There could be a problem for newspapers

 I am struck by a lack of news this week. Odd as just ahead of an election. there are some stories but nothing like the energy I remember from previous occasions. It may be the complications of Brexit and the conservative Party that make it complicated for the Mail / Express / Sun / Telegraph. They do not seem to know whether to back Reform or attack on behalf of Conservatives. Many readers probably like Farage stories so there is a muddle.

Print circulation numbers are not published in all cases now but I guess there is decline. Evening standard has stopped print midweek. I think national daily papers may go the same way. Telegraph now £3.50 which seems a lot. FT went expensive but most readers shifted online. It seems possible print was continued for the election but maybe not much longer.

Similar for fringe telly. Could move to YouTube.

Strange silence from proper telly except @SkyNews

 At the weekend I tweeted a lot about the Rwanda trip arranged by UK Home Office and the exclusion of journalists clearly opposed to recent legislation. Today I bought a print copy of Guardian and i but can find nothing that explains how the journalism was arranged. 

There was some online reporting. Independent reports Ed Davey speech. He objected to the exclusion of journalists and claimed it showed Rwanda as a "vanity project" . But I cannot find this reported in i or Guardian. Yesterday Sophy Ridge asked about it but not BBC.

On Twitter I now find an update from Deputy Chairman of Conservative Party / GB News presenter

As this continues it is clear there is a trolling operation with journalists as the target. Only GB News Mail Sun Telegraph Express are accepted as allowed to join the photo trip. Have I got this wrong ? If ITN or Channel 4 were invited please let me know. I am basing this on recent tweets. BBC managed to get accreditation for a local reporter but were not on the plane.

So as far as I can tell this is not a story apart from one question from Sky News and a speech from Ed Davey that was not reported in print. Again, links or clues welcome.

This is alarming. This blog has been mostly about Brexit but the same concerns continue with related issues. European Courts now have the role of an enemy to be blamed for UK policy failures. "Annoying the right people" means lawyers and journalists. "GB" news is actually funded and close to USA polarised opinion. ( By the way if it is worth losing billions to get Trump back on Twitter the losses in tens of millions may be sustainable ) .

Maybe this sort of trolling should be ignored. But then it looks as if the BBC is happy to be excluded and then continue to repeat lines from #No10Sources anyway. Is there any point at which they do public in self defence ? Guardian may explain what they think is happening with media.

The actual numbers on immigration are not well reported. the PM pledge is just "to stop the boats" . The evidence for energy appears to be the numbers of people upset. Where is this heading?

Fleet Street may diverge from Conservatives

It seems possible that Mail / Sun / Telegrpah / Express may have a different take on Commons Lies investigation to the Conservative Party. By "Fleet Street" I often mean just the Brexit supporting papers. Recently it is possible that Conservative Party with Sunak will take a more "sensible" approach than Johnson and Truss era. But several newspapers are too invested in Brexit and #ShapeShiftingCreep.

Last week Johnson was not in the commons for debate on NI agreement. But a speech later in the week made the Express front page. Rishi Deal will NOT take back control.  The Mail went direst to claiming Partygate as a Labour plot, Express followed the next day.

So my tweets have claimed that Fleet Street no longer regards #BoJoFanClub as a way to sell papers. They may have gone back to BORIS on front page as a way to protect him.  The Sunday Times seems less interested in danger for the former PM, he is still seen as possibly challenging Rishi. But the Observer claims there are Conservative MPs who see the latest attack on Sue Gray and Commons procedure as just more lies and a problem for Conservative reputation. 

Some of the #BoJoFanClub will continue. Andrew Rawnsley ( Observer p37 ) mentions Jacob Rees Mogg and Nadine Dorries with a quote about a plot to bring down "Brexit supporting Boris Johnson " . This could be why the threat to #LiarJohnson is a concern for newspapers. If there was "misinformation" around Partygate will anyone have a closer look at #Brexit ?

Dorries and Rees Mogg both have shows on telly - Talk and GB. Also on telly several journalists who used to be in print before the circulation declines. They also may stick with the #BoJoFanClub . It may be a minority of newspapers looking for a "sensible" Rishi option. But #No10Sources as it is now will try for something. Plenty to look out for over the next few weeks.

