Public Confidence In The Media Collapses To Record Lows
By Paul Homewood
Guido has been tracking the You Gov polls on public confidence in the media during CV. It has been steadily collapsing, and now lies at an incredibly low 23%, while disapprovals have risen to 48%.
In my view, the coverage by most of the media has been utterly scandalous, consistently running the country down, to the extent that those living abroad think we’re some sort of basket case.
Fortunately the public know better.
https://order-order.com/2020/05/21/public-think-media-coverage-virus-getting-worse
As a prime example of the disgraceful coverage is this from the far left BBC:
https://conservativewoman.co.uk/panoramas-biased-contribution-to-the-bbcs-project-corona-fear/
Unsurprisingly then, the BBC’s rating amongst the public is truly dreadful:
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.bbc.co.uk
None of this antipathy is new, of course, and I would encourage others to leave reviews on the Trustpilot link.
I also understand from Guido’s post that the Telegraph and others are pulling out of the ABC, which reports on newspaper circulation figures. Apparently the Telegraph’s reader numbers are that dire!
It has become abundantly clear in recent years that the media’s coverage of a whole range of topics has been woefully poor, often because of a reliance on young, inexperienced hacks. I don’t think I am giving away any secrets when I say that Christopher Booker was appalled by much of the childish reporting in the Telegraph, not to mention the juvenile sub editors he was lumbered with.
Nowadays people are beginning to realise that they can get much more informative comment and analysis on the internet.
Comments are closed.
NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
If it were possible, then I would say that Channel 4’s coverage is even worse than that of the BBC. Channel 4 News is unwatchable.
Indeed, all crass, subjective rot, schoolgirl reportage and bespangled airheads pushing the utter vacuity of multiculral politicized guff.
As for, caliphate4, ah, no comment.
Stop paying and watching the BBC. Stop buying biased newspapers. No income – no business – no biased news. Media to report facts not opinion or projections
It’s worth following the Trustpilot link to read the comments.
Mainstream media is really unreliable now. Best to research those people who you can trust who can find any outlet they can trust to broadcast what we need to know.
Shame you have to pay for the more honest MSM stuff ! I wish I knew the rest of this, sounds like a well deserved rocket up the…..
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/21/no-10-hiding-behind-secretive-sage-pseudo-science/
Trump, Brexit and Boris derangement syndrome. Self-isolation from reality, no sign of a vaccine 🙄
This BBC page is interesting, I first came across it linked from another BBC article and noticed that it was apparently only 3hrs old, yet the ‘from article’ was a week+ old.
It became evident that the page had been edited, mainly to be more negative about Trump as his choice of medication was being ridiculed/lambasted by the MSM:-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/51980731
And then inconveniently:-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52737169
It’s no secret the Left has bought the MSM the world over and turned it into a propaganda machine.
O/T rant.
“11 disposable BBQs were found in the area”
When the hell are they going to ban these vile, polluting, destructive things?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-52755104
Also caused 1, possibly 2 fires. in Pooh country already this year.
Paul is going to have to change the name of his blog since a LOT of people now know this and many of the other things he writes about. Thank you Paul.
I take issue with the general criticism of journalists so far as some of the writers in the Sunday Telegraph is concerned.
I commend the writing of Julie Birchall, Daniel Hannan, Liam Halligan and Janet Daley and can name others who write as well about the fatuity of the ‘Woke’ movement, the snowflakes or other subjects within their competence.
Perhaps the lightweight stuff is in the D.Telegraph which I do not buy.
Sherelle Jacobs, Allison Pearson and Allister Heath are usually all good, although they now seem to have turned on Boris for no good reason. Pressure from the owners, presumably.
As someone who has been a staunch Boris supporter for many years (amazing how heated the discussions in the pub became!) I, too, now find myself doubting him. His pusillanimous response to Corona and his sudden ready acceptance of the green agenda are equally depressing. I blame the influence of the mother of his new-born.
Yes, I have noticed a distinct editorial difference between the DT and ST
Same with the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail is heavily littered with eco-fanatic advocacy/junk science press releases on climate change/air pollution. MoS usually more circumspect.
I think the cause for declining trust was first mentioned in ancient Greece. Aesop told a fable called, I think, The boy who cried Global Warming.
Even the BBC’s coverage of the virtual Chelsea Flower Show last night (Thu) was filled with the extreme weather propaganda.
“…now lies at an incredibly low 23%, while disapprovals have risen to 48%.”
Now I wonder why this has happened.
