"WE ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF ENTERTAINMENT"

I've always believed that newspaper columnists' jobs (and more recently the jobs of subs and editors on news pages) was to feed the prejudices of their readers. If not exactly lying, they were at least very selective in the way that they presented the facts.

Wings has repeatedly talked about how the headline (which is what we all may see on newsstands even if we'd never buy the paper), doesn't necessarily reflect the truth. That is only revealed in the 6th paragraph on the page 6 continuation.

People want to read what they already believe. "National" readers want to hear good things about the Greens and the SNP; "Daily Mail" readers want to read bad things about them. Their job is to give their readers a fat dollop what they want to read, and in so doing, confirm that they, the readers, were right all along to believe that Nicola Sturgeon is indeed genius, or all foreigners are evil... depending on what paper they read.

We all tend to judge people (sometimes wrongly, but frequently correctly), by the papers they read. Intellectual ability, political bent, class... is all supposedly easily discerned by a quick look at what your neighbour is reading on the train of the bus. Although in more recent times with Murdoch's acquisition of "The Times" and the Barclay's of "The Daily Telegraph" this has become more difficult. And what used to be considered the "middle road" papers like "The Daily Mail" and  "The Express" have are now more or less indistinguishable from "The Sun" and "The Star".

What they all have in common is that they twist the news to suit the way that their readers expect to hear it.

Frank (one of the Munguin Press Empire's highly remunerated photographers), noticed this comment in the "Daily Mail", which both he and I thought illuminating.

 "The columnist is expected to be a master of the grand and pompous proclamation – of the Olympian assertion of how things are and how they will be, the sharp-bladed conviction that one is right and that anyone who disagrees with one is not just wrong but clearly a blithering idiot.

"In short, we are ghastly: the kind of cocksure oxygen-thieves no one wants to get stuck with at a party, the people who talk that bit too loudly in restaurants to ensure the surrounding tables can appreciate our genius. 

"This faux-omniscience is of course a stage show – we are, to a degree, in the business of entertainment, of making an impact, of provocation, and therefore often take our best guess and present it as something like hard fact.” (emphasis added)

The full article can be read here.

It's worth remembering that, straight from the horse's mouth, their job is to entertain, provoke and make an impact, all the time pretending that what they are saying is gospel. The word "inform" seems sadly lacking from that job description.

KEZIA'S NEW CONSTITUENCY HAS MONEY PROBLEMS

We are expecting a massive coverage of this story, because, as you know, when there is a hint of impropriety in Scottish politics, proof or none, the papers are on it like a rash making it front page news for weeks...so I'm sure you'll all remember that you read it here first... (although Munguin found the story in the Edinburgh Evening News.

Briefly, it seems that around 18 months ago a sum of £10,000 went missing from a Labour Party constituency office in Edinburgh Eastern constituency, where Kezia Dugdale intends to stand in the General Election in 2016.

Kezia is pinning her hopes on winning Edinburgh Eastern

The local membership has been worried for some time about the lack of published audited accounts, and most recently because the branch office holders and the party have been investigating the disappearance of this money for some time with no result.

The branch treasurer has been suspended while they carry out an investigation into the money's disappearance, as would be normal in these circumstances. It must be of considerable worry to her that the problem has dragged on, and obviously the members are starting get concerned about money for the election campaign.

They have written to the party, but received a reply saying that there was a delay in getting reports from the bank and other organisations. Of course I can understand this, banks are busy places, but a delay of 18 months? Surely, you'd think, if the bank manager realised that there was a possibility that the money had gone missing, he could and would expedite the requisite paperwork pretty swiftly?

The party's reply went on to say that progress had been made in recent weeks and that a report would soon be ready with recommendations for the future conduct of local party finances. But still nothing about the £10,000.

Note to self: Irn Bru gives you yellow teeth. Avoid!

So, dismayed with the lack of serious progress into the disappearance of the cash, some of the local members have contacted the police.

Clearly £10,000 is a large sum for a local branch of a party. 

It is essential that the money be found as quickly as possible so that they can fund their campaign for Kezia's election.

As we said, it is likely that this will be the top story on 'Reporting Jackie' and in all the papers for the next few weeks, so we won't need to keep you updated.

Disabled man gets benefits reinstated- A rare DWP story with a happy ending

We have heard, over and over again, sad stories of people being denied benefits that they need, particularly those benefits which are there for people who are sick or disabled. 

Almost invariably these stories have had a sad ending, often involving the death of the claimant.

But for once we have a story with a happy ending, and possibly we can learn something form this. 

