COURT JEZTER”. In other words, a poorly researched pack of lies that should have been spiked.

Touché

Plus Cole’s claims about Jones and Corbyn are demonstrably just another figment of the flannelled fool’s imagination: were Jones not forgiven by Jezza’s team, he would not be touring the country campaigning for the Labour Party ahead of next month’s local elections - as well as leading the effort to “Unseat” several Tory MPs at the next General Election.

Also, Jones gets better and more high profile TV punditry opportunities than Cole, who has to make do with his old boss Andrew Neil having him on the BBC’s Daily Politics. Jealousy and bitterness are what really eat people up. Hello Master Cole.