What they need is some really emotional journalist to explain why this is not correct, and even if it where true it’s not fair as they all work so hard, so it’s everyone else’s fault.
My humble view of the “impartial” BBC.
Their politics is so left of centre it is not funny, a combination of rabid far left wing dogma neo marxism and post modernism. All of the ticks of the left are there to be seen
They clearly promote an anti Brexit agenda
Their favourite ideology is that of the followers of Mohammed
Their least favourite race is Caucasian
Thier least favourite country is England and this is never more clear than when there is a sporting event ( unless of course the competitors are female) where they will always cheer on the opposition. Please do not even get me started about their cretinous rugby reporting!
There least favourite people of all are heterosexual Caucasian Christian males from England
If there is a news item from N Ireland the reporter is Irish. If there is a news Item from Scotland the reporter is Scottish, if there is a news item from Wales the reporter is from Wales and if there is a news item from England the reporter is from any of the above including Australia, NZ and Canada and occasionally even from England!
They actively promote any culture but our own.
They actively promote third wave feminism. I often listen to Woman’s Hour and cringe thinking “if this was a man speaking there would be outrage”. The shocking Jordan Peterson interview with Cathy Newman should be a lesson to us all.
Their least promoted sexuality is heterosexuality and the family
They obsessively promote homosexuality and trans sexuality as if those represent the majority.
They hate Trump
Their take on history is full of inflammatory post modernist language with a strong critique always of the part played by the UK or if it is internal then of the part played by England.
If there is a crime committed in the UK and the perp is not Caucasian at best they will report the person as “a man” and refrain from considering motive even if there is abundant and clear indications of an ideological motive they play a clever game of reporting very little very late to avoid being accused of bias. If the perp is Caucasian however they will not only state this openly but speculate about motive which is invariably negative.
They are incapable of writing objectively about Africa Asia or the Mid East or anyone from those regions.
They are not only soft on illegal immigration they gush all over it!
If a piece of news does not fit their ideological viewpoint they will just ignore it.
Their lack of objectivity regarding the Climate is a scandal and they just do not report anything which does not fit the narrative. They actively promote any utterances by the strange 17 year old pretending to be 12 from Sweden and shocker of shockers Michael Mann to give his equally “unbiased” opinion on aspects of climate which he has no formal education to speak on.
This selectivity in reporting totally throws their bias shockingly in one direction. Notice they just did not report at all on Michael Moore’s latest film neither did they post an obituary of British born Freeman Dyson arguably one of the most brilliant physicists of the modern age…why? well I am only guessing of course but could it be that being a scientist he questioned the basis of the Climate Circus? This shows the shear nastiness of them
When I looking at the headlines for the news you would be forgiven for wondering which country spawned this media outlet because they are obsessed with anything not from Britain or Europe or Caucasian in origin. It is the Third World Victims and Minorities Broadcasting Corporation.
In conclusion. I submit that the BBC has been taken over by extreme left wing ideologs who’s view of the UK is something to be got rid of while we hang our heads in shame and apologise profusely.
Media coverage of the Chinese corona virus has been an endless hysterical search for silly ‘Gotchas’ whether it be gov missing some silly target for pointless CV tests or for tonnes of PPE delivered. They lose all interest as soon as things don’t appear to be so bad – moving on to the next ‘Gotcha’ crisis. This has had the effect of driving government into an ever greater over-reaction to the virus. Now we all have to stay home forever in case someone catches a cold that the media could blame on Boris: ‘Gotcha!!’
Chilli,
Next ‘Gotcha!!’ — your pets are a source of infection! Dogs, cats and even hamsters can harbor the SAR-2-WuFlu (aka COVID-19) and will spread it to your granny!
You heard it first here!!
~~~~~~~~~
Hamsters can acquire the virus and are used for some medical testing,
https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Study-Surgical-masks-reduce-spread-hamster-hong-ko-15281491.php .
There was some anecdotal early on in the China outbreak, and some cats died (but weren’t tested). Evidence that cats can spread the virus is still debatable but some cats in NY test positive for the virus https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/s0422-covid-19-cats-NYC.html
Dogs apparently are not so affected by the virus, even though 2 dogs in Hong Kong back in February, tested a weak positive for the virus (more dodgy test kits?). No other dogs have been reported infected.
The Beeb are continuing to push the Climate Change agenda, but now with a Covid twist:
“Climate change can still be tackled – but only if people are willing to embrace major shifts in the way we live, a report says.