Firstly the family concerned went to to the local newspaper with their story, and so got it publicity. 

Secondly, of course, we are but 40 odd days away from a General Election. The two may or may not be connected.

Anyone with a legitimate grievance against the DWP might think that this an appropriate time to air their views through their local press. And just to be sure, to do it before the election while politicians pretend to give a damn.

Here's the story:

A disabled 62-year-old man whose benefits were stopped because the DWP said he was fit to work, has had them re-instated after his story appeared in the Chronicle.

Richard Ashby, of Sandy Lane, Goostrey, has Pagets Disease, a bone disorder in which the normal repair process is disrupted. He also has osteo-arthritis, is diabetic and says he keeps falling asleep because of the medication he is on.

On January 6, following a medical inspection by Atos in December, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) stopped Richard’s £70 a week Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

“He was called in for the medical in December and on January 6 they sent a letter out to say they were stopping his money and he’s fit to work,” Richard’s cousin, Sarah Thorne told the Chronicle at the time.

Richard appealed against the decision explaining he was in constant pain and not fit to work but, despite repeated calls to the DWP, Sarah said they made no progress with getting the benefits re-instated, so she contacted the Chronicle.

The story appeared on January 28.

“Two days after they reinstated his money – after it had appeared in the Chronicle,” said Sarah.

“He’s got his money reinstated and they’ve now put back what he was stopped. I’m sure it’s to do with putting it in the Chronicle.”

Richard, who lodges at his cousin’s house, has also since had an apology and been told he is eligible for another benefit payment.

The former lorry driver who left school at 14 and had worked all his life until he became ill in 2011, said at the time he had been made to feel like a scrounger by the DWP.

“In the end it’s turned out better than we could have hoped for,” he said.

The emphasis and illustrations are ours.

GEORGE MONBIOT TALKS TO INDEPENDENCE LIVE...

Thanks to Cynical Highlander for pointing us it the direction of this interview.

SNAPS ON SUNDAY

Labour and the SNP working together

When you think about it, it's just madness that we live like we do

Now, it's up to you Labour...

PLEASE

Despite the obvious advantages, people still think we can't go it alone. They thing we need the likes of Cameron and Osborne,  and the most inept government ever

Er um well yeah... I am a liar.

Get back across that line in the sand

Let's stop all their benefits

And, after all there are so many jobs waiting to be filled...aren't there?

Oh Lord, don't they make you laugh

EVEN IN JAPAN THEY KNOW THE TRUTH:

Scots have nothing to lose going the ‘indy’ route
BY IAIN ROBERTSONTHE JAPAN TIMES

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – Yes. The country is financially stronger than the United Kingdom as a whole and its people desire a government very different from the one sitting at the Westminster Parliament, London.

Under the current devolved settlement, Scotland has a parliament sitting in Holyrood, Edinburgh, which controls a paltry 16% of the country’s tax base. The game-changing economic and social policy levers remain in the hands of the U.K. government, leaving Scotland unable to properly tackle some of its social ills or take full advantage of its many natural resources.

Scotland’s union with England and the other parts of the U.K. is not offering Scots the best option. The current political landscape across the nations of the U.K. is one where Westminster is controlled by a Conservative-Liberal coalition government that was roundly rejected by Scottish voters at the last election; just one Conservative member of Parliament hails from a seat north of the border.

London makes the crucial decisions and, unsurprisingly, makes them in the interests of the city and its surrounding area. It places little importance on improving the social and economic well-being of Scotland. Those who say no to independence will be guaranteeing a continuation of this sorry state of affairs.

Scotland should no longer allow a distant parliament governed by political parties it didn’t vote for to dictate the country’s future path. And the idea, promoted by many newspapers and British state television, that Scotland survives on handouts from London and gets far too many “freebies” is not just incorrect, it is divisive.

Recent figures revealed in “The Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland 2011-12 Report” show that, rather than enjoying handouts, Scotland is paying more money in tax than it receives in U.K. public spending, to the tune of around £863 per head of its population.

Newspapers the length and breadth of the U.K. continue to run baseless front-page scare stories about independence. What many of these failing newspapers make clear is that the so-called “union” of countries is viewed by London as being one they control.

As for the wording of the referendum question “Should Scotland be an independent country?,” one Daily Telegraph newspaper columnist wrote: “If the British government ‘allows’ this question to go forward, it deserves to lose.”

Scots are very much the second-class citizens of the union, only independence can change this. Most newspapers in the U.K. are losing their influence though, as readers increasingly turn away from a printed press clearly biased on this subject, and look online for their news.

