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Independent: Our report found that 75% of press coverage misrepresents Jeremy Corbyn – we can't ignore media bias anymore

(121 Posts)
GagaJo Sat 07-Sept-19 11:30:23

We all want and need a strong and a critical media, but maybe we do not need an attack dog that kills off anyone who challenges the status quo.

Over half of the news articles were critical or antagonistic in tone, compared to two thirds of all editorials and opinion pieces ( Reuters )

In many democracies across the world new political leaders get a so-called honeymoon period. As our analysis of the journalistic representation of Jeremy Corbyn’s first two months as party leader in eight national newspapers demonstrates, this did not apply to Corbyn. Our rigorous and statistically representative analysis concluded that when it comes to the coverage of Corbyn in his role as leader of the opposition, the majority of the press did not act as a critical watchdog of the powers that be, but rather more often as an antagonistic attackdog.

Over half of the news articles were critical or antagonistic in tone, compared to two thirds of all editorials and opinion pieces. Besides the almost total lack of support in the latter, especially in the rightwing media, the high level of negativity in the news reporting struck us as noteworthy here. According to the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO), newspapers are obliged to ‘make a clear distinction between comment, conjecture and fact’ and this also did not apply to Corbyn. Furthermore, Corbyn’s voice is often absent in the reporting on him, and when it is present it is often presented in a highly distorted way. In terms of the news sources used in the articles, the civil war within Labour is very enthusiastically amplified. In most newspapers, including The Daily Mirror and The Independent, Labour voices that are anti-Corbyn outweigh those that are pro-Corbyn.

In addition to this, a prevalent way to deride Corbyn is through scorn and ridicule. Three in ten news stories, opinion pieces, or letters to the editor mock Corbyn or scoff at his ideas, his personal life, his looks and/or his lifestyle. Besides these character assassinations, some of the popular mantras repeated over and over again in connection with Corbyn are: that he is unelectable, that his ideas are unrealistic and loony, and that he is unpatriotic. Most problematic in this regard, according to us, is the persistent association of Corbyn with terrorism. In some newspapers, for example in The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Express or The Sun, between 15 and 20 per cent of their Corbyn-related coverage associates him with IRA, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and/or terrorism. Linked to this, we see that over one fifth of all articles denote him as a danger or as dangerous, a frame that David Cameron was also keen to feed.

The rough treatment by the British newspapers of (Labour) politicians is, of course, not an entirely new phenomenon in the UK (think Neil Kinnock and Ed Miliband), but I would argue that this was nowhere near as destructive, as vicious and as antagonistic as is the case now with Corbyn. Many in our team of researchers are not British and compared to the media in our own countries we were also all quite astonished by the systematic and way in which Corbyn is being actively delegitimised by the media; this is unworthy of a democracy. We all want and need a strong and a critical media, a watchdog of the powers that be, but maybe we do not need an attack dog who kills off anyone who challenges the status quo and dares to suggest we need a different kind of politics.

In my view, this exposes some serious shortcomings and problematic tendencies in the reporting on Corbyn and of politics in general. Inevitably, all this brings into the fray the issue of concentrated media ownership in the UK, and intrinsically linked to this the undeniable fact that the British newspaper landscape is heavily skewed to the right (although it must be acknowledged that Corbyn has also received quite some flak from the left-leaning newspapers).
In this regard, it would be healthy and urgent, I think, to reflect more on how increased media power should be counter-balanced by a higher degree of democratic responsibility from the part of the media and journalists. Surveys consistently show that a very large majority of UK citizens (and by extension newspaper and TV audiences) do not trust politicians and journalists at all – a mere 20-25 per cent of people believe that journalists and politicians tell the truth. Journalists – and the media organisations they represent – have an ethical and dare I say democratic obligation to address this high degree of distrust.

What the majority of reactions to our report on social media and on the site of The Independent in the mean time show is many citizens – even those that do not support Corbyn – feel that the media in general is failing them in terms of correctly and fairly representing the elected leader of the opposition.

Bart Cammaerts is an Associate Professor and PhD Director at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

trisher Sun 08-Sept-19 11:59:21

Ok Annie you have posted that so many times so I investigated.
Corbyn was attending a peace conference (along with a Tory and Liberal peer). He went to a wreath laying ceremony for the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organisation) members killed in 1985 during an illegal Israeli bombing of the PLO headquarters in Tunisia that has been internationally condemned. The Olympic terrorists killed by Mossad are buried in the same cemetery, but he was not there to honour them and did not lay a wreath on their graves.
Another very real example of how the MSM provide false information which the gullible members of the public lap up but don't bother to investigate because that requires effort.
If you want to look for yourself
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45196409

Anniebach Sun 08-Sept-19 12:33:33

trisher he said ‘I don’t think i was involved’ , this can heard in interviews he gave .

How can he not know if he was involved? He was or he wasn’t
surely ?

growstuff Sun 08-Sept-19 12:35:30

Thank you for that link, trisher. So Corbyn wasn't lying, despite the accusations.

Anniebach Sun 08-Sept-19 12:39:14

If he was speaking the truth when he said ‘I don’t think I was
involved’ , isn’t this worrying , he wants to be PM but attended a ceremony part of which he doesn’t know if he was
involved in.

pinkquartz Sun 08-Sept-19 12:42:00

GagaJo

you said to me...
"I'm 100% aware you're a died in the wool JC hater and that nothing I say will be believed. But do take on board my point about the media."

This is complete crap and I don't like your aggressive tone. I don't need to be told newspapers lie... I know that ! Do not patronize me.
I gave my opinion sorry you didn't like it!

