By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 10 Sep 2015 • 4:00
THE job of newspapers is to keep us informed. Tradition has it that they also provide space for readers’ letters and comment by columnists. Both are free spirits whose views don’t necessarily reflect editorial opinion. The system works.
A trend has been for journalists, supposedly working to a code of ethics, to air their prejudices or nudge-nudge wink-wink connections to spin news stories. For this reason mainstream news often finds that they are the news.
An example was when the Daily Mail carried a dramatic feature of a Russian naval exercise. Their image depicted seaborne assault forces landing on the beaches of Mordovia. This was claimed to be practice for an invasion of the Baltic States. Slight problem?
Mordovia is landlocked and situated 1,800 km from the nearest sea. Associated Press carried a four column feature on the Chinese threat to Western interests. The headline reads: ‘China may be using the sea to hide its submarines.’ One reader, Sean Seamus says, “I bet the sneaky buggers are hiding their mines underground too.” Sebastian Ronin writes: “and hiding their jets in the skies I bet.’
British mainstream went ballistic, if you will excuse the expression. A Russian submarine, perfectly legitimately, recently bunkered at Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast. One national newspaper placed Ceuta near Mexico; sigh.
The visit by the electric-diesel powered Kilo Class Russian submarine was one of many such visits by Russian and other such ships. But, why allow facts to get in the way of a good story.
There appears to be a shocking lack of mainstream media control and accountability: US Vice-President Joe Biden told a CBS TV audience: “When the stock market crashed, Franklin D Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed, he said, ‘look, here’s what happened.’ I have a problem with this: there were no TVs in 1929 and Herbert Hoover was the U.S. President.
Joe Biden could soon be running America. You don’t have a problem with that? You will, my friends, you will.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews
You really quite sanctimonious Mike.I don’t believe everything I read in the newspapers. In fact after the phone hacking affair I have an extermely poor opinion of all journalists. This is endorsed every week when I read your articles. You are such a hypocrite. you pillory the mainstream press then you produce incredulous conspiracy theories dragged up from extremely dubious sources. Why should anyone believe what you write. you are no different from the people you are slating. .As far as I’m concerned the reality is you are actually doing exactly what all journalists do which is creating stories and manipulating information that will be read in order to sell newspapers. The only difference is that they are in places like fleet street and you are in some backwater in Spain.I like to read the newspapers despite the fact that I take a lot of what I read with a pinch of salt.Having stated that, the first thing I turn to every week is Mike as I can’t wait to see what fairy tail conspiracy he will dig up next.
NIE Y4095989WCalle Castellfort 5El Campello Alicante 03560
Dave the dogman – sorry, but I don’t feel you are a dog person at all despite your “time spent training”. You state dogs are not pack animals. They very definitely are. Yes, I do know what I am talking about – I grew up breeding and showing dogs, owned two dog related businesses – 30 + dogs a day coming in to them. I have observed dog behavior for 50 + years I have 3 dogs. I have seen pack behavior exhibited in all groups of dogs. Dogs should not be treated like children – they do not think or rationalize like a human. You do not agree with Cesar Milan’s methods of training, but it works, and it is not inhumane. He trains by being pack leader, which is what a dog understands
Comments are closed.
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.