The authors have put together a list of the best ways for people to reduce their carbon footprints.
The response to the Covid-19 crisis has shown that the public is willing to accept radical change if they consider it necessary, they explain”
They got this bit spectacularly wrong, though:
“Dr Ivanova said the coronavirus lockdown has shown that many people could live without cars if public transport, walking and cycling were improved
Now, thanks to media (and especially BBC) scaremongering, people are s*** scared of using public transport…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52719662
Maybe the BBC should lead the way and only power it’s manufactured output by ‘renewable’ sources only.
🙂
…and insist their staff walk/cycle to work.
Re earlier posts about the Telegraph publications. Both are in the “used to be newspapers” category. All the good writers referred to are feature writers – not journalists. The quality of journalism has fallen from awful to dire – just a search for eye-catching headlines most of which are so illiterate as to be incomprehensible (eg today’s “Hosts of chat podcast fall out over men and money”). The paper, aside from the features, is gibberish but especially so without a consistent editorial policy about anything. On the same day there will be articles lauding renewables and others ridiculing them. What is the reader seeking enlightenment supposed to think?
Possibly the major flaw with the media is their insistence in talking to people instead of carrying out research. This also true of MPs and parliamentary committees inspite of us paying them to employ researchers. Often these people will not be named so you can’t check the validity of what they say. The proof of government and NHS incompetence in handling the pandemic is there in black and white in the records. In 2005 governments were warned to prepare plans to deal with both influenza and SARS pandemics. The UK just came up with an influenza plan and has followed it so made all the mistakes possible. Where is the scrutiny of this and what has happened because of it. Why did the Cheltenham Festival take place? Because the Plan said it would be fine. Why was there no PPE in stock? The Plan said it was not required. Why did tracking and tracing stop? Because the Plan said so. The NHS ordered 15000 patients to be exported to care homes without any concern for what might happen to them, care home staff or care home residents. Why have the media not demanded answers on this quoting the documented proof?
Our host recently highlighted a Guardian decision to use prescribed terminoogy to ram home the “threat” caused by the “climate crisis”. Something similar to the Guardian mindset seems to have overtaken the BBC and many other media. Instead of basing a report on a foundation of solid fact, the slant of a report is decided first and then there is a trawl for evidence or quotes to support it. As far as the climate is concerned, this flawed method is reinforced by the conviction that the science is settled, and a vicious circle is created. Not that this is a new phenomenon – I remember fellow students in the 1970s beginning arguments with “but it says in the Guardian” in tones of reverence for the Holy Writ – but things have got worse in recent years due, I would suggest, to a lack of questioning rigour.
I think the trouble started when they went from being “reporters” to being “journalists.”
The old-fashioned ‘hack’ may have been a somewhat sleazy character but at least he did his research.
From ‘abroad’ I am constantly reminded of the pome:
“You cannot hope to bribe or twist, thank God, the British journalist.
But seeing what the wight will do, unbribed, there’s no occasion to!”
These days, I get my news from a selection of blog sites, being only too aware of their respective biases. Bye, bye, newsprint!
Invariably during the Remembrance Sunday proceedings in recent years there is comment on BBC or in the print media of the leaves still being on the London Plane trees and how this is ‘an unmistakable sign of man made global warming’ – the suggestion being that those trees used to be bare at that time of year back when the climate was ‘normal’.
I was watching the “Remembrance” episode of the superb World at War series recently. The series was made in 1971/72 and was broadcast first in 1973. The episode featured footage of a recent (then) Remembrance Sunday ceremony from sometime in late 1960s /early 1970s – ie slap bang in the middle of a marked cooling period which many thought then marked the start of a new Ice Age.
Imagine my surprise when the camera zoomed up to the trees to reveal – yes you guessed it – London Plane trees still in leaf!
London Planes are prone to anthracnose, not usually fatal, but highly variable year on year – it causes the leaves to fall weeks, even months, prematurely.
London Planes are probably doomed by the UK’s past appalling bio-security anyway (I think there is a government movement restriction order, but too late). There are several diseases knocking at the door that will kill them, and although I don’t think ones like CSP (a lethal canker) are officially in the UK, it probably is.
Of course all these new tree/plant diseases are conveniently blamed on climate change and not the international plant trade (especially within the EU market area). It’s only a matter of time before a disaster hits.
https://planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk/pests-and-diseases/high-profile-pests-and-diseases/xylella/
Paul ” People abroad think we are a basket case” Hohum are they wrong?