Why I hate the Murdoch Press
30 2011-08-12 by cojoco
I'm lucky enough in Australia to be able to subscribe to a decent paper which has nothing to do with Rupert Murdoch.
I subscribed to the Times Literary Supplement (a Murdoch weekly) a few years back, because I like book reviews.
However, I found that I simply couldn't stomach the articles; it was almost like they made me feel physically sick.
I had a bit of a realization this morning about why the Murdoch media are so hateful.
The style of the articles is very consistently "us" and "them".
This style of writing is very seductive, because the reader feels included in something like a very exclusive club.
However, to feel like a full member of this club, one has to take on board the axioms which drive the authors. For example,
- Iran is an evil theocracy that persecutes its citizens and wants to destroy Israel
- Trade unions are a blight on our society with no redeeming features
- The USA has its problems, but when all is said and done it's the best hope we've got for a stable world
It is only by accepting these tenets that you get to have that comforting feeling of being included in a group that understands the world, and will look after the good people that support the status quo.
The reason that I prefer other papers (such as The Guardian) is that I don't get the feeling that I'm reading pronouncements from the rulers of the world. There are of course a lot of opinions getting slipped in there along with the news and analysis, but they don't make me feel like these reports are anything more than the writing of a smart individual without an over-riding agenda.
8 comments
6 Alcorr 2011-08-12
Good analysis and summary, upboat for you.
5 Squackula 2011-08-12
I'm just sick of all of the partisanship and fear.. Every bad person has ties to 'Al Qaeda' or is a 'terrorist', The left can't do anything right.. I mean, it's the same old crap.
1 cojoco 2011-08-12
Yes, but I think it's more insidious than that: there's a lot of comfort there if you suck up all of the bullshit and believe that you're in the safe inner circle.
There's also the welcome feeling of knowing that you're morally superior to the plentiful evildoers, whoever they may be this week.
My evil father-in-law defended the Iraq war by telling me that it was like a sporting event, and you just had to barrack for your own side!
1 Squackula 2011-08-12
Sporting event? Wow, that's heartless!
2 dieselphiend 2011-08-12
Trade unions are a blight on our society with no redeeming features - Yeh, cause things like a middle-class aren't "redeeming features" right?!?!?
1 Slipgrid 2011-08-12
Murdoch represents big business, but he is a news man first, with a great deal of contempt for political leaders.
2 SayNoToTheism 2011-08-12
You must be on his payroll.
1 cojoco 2011-08-12
Nah, Slipgrid's just trollin'
2 SayNoToTheism 2011-08-12
You must be on his payroll.