This is especially true of the younger generation, who are using the Internet to access more balanced articles on Scottish independence. And the possible effects of this were highlighted in a recent opinion poll, where a majority of 18-24 year olds supported independence.

The democratic, economic and social inequalities being experienced in a Scotland tethered to a union designed to work for the benefit of one constituent — England — can end next year if Scots back themselves and say yes to independence. Because energy-rich Scotland has the people, economy and social solidarity to chart its own course, for the benefits of all that choose to call the country home.

There is even more to Scotland’s economic potential as an independent country than its booming oil and renewable energy industries. It has a number of world- class business sectors; including food and drink, life sciences and a first-class education system. Scotland has much to offer — both to itself and the world.

For 40 years, Scotland’s oil and gas wealth has been used to prop up the U.K. economy and bankroll expensive infrastructure projects in London and the south of England.

In return, Scots have witnessed the country’s manufacturing base destroyed and its social ills escalate.

Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, governed at a local level by the same political party — the increasingly right wing and unionist Labour Party — for much of the last half century, has some of the worst mortality and child poverty rates in the developed world. The notion that the country will face some sort of biblical apocalypse if it becomes independent; as most Scottish and U.K. newspapers seem to imply is unfounded and insulting.

The business and economic case for Scotland being independent is strong. Of course there will be challenges but when things do go wrong, as they have been going for some time now, Edinburgh will have a sovereign parliament that can make decisions in the interests of the people who voted them into power: the Scottish electorate.

As Scots singer Eddie Reader retweeted: “indy (independence) gives us uncertainty with power, U.K. gives uncertainty without power.”

According to most opinion polls, Scots trust Edinburgh’s Parliament a lot more than Westminster when it comes to acting in their best interests.

So Scots should say yes next year to giving their Edinburgh Parliament the natural powers of independence needed to reroute the country on to a positive path and, crucially, bring democracy closer to the people.

* Emphases and illustrations are mine. Click on pictures to enlarge (but I take no responsibility for anyone clicking on Cameron).

IF THERE WAS EVER ANY DOUBT THAT THIS MATTER SHOULD BE DEALT WITH IN EDINBURGH, THERE ISN'T NOW

Craig Oliver, Cameron's director of communications, has been directing his communications towards the Daily Telegraph since they reported the fact that the English Secretary of State for Culture, had claimed £90,000 in expenses for a house inhabited by her parents.

He has reminded the editor of the Telegraph that the minister was at present considering Brain Leveson's Report into the press and has pointed out the poor timing of their revelations. Ewww Er!

Whatever could he mean by that?

Surely not that the minister (one Maria Miller) would be influenced in her decision about press regulation because the Daily Telegraph has released potentially horribly embarrassing information about her?

Nor is this the only contact between the government and the Telegraph on this matter. Fewer than 24 hours before Oliver's intervention, an adviser to the Culture Secretary contacted the reporter working on the story, to remind him of Maria Miller's role in taking the Leveson Report forward, and also phoned the Telegraph's Head of Public Affairs on the same subject.

Mrs Miller has been claiming under the second home allowance for a home in which her parents live, something which is banned under the parliamentary rules. Miller says that her parents are elderly and dependent upon her. On the other hand they say that they are there to look after the children.

The sleaze watchdogs say that if the parents are dependants then they should live in the house funded by the MP, not the one subsidised by the taxpayer. If this is not possible the taxpayer must be financially compensated for the cost involved in their accommodation.

Miller's own home is a modest rented house in her constituency. Her second home, the one paid for by us, is a far grander affair, which the Millers own.

There have been, obviously, calls for Miller to step aside from any involvement in the decision making process related to Leveson, but of course, Cameron, with his  innate understanding of the potential for trouble and ridicule, is standing by her and reportedly has full confidence in her ability to make the correct decision.

Unfortunately, Cameron's confidence may keep her in her job for the moment, but it will not mean that, in this most difficult of situations, the rest of us have any confidence at all in any decision she makes. Particularly not when veiled threats are being made by her, and Cameron's, minions.

It seems to me that Oliver and the advisor at the Culture Ministry (a Miss Hindley by name) may have shown why it is absolutely essential that no matter what comes out of these deliberations, no government minister must ever have any power over the press.

The words "own", "hoist" and "petard" come to mind.

I trust that Scotland will make its own decision on these matters, and not leave them to this bunch of amateur chancers, as has been demanded by all the unionist parties. 

Despite what they all said last week in parliament, it is nothing to do with wanting to be different for the sake of it. Clearly, when something is the responsibility of your government you don't expect another government to do it for you... and secondly, we'd like it done right.