{"id":21091,"date":"2021-01-27T12:51:48","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T12:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=476632"},"modified":"2021-01-27T12:51:48","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T12:51:48","slug":"the-corporate-press-just-ran-to-protect-boris-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/27\/the-corporate-press-just-ran-to-protect-boris-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"The corporate press just ran to protect Boris Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The right-wing establishment corporate media just fell over itself to protect Boris Johnson. Its behaviour is a stain on the UK. And as sociologist Gayle Letherby <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gletherby\/status\/1354347392485773317\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">summed<\/a> up, these outlets just &#8216;mocked us and all who grieve&#8217;.<\/p>\n<h5>Johnson&#8217;s &#8220;sorrow&#8221;<\/h5>\n<p>Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-55814751\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">held<\/a> a press conference on Tuesday 26 January. It came as the number of people who have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-55814751\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">died<\/a> from coronavirus (Covid-19) hit over 100,000. The media has widely reported Johnson&#8217;s speech. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/speeches\/prime-ministers-statement-on-coronavirus-covid-19-26-january-2021\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> of the death toll:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>it is hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic.<\/p>\n<p>The years of life lost, the family gatherings not attended and, for so many relatives, the missed chance even to say goodbye.<\/p>\n<p>I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But some people were <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%23BorisHasFailedTheNation&amp;src=recent_search_click\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">incensed<\/a> by Johnson&#8217;s words. And people were also furious about the much of the media&#8217;s response.<\/p>\n<h5>The media falls into line<\/h5>\n<p>Letherby <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gletherby\/status\/1354347392485773317\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tweeted<\/a> that:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The front pages of many of the papers today are a masterclass in the manufacturing of consent (Chomsky)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"KYNRO7\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The front pages of many of the papers today are a masterclass in the manufacturing of consent (Chomsky). <\/p>\n<p>Johnson is sorrowful. Johnson cares. Johnson has done his best. <\/p>\n<p>The MSM is not only complicit, it mock us and all who grieve <img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/1f494.png\" alt=\"?\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/K3h4kEM9yp\">pic.twitter.com\/K3h4kEM9yp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Gayle Letherby<img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/1f339.png\" alt=\"?\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/1f499.png\" alt=\"?\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/> <img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/1f393.png\" alt=\"?\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>#WeAreCorbyn #PeaceAndJustice (@gletherby) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gletherby\/status\/1354347392485773317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The <em>Telegraph<\/em>, the <em>Daily Mail<\/em> and the <em>Metro<\/em> all ran with Johnson&#8217;s &#8220;deeply sorry&#8221; line; the Daily Mail going so far as to call the PM&#8217;s &#8220;message&#8221; &#8220;heartfelt&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-476652\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Front-Pages-27-January-.jpg\" alt=\"The Front Pages 27 January\" width=\"1118\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Front-Pages-27-January-.jpg 1118w, https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Front-Pages-27-January--300x140.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Front-Pages-27-January--720x336.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Front-Pages-27-January--75x35.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1118px) 100vw, 1118px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Over at the <em>Express<\/em>, and it too ran with the &#8220;deeply sorry&#8221; angle:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"pwR3MKMACBkp5bddaj8ehfubPr6cCUHyDllorBLSswzI89V3vxL4VUg2WZGQJag7\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">EXPRESS: I\u2019m deeply sorry for every life lost <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TomorrowsPapersToday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TomorrowsPapersToday<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/m3GYzWiebG\">pic.twitter.com\/m3GYzWiebG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hendopolis\/status\/1354196207959232518?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 26, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the <em>Sun<\/em> also fell into line. It noted Johnson&#8217;s &#8220;sorrow&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"smKw2vxVX931o5QYjRnIlNSDkCrO0uGZqaU6e7dFpcHtB\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wednesday\u2019s Sun: \u201cWe will remember them\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BBCPapers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BBCPapers<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TomorrowsPapersToday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TomorrowsPapersToday<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7FuHsAa3Vz\">https:\/\/t.co\/7FuHsAa3Vz<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Nsi0hG8WMl\">pic.twitter.com\/Nsi0hG8WMl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BBCNews\/status\/1354194222858039296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 26, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In short, much of the media effectively did Johnson&#8217;s work for him.<\/p>\n<h5>Manufacturing catastrophe<\/h5>\n<p>These front pages all pushed his line that he was sorry. But they also worked to somehow paint the Johnson&#8217;s disastrous handling of the pandemic as an accident; that they tried their best. As Letherby <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gletherby\/status\/1354347392485773317\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The MSM [mainstream media]\u00a0 is not only complicit, it mock[s] us and all who grieve<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Adam Schwarz summed up the Tories&#8217; pandemic response:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"6sokxi8T7uwzKHcr1RLegabXlJnI\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;We truly did everything we could&quot;<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/274c.png\" alt=\"\u274c\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>Locked down late 3 times<br \/><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/274c.png\" alt=\"\u274c\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>Sent infected people to care homes<br \/><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/274c.png\" alt=\"\u274c\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>Kept Cummings<br \/><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/274c.png\" alt=\"\u274c\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>PPE failure<br \/><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/274c.png\" alt=\"\u274c\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>Test &amp; trace fiasco<br \/><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/274c.png\" alt=\"\u274c\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>No airport testing<br \/><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/274c.png\" alt=\"\u274c\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>Dire Gov comms<br \/><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/274c.png\" alt=\"\u274c\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>Xmas relaxation<br \/><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/274c.png\" alt=\"\u274c\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>Schools back for 1 day<br \/><img src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/13.0.0\/72x72\/274c.png\" alt=\"\u274c\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\" \/>Contract cronyism<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BorisHasFailedTheNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BorisHasFailedTheNation<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adam Schwarz (@AdamJSchwarz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AdamJSchwarz\/status\/1354128348272881670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 26, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Late lockdowns is perhaps one of the most crucial points. As <em>The Canary<\/em> previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/trending\/2020\/12\/20\/now-a-mirror-editor-is-pushing-the-poor-boris-johnson-line\/\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a>, Johnson&#8217;s first lockdown last March was dire compared twith other countries. It noted that:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>New Zealand\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-asia-52961539\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">locked<\/a>\u00a0down on 25 March; two days\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/home-news\/coronavirus-uk-timeline-lockdown-boris-johnson-pubs-test-and-trace-vaccine-b547630.html\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">after<\/a>\u00a0the UK. But as\u00a0<em class=\"\">BBC News<\/em>\u00a0reported, a week earlier Ardern made everyone coming into the country self-isolate for 14 days. It also completely closed its borders. And as\u00a0<em>BBC News<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-asia-52344299\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a>, she put \u201chealth before the economy\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Tories&#8217; response to coronavirus has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chroniclelive.co.uk\/news\/north-east-news\/boris-johnson-accused-prioritising-economy-18475208\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">invariably<\/a> put the economy first and public health second. The &#8220;Eat Out to Help Out&#8221; scheme shows this best. Because it ended up <a href=\"https:\/\/warwick.ac.uk\/fac\/soc\/economics\/research\/centres\/cage\/news\/30-10-20-eat_out_to_help_out_scheme_drove_new_covid_19_infections_up_by_between_8_and_17_new_research_finds\/\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spreading<\/a> coronavirus more. As one medic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/trending\/2021\/01\/20\/priti-patels-bbc-interview-was-nothing-short-of-disgraceful\/\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> during an <em>ITV<\/em> show:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We could rephrase [it], Eat Out To Help Out The Virus&#8230; That Eat Out To Help Out campaign led to further spread of the virus.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But Julie Harrington also made an important point on Twitter.<\/p>\n<h5>Clients, manufacturing consent<\/h5>\n<p>She <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/celtjules66\/status\/1354347841897046023\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This drip drip of misinformation is one of the worst and most disrespectful things we are up against<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>The Canary<\/em> previously\u00a0<a style=\"background-color: #ffffff;\" title=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/trending\/2020\/10\/14\/the-corporate-press-pack-just-descended-into-disgraceful-farce\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/trending\/2020\/10\/14\/the-corporate-press-pack-just-descended-into-disgraceful-farce\/\"  rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a> on the idea of &#8220;client journalism&#8221; where the government uses reporters for its own agenda. Newspapers presenting Johnson\u2019s \u201csorrow\u201d as fact is just one example of this. Because actually, his sorrow is a matter of opinion. The media&#8217;s skewing of the Tory pandemic response has been toxic, as demonstrated by 27 January&#8217;s front pages. So, this &#8216;manufacturing of consent&#8217; as Noam Chomsky <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openculture.com\/2017\/03\/an-animated-introduction-to-noam-chomskys-manufacturing-consent.html\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">called<\/a> it is to deflect valid criticism of the Tories away from them. It is the media pushing the interests of the establishment class.<\/p>\n<p>But the public must not let that happen.<\/p>\n<p>Retribution needs to happen. It needs to be swift and unsympathetic. The Tories and Johnson must be held accountable to each of the 100,162 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldometers.info\/coronavirus\/country\/uk\/\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">people<\/a> who have died, and their bereaved families. Anything less will be a catastrophe &#8211; much like our government&#8217;s handling of this crisis.<\/p>\n<p><em>Featured image via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gletherby\/status\/1354347392485773317\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gayle Letherby &#8211; Twitter<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/chathamhouse\/26147764939\/\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chatham House &#8211; Flickr<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>By <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/author\/steve-topple\/\">Steve Topple<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/trending\/2021\/01\/27\/the-corporate-press-just-ran-to-protect-boris-johnson\/\">The Canary<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The right-wing establishment corporate media just fell over itself to protect Boris Johnson. Its behaviour is a stain on the UK. And as sociologist \u2026 <\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/trending\/2021\/01\/27\/the-corporate-press-just-ran-to-protect-boris-johnson\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<\/a><\/div>\n<p>By <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/author\/steve-topple\/\">Steve Topple<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1538,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[189,5625,338,304,5651,492,5594,1395],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21091"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1538"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21091"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26351,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21091\/revisions\/26351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}