Or rather "not in the news"

Well, nothing new there then! I've been on many marches, where it's taken the main body of marchers about an hour to move a few yards because the numbers are so high, yet when it comes to news/media it's put down to a couple of thousand attenders, all very mysteriously underestimated..

Eloethan do you think that it may also have to do with the changing face of media? Because I picked up about that March on Twitter, so it was quite widely reported on there.

Sometimes I think marches don't achieve much nowadays... or don't have the same impact that they used to have.

The Kindle is to blame for the capital M, should be march!

Maybe they only get reported if they are out of control. People invading buildings and throwing fire extinguishers off the route. Policemen kicking people to death. etc

We were there too. Not a whisper from the BBC - no surprise there then - I have complained and expect to receive the usual non reply in sis weeks.

Eloethan I must have missed you. According the BBC the march didn't happen so clearly we were all invisible.

Now had the Countryside Alliance been marching about foxhunting,,,,,,,,,,,

I too wonder how much is ignored. Not exactly suppressed, just ignored. I saw it on Facebook and wasn't sure if it was a scam.

I had to ring HMRC yesterday and got a recorded message suggesting I ring back next week as there was a back log due to strike action. Hadn't heard about that either.

I knew the fire service had been on strike as a house burned down which otherwise would have been saved, but reporting on that was very understated.

Is there a very quiet revolution taking place?

Oh, silly me, I just remembered. The World Cup is on.

Eloethan just out of curiosity what was the purpose of this march. We all know about austerity measures, we all agree they are hurting almost everyone in different ways, but what was the objective of the march?

The march was mentioned on The Wright Stuff, Chennel 5, yesterday with accompanying pictures, and questions were asked about why it had been ignored. One comment was that the BBC has been accused of left bias and whilst they are under threat of the licence fee being reduced or abolished, they're being careful. Another comment was that the radicalisation of a few young British Muslim men was more newsworthy.

Actually when much of the Middle East is engaged in bloody warfare. Where men, woman and children, young and old are being driven from their homes into refugee camps, soldiers are being beheaded and religious hatred is the order of the day, I'm wondering why a few whingers in the UK ought to be given any airtime.

Or is that just 'foreigners' and so what?

No Aka, it's not. One injustice does not negate another. And to describe the thousands who are suffering from poverty in this country as 'whingers' is more indicative of the attitude of the writer than the reality of their situation.

If air time is limited we could well do without the daily diet of trivia about pop stars and footballers and celebrities that the BBC wastes our time with.

Aka These "whingers" are trying to raise awareness about, amongst other things, the vested interests and the secret machinations of powerful countries that help to bring about these wars in the first place. I object to your characterisation of the People's Assembly as being only concerned with Britain and not with the rest of the world. Amongst the march were representatives from many other countries whose governments also prefer to protect the powerful rather than care for their ordinary citizens.

I notice the situation in the Middle East, which you rightly describe as terrible, hasn't stopped coverage about football or Wimbledon.

The same thing happened last year with the Save Our NHS march in Manchester. Again, there were upwards of 50,000 people there but it got about 2 seconds mention on the TV. It's really censorship by omission.

What is the purpose of any march but to raise awareness of a particular issue, to demonstrate opposition or support and to show people that they are not alone in thinking as they do.

A peaceful protest by 50.000 concerned citizens to raise awareness about the harm being inflicted on some of their fellow citizens as a resulted of targeted withdrawal of support and benefits by the coalition government. The People's Assembly is doing a fine job and should be applauded for their efforts.

Aka - that's a really unkind post. One of the things that really irritates me ( it happens regularly) on GN is the view that caring about one thing means you don't care about another. Some of us cope very well juggling lots of issues and making contributions in whatever way we can. I'm with Mice re the appalling trivia the BBC and other news channels find time for. If the D of E had broken his little toe we would have had endless coverage and dear old NW with furrowed brow filmed outside the hospital

It's always bothered me over the years the way [as bohemian has pointed out] that the news media always reduces the number of people marching, especially as they seem to make a point of saying 'only' x number of thousands of people turned out, making it seem that the many thousands that did march were a disappointing amount. Although I must say that the marching we did to save the last train manufacturer in this country was noted and is still going; whatever the outcome marching in the streets is one of the most empowering things one can do [I'm thinking back to CND days here]; far more empowering that sending an email [not that I'm knocking that].

Eloethan and MiceElf, thank you for marching. I couldn't make it this time, but I believe an even bigger march is being planned for later in the year. As to why people march - it is a non-violent form of protest that it is hoped will cause (in this case) governments to understand that some members of the electorate want to be heard on a particular issue. Usually demonstrations are held only when other approaches have failed. There are time and cost implications for the demonstrators, but people march Aka because they care and they hope that in doing so they will effect change. The demonstrations that swept the country in response to the proposed sell off of the Forestry Commission is proof that governments are sometimes forced to listen. (Although in the case of the FC the government have enacted legislation that will enable it to be sold off by the back door with the new Infrastructure Bill.)

Well said MiceElf.

What is the purpose of any march but to raise awareness of a particular issue, to demonstrate opposition or support and to show people that they are not alone in thinking as they do.

Well said Eloethan

More thanks for Eloethan and MiceElf for marching for us

I wonder if it's the fact the marches tend to take place on weekend that means relatively little news coverage takes place.

I think we are all aware of what what austerity means. And I don't think my post was unkind, but it was pointing out the differences between life here and life elsewhere. What it means in the UK is tightening our belts and doing without. Not watching your home being blown to pieces, having no food or shelter and losing loved ones.

What is being reported instead of this march is human atrocities and sufferings beyond any of your, or my, experience.

The OP was concerned that not enoigh publicity had been given to these protesters. My gripe is not about people being free to march or not, they are welcome to do that, but that they apparently expect airtime when there are far more serious humanitarian issues on the one hand and the utter boredom of the World Cup on the other.

People do have the right to be concerned about the way their own lives and the lives of those in their own communities are heading though Aka - what is happening elsewhere in the world is removed from their own reality whereas what they are facing isn't; it's understandable that they would want airtime for things that are close to their hearts. When you consider that medical treatments are being denied due to austerity measures, that could also be seen as an act against humanity if it leads to seriously decresed life standards or even death. Exception was taken to your choice of wording as it trivialised the concerns of others purely because it appeared in opposition to your own.