The WSJ explains the unholy alliance that will see the UK regress 300 years in press regulation.
… a troika of tabloid-haters want the press neutered: politicians, celebrities with something to hide, and left-wing media campaigners.
…
While the Labour Party’s left wing has always hated the so-called “Tory Press,” now they are joined by Conservative Party politicians who have had their personal financial shenanigans—not to mention their extramarital adventures—splashed across the red-topped tabloids. Roughly 70 Conservative parliamentarians have now joined with the Labour and Liberal Democratic parties to support statutory regulation of the press.Then there are the stars. The celebrities—such as comedian Steve Coogan, actor Hugh Grant and ex-Formula 1 boss Max Mosley—who so vigorously support press regulation each have history with the tabloids. They have been featured on their pages, respectively, in a cocaine-and-strippers orgy, a sleazy liaison on Sunset Boulevard with a hooker, and at a German-themed sadomasochistic spanking party. It’s hardly surprising that they support tougher privacy laws to prevent the tabloids from intruding into their lives.
Finally, the British left has long believed that a major obstacle to achieving socialist utopia is the existence of a popular center-right British press that appeals to the prejudices of the working classes and convinces them to vote Tory.
So the motive of any – any – person wanting to regulate the press is suspect. Always has been, always will be.
How can you argue against someone who enjoys a German-themed sadomasochistic spanking party?
“How can you argue against someone who enjoys a German-themed sadomasochistic spanking party?”
Unfortunately Angela Merkel has been caught out at one of these do’s too – try Google Search.
Apparently Conroy’s plan to regulate our press failed in caucus, although this was overshadowed by news of our Dear Leader getting rolled on the Palestine UN vote.
Conroy’s plan failed – this time. Good. I do not look forward to a situation when the Cat can only survive if it is run by a chain network of emails like some Ponzi scheme.
In amongst the misfits, plodders, Emilys Listers, failed union hacks and time servers that comprise the Gillard cabinet Conroy remains the most ideologically dangerous Socialist of them all.
I think the extreme voyeurism and hysterical intrusiveness of the British tabloid press (quite apart from phone hacking) has unfortunately come back to bite the press generally in the bum.
We’re not doing so well here!
After all, no judge in the UK has yet ruled that the press cannot expose rorters if they have a touch of colour.
The Tories and Lib Dems ought to be utterly ashamed of themselves for supporting this. I’m sure there are some in the Liberal party here who also secretly harbour desires to restrict the press too and they ought to be strung up for it.
One thing that has been conspicuously absent from the Leveson Inquiry is discussion of the fact that there is a massive popular market in the UK (as elsewhere) for scandal, sensation and sneaky pictures of Kate Middleton’s tits.
Since public literacy became widespread in the 19th century, there has always been this demand for infotainment about people who are no better than they should be. Who’s shagging who, who has his hand in the till, who’s a pervert, which polly is a hypocrite, who’s on the way up (or down) – and so on.
And because it is a vastly profitable mass market, attempted regulation will fail. The remaining question is what the costs and social consequences of this inevitable failure will be.
First, control/regulate the Press – then control/regulate the Internet.
They will not stop with the Press – it is just a “stepping stone”.
The Internet is what has done the most harm to scumbag politicians and their socialist agendas – so the Internet will surely be regulated.
I agree Lizzie. Swann would have to be up there too, but that’s only becasue he is treasurer and such a clueless idiot about economics. Conroy seems to be positively driven by dictorial-power cravings.
Conroy is possibly the most dangerous politician in Australia if he gets his hands on the levers. His natural instinct appears to be to want to control the words and deeds of others. He just can’t help himself.
I think he’s a borderline sociopath:
Steve “Red underpants” Conroy can barely conceal his megalomania. He is more power crazy than the Red Dalek, if such a thing is possible.
I heard Conroy in cabinet was one of the people calling for moderate press regulation powers, as opposed to those calling for full control like Swan (“public interest test”, etc).
He’s still a hopeless idiot, but you should be far more scared of Wayne Swan. He is a _dangerous_ socialist.
“He is a _dangerous_ socialist” with a $300 billion credit card.
That’s redundant, James.
Annabelle: not quite. I know a few socialists in every day life, and while they’re retarded, at least they don’t, as Tom said, have access to a $300 billion credit card or the combined economic resources of a country of 24 million people; Wayne Swan does. He has the power to send thugs with guns to tell people to do whatever he wants. He can take as much of our money as he wants.
That’s scary to me.
Yes, it is only a matter of time before they come for the Internet. We should be thinking about that long and hard.
Lizzie:
Leopard / spots … nothing has changed except the words being spoken, which are themselves worth nothing.
Faustus, fair comment. But I suspect that the appetite for scandal and ‘yellow’ journalism will still be largely met, but only by politically and socially approved targets. Or decoys anyway.
Politicans have wanted to control the media ever since the printing press was invented. Only those with fascist tendencies actually try to do something about it.
Jannie: Given the UK trends in social regulation, I suspect Paul Staines’ (Guido Fawkes) final comment in the WSJ article will become a reality.
Most of the main British titles have excellent and sophisticated online content and can be published anywhere in the world, at least compromising the legal reach of the UK system. Probably not quickly, but inevitably, the print media will become business decisions if regulation means they cannot serve their markets.
Leveson was picked because he was sound. he will, as expected when appointed, over-reach himself in calling for regulation and discredit the rest of his report. the report can then be filed.
Cameron looks to be showing some backbone on this. Good. There are too many in the UK, like here, who want to infringe on free speech rights. I hope the UK govt resists the urge to introduce new legislation.