Vocal Voices

The press has seriously got it’s nose out of joint. Trumps press secretary comes out, makes a statement and then lambasts the press for not supporting the government but actually doing it down.

This is very much the case of the boot being on the other foot. For decades now the President has made statements to the press which the press has then twisted and mangled until it means exactly the opposite of what was said, then present it as the absolute and honest truth.

Trump is as savvy as they come. He knows that he is in a war with the press. So he’s following the good military axiom. “A good offence is the best defence”.

Day 2 and the war has already started. It’s going to be a rollercoaster ride but it’s also going to be very interesting. Then independent and their talking about the press secretaries “evidence-free assessment” is a real hoot. The independent has been making “evidence free” claims on multiculturalism for decades…..

Hold on tight, Kansas is going bye bye…

I do not want to make too much of Brexit, but it does appear to have been the catalyst for how we look at the way news is presented.

I remember the Facebook 'fake news' issues and how the traditional media got all holier than thou about it and how it had to be stopped, eradicated, censored....... Then up stepped millions of little men and women and started pointing their fingers at the likes of the BBC, Sky, the press, and accused them of peddling fake news, or twisting the meaning of the real news, since time began.

That finger pointing goes on today. When articles do get opened for comments there are always those presenting links to other views about the same subject... and as they are on the Internet there is little that can be done to stop them being read. It got so hot for Sky that it stopped taking comments.

But is not only the little men and women doing the complaining. It is now those who are in the news, as is the case with Trump.

It is all getting a bit complicated and the media is going to have to change to cope with the new reality.

Workingman wrote:It is all getting a bit complicated and the media is going to have to change to cope with the new reality.

Well so far they are staying on message and claiming that presidential briefings are “dead” because you can’t trust what you are being told.

I translate that to be “Presidential briefings are saying things you don’t like and not taking questions or allowing you to spin it your way”.

Each is as bad as the other but, as you say, the press is going to have to change and they are going to do it kicking and screaming..

Good grace was never the forte of the press, unless it was a condescending put down…

If I were a politician, I think I'd use every means possible to get away from the bear-pit that is a political press conference.

Somewhat surprised Theresa May guested on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday - I thought she was a more cautious operator than that ......

It's starting to look more like a baited trap for the press than a bear pit right now.