Corbyn is weak.......and let down the poor and oppressed in this country. that is what I think you can disagree but don't start telling me newspapers lie FFS!

growstuff Sun 08-Sept-19 12:42:38

Excellent post, Doodledog (just catching up on threads).

growstuff Sun 08-Sept-19 12:43:40

Have you read trisher's link and watched the video Anniebach? Corbyn was telling the truth.

pinkquartz Sun 08-Sept-19 12:44:31

While I am here his favourite Diane Abbott has brought no glory to the Labour Party either.
I heard her speaking to students back in the late 1980's and never forgot her tone......not helpful. she plays the racist card to the point of causing division.

growstuff Sun 08-Sept-19 12:47:52

It is possible to have a view which isn't black nor white.

I agree with pinkquartz that Corbyn is "weak" (although I don't think being "strong" is necessarily all it's cracked up to be) and I think he misunderstands issues at times. I'm not a supporter.

However, he wasn't lying about the wreath laying story and it's blatantly obvious that most of the reporting about him is negative.

growstuff Sun 08-Sept-19 12:48:49

This thread is about Jeremy Corbyn, not Diane Abbott.

MaizieD Sun 08-Sept-19 13:00:22

Corbyn is weak.......and let down the poor and oppressed in this country.

How have you reached this conclusion, pinkquartz? Corbyn hasn't been in power. So are you saying that he hasn't done enough in opposition to defend the poor and oppressed? If you are, can you give some examples of how he hasn't supported them?

Anniebach Sun 08-Sept-19 13:01:10

Growstuff* isn’t it of concern a man who wants to be PM
can’t remember if he was involved in a wreath laying ceremony in 2014 ?

He attended a commemoration for IRA members killed by
British soldiers and said he was honouring all victims of
violence !

growstuff Sun 08-Sept-19 13:02:11

Have you read trisher's link Anniebach? And watched the video?

Anniebach Sun 08-Sept-19 13:09:03

Yes growstuff and heard him in interviews saying ‘I don’t think I was involved ‘

growstuff Sun 08-Sept-19 13:11:38

So you know he wasn't involved in laying the wreath to the people allegedly involved in killing the Israeli sportsmen in Munich. He was telling the truth.

MaizieD Sun 08-Sept-19 13:24:46

Who else was in the delegation at the wreath laying ceremony?

pinkquartz Sun 08-Sept-19 13:27:26

I think that Corbyn is weak because he never commits to anything.

He own't get elected because he is not trusted.
That last election he promised the moon to the students so they voted for him. Us older ones know that words are cheap and easy.
We have seen politicians do this before. Say anything to get elected and then it won't happen.
Corbyn even looks weak. Oh no I haven't done my research no.....it's just my opinion.
Fine if you don't like my opinion but don't start spouting at me that the media lies. I know, I was brought up knowing the media lies thank you!
I am not a fool, but I do not see anything in Corbyn that stands up to the Tories.
They continue to drive this country to pieces and what does he do????
Nothing.
The cartoon of the chicken says it all.........words and no action. He wanted an election and now he doesn't .

pinkquartz Sun 08-Sept-19 13:28:19

I have no opinion on the wreath laying.

trisher Sun 08-Sept-19 13:34:00

I've reached a conclusion. There are posters on GN who do have a social conscience and who realise how much the poor and weak have suffered under the Tories. Perhaps they voted for them, perhaps not. But having realised the absolute mess the Tories have made they 're now seeking some route which will wipe the slate clean and make them feel better. So now they are blaming Corbyn. Well here's a suggestion, Vote for Labour and for Labour policies. Then we can see how things change.

pinkquartz Sun 08-Sept-19 13:37:27

MaisieD

I think he has never stopped the Tories.....take Universal Credit, it is an humiliating and cruel way to pay benefits yet the Tories have implemented it as if there were no opposition.

Anything the Tories want to do just goes ahead......why doesn't Corbyn summon up a proper argument against them? Why doesn't he make it difficult for the Tories to always have it their own way.

I know it doesn't help that many of the policies began under Blair/Brown.......like the EU migration, but surely by now Labour could put some spokes in the Tories wheels.

Anniebach Sun 08-Sept-19 13:39:45

I cannot vote for labour whilst the far left are in control and until anti semetism is honestly dealt with.

As it is now, both Johnson and Corbyn ? No way.

absthame Sun 08-Sept-19 14:00:23

The way in which the Corbyn cabal are doing great harm is by staying as leader when all of the polls, election and opinion, clearly shows that although overall LP policy is more popular than the Tory 's are, the electorate will not vote for a Labour government led by any of that lot. The rights or wrongs of that can be argued over but it does not change the fact that the existing government would not have been a Tory one if we had a more acceptable Labour leader; not only that but it is highly likely that the next government will not be a Labour one unless they go. It's the same issue as why Labour lost under Michael Foot, one of the kindest and nice people to enter politics, or that of Kinnock it took Smith and the Blair/Brown partnership to get Labour into power.

growstuff Sun 08-Sept-19 14:04:52

Corbyn stood up to Johnson at PMQs last week and won hands down! Not that the BBC reported that.

MaizieD Sun 08-Sept-19 14:06:09

I think he has never stopped the Tories.....take Universal Credit, it is an humiliating and cruel way to pay benefits yet the Tories have implemented it as if there were no opposition.

Well of course the tories implemented it, there was nothing the opposition could do apart from vote or protest against it, because they didn't have a majority in Parliament. That's how government works. They have the majority and can implement anything they please.

I really think that you don't have much of an idea about how government works, pinkquartz

growstuff Sun 08-Sept-19 14:08:06

Have you ever listened to the Labour MP, Debbie Abrahams, in the HoC pinkquartz? She's always talking about the hardships of Universal Credit. Corbyn would just be repeating what she and others are saying. Labour can't do anything until they're voted into power.