#BBC also reluctant to look back on how #Brexit was reported. Just a guess. #BBCLauraK asking questions close to Mail front page, credibility of Sue Gray report. Possibly there will be questions for #BoJoFanClub in future.

 

BBC style may have changed with the crash

 I recently asked on Twitter if the BBC reporting on Brexit has always been as bad as at the moment . ( Salad and veg has it got anything to do with #Brexit ) etc

I got an interesting reply

So the scope of this is much wider. The crash is back to Cameron and also the Leveson inquiry, even the phone hacking previously. It was not just the BBC support for the Conservative Party, the newspapers had a licence to continue.

Far too much for a book, so blog format will continue.

I will look out for video. I find YouTube works well with Twitter now.  Most news sources are represented.

Nesrine Malik and Brexit as Culture

 The Guardian is trying to relate actual news with the Conservatives. Front page has analysis of Truss tax proposals in numbers. But I have realised this is not the way to cope when policy is seen as culture. The tax cuts benefit a particular set of voters but they now also believe in tax cuts as part of a mix of rhetoric. I may overestimate this but it makes some sense of things. Yesterday Sunak in Sun wrote about "Starry Eyed Boosterism" and this is the best term yet to describe Truss economics.

Nesrine Malik in Guardian writes about culture wars as a way for Conservatives to hide from reality such as Brexit, housing or the economy. Brexit consequences are real but I want to explore Brexit just as culture. It could be off topic to compare the claims made in 2016 with reality now. there never was an evidence case. The culture continues. This is where Sunak is failing to get support. He voted Leave but he appears to be a "bean counter" like Cameron and the IMF worthies with Project Fear.

Express today has "Positive" Truss with claim that the best days are ahead for Britain. Editorial mentions "naysayers at the Treasury".

It is uncertain how the culture wars continue outside UK media. Actual newspaper sales continue to decline.

UK and alternative facts #PartyGate #OxfordMidSummer

Daily Mail has a story based on quotes from Nadine Dorries on "witchhunt" and "kangaroo court". This is about the Commons and establishing facts around Partygate. Since Brexit it seems the newspapers have behaved as if they can set the agenda. Was it always so? Brexit was a success and a rationale. Hostility to Brexit is offered as an explanation on why there is a hearing. Nothing in Mail on what the substance might be. ( Also nothing on Pincher. Has he resigned? Will there be an election? Is there any story about this in a newspaper?

Newspapers can develop a unique take in the absence of television independence. Two tweets are interesting.

Maitlis and Sopel no longer work for the BBC. How would they report this if they did? How will BBC report Parliament?

( I am still thinking about the drama around #OxfordMidSummer but straight facts seem enough. this could be worked into dialogue later. Maybe drama is a phase between aspects of reality clarity or so it seems )

Starry Eyed Boosterism #starryeyedboosterism Sunak has a name for it.

This is a test, finding a word for something. My theory is that for Conservative members Brexit has become a culture issue, not based on economic reality. Also this may have been the case from the start. The economic case for Brexit made in 2016 was about a vision not a model. I will look back later to check examples.

The current contest between Truss and Sunak is making this clear. Sunak supported Leave but is now seen as a "bean counter" . This means that he tries to explain policy with some analysis and reference to economics research. In 2016 Gove spoke against "experts" such as Bank of England or IMF. They are also "bean counters" .

Truss recently has claimed that the recession predicted by the Bank of England is not inevitable. She has faith in tax cuts to boost the UK , presumably very quickly. Sunak in Sun today writes ( p2 ) "We need clear-eyed realism not starry-eyed boosterism." My guess is that the Conservative members like the starry-eyed boosterism they have enjoyed ftom Johnson and will be happy to continue with Truss. But at least Sunak has a word for it. #starryeyedboosterism finds not much yet on Twitter but the tag explains a lot of history and something may continue. 

Also in Sun page 8 - Rich 10% richer , low earners pay up just 1% as inflation spikes. Trevor Cavanagh page 10 expects biggest Great Britain crash since 1929... pehaps as many as 12m people in rea pocerty, according to "one seasoned economic analyst". "These are not people on the fringes but those - like Sun readers - at the core of society".

If this is what they read in the Sun what to make of #starryeyedboosterism going forward?