British Newspapers.

[afleitch]

I was mulling over this earlier.

'Good' papers gone bad.

The Mirror.

Napoleons favourite

Went down hill when it dropped the 'Daily' to become the Sun lite. Then it changed back just before its moral anti-Iraq war crusade (but still vote Labour innit) There was a time you felt a little bit 'cleaner' reading the Mirror, but now it's the same thickness and has the same substance (emphasis on 'thick') as a comic. I can flick through it in five minutes, count the number of times 'toff' is thrown in an article about the Tories (but not about Ed Balls), wince at Brian Reade pretending he's the first person to ever say something he's mentioned in his column and chuck it in the bin.

The Daily Express.

Great paper under Rosie Boycotts stewardship. It was a fairly liberal middle England paper and she respected its tradition. Then along comes 'Dirty' Desmond porn supremo and it becomes trash. In fact it becomes worse than the Mail. It becomes the Daily Diana, then the Daily Madeline (and the Daily Madeliana), has it's infamous 100 day run with 'MADELINE' on the front cover. Then when no one really cares about the McCanns and Al Fayed who used to feed the paper is made out to be a bit...well at the trial it drops them both. Writers seem never to leave their desks, celeb news is ripped straight from OK and they reuse stock photos rather than hire a bloody photographer.

The Independent.

A 'viewspaper' - Tony Blair

Patronising tripe. It..speaks..to U...very slowly..on...the front page, with pictures if need be. Don't you know theres a war on in Iraq? And people die!! Here are sime pictures photoshopped out of context and some statistics and stuff. Again another newspaper that was readable when Boycott edited it. Now gives away 'free sh-t' as the Mail Watch would call it, but not cars and thatched cottages but wine, or books on wine, or magazines on wine! If the Mirror is a comic, the Indy is a book with lift up flaps.

[Michael Z]

I've boycotted the Independent ever since it called the Final Fantasy games "shallow". Hell hath no fury like a video game geek scorned.

But what about the others? I'd certainly like to read your take on the Guardian.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The Daily Mirror has never really recovered from Maxwell. One problem has been that its various editors since the early '80's haven't really understood their readers and what they want in a newspaper.

[afleitch]

But what about the others? I'd certainly like to read your take on the Guardian.

The Guardian is actually readable. There's alot of interesting stuff in there past the first few pages. The comments and letters page is awful but thats a political viewpoint really and 'Corrections and Clarifcations' is a joy It is also the voice of sanitised clerical fascist viewpoints which is disturbing. Its an easy target, but I've realised there is far worse out there (the Independent)

I choose to read the Times because it's politically mute. It's my 'morning' paper. Okay, you won't hear anything bad about Rupert or News International, and certain issues are..selective in reporting but it's probably the 'most hands' off Murdoch paper, more so since he's been distracted by New York.

I often buy the Mail just to see what the wingers are annoyed about and pick up either the Glasgow Herald or the Scotsman, for Scottish issues. I read alot of them not to be a smart ass, but because of the commute to work. Keeps you occupied

[afleitch]

The Daily Mirror has never really recovered from Maxwell. One problem has been that its various editors since the early '80's haven't really understood their readers and what they want in a newspaper.

Quality dovecot cage lining?

It's been wobbly since Labour got into power I imagine. It's sycophantically supportive (less so than the Record). As a government runs out of steam, its often forced enthusiasm is probably at odds with its readers. Ironically it's opposition to the Iraq War, the political equivalent of shooting Ol' Yeller was also probably at odds with it's readers, at least initially. It's political coverage has dwindled with more celebrity news but its a bit more approachable since Morgans departure.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's been wobbly since Labour got into power I imagine.

Long before then.

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The problem isn't so much the extent to which it serves as a Party cheerleader (I doubt many readers have a problem with that; it's a partisan paper, everyone knows that) but the way it's done (too crude, and often too patronising (ie; even for a tabloid) as well). A lot of their politics coverage is focused on stuff that Mirror readers aren't much interested in and with not enough on the sort of stuff that they actually are interested in (but this has been the case for a few decades now).

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The moralistic tone taken over that is still at odds with the paper's readers.

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It also has too much celebrity news and not enough sport. I think one problem is that successive editors and owners have got it into their heads that Mirror readers want a sort of leftish Sun.

[Silent Hunter]

The London freesheets aren't really biased in one way or the other- they can't in a city as politically divided as London (and the areas surrounding it). They have some good stuff in them, but nothing spectacular.

Of course, the editor of The Sun is a woman, which is rather strange consider what that paper is still famous for.

[jeron]

mm i never realised the Indie was that bad too. My favourite British newspaper is the Guardian. The Daily Telegraph is a respectable newspaper too, isn't it? My English teacher used to bash the Times all the time, calling it a broadloid. It's been going down since Rupert took over.

[Silent Hunter]

mm i never realised the Indie was that bad too. My favourite British newspaper is the Guardian. The Daily Telegraph is a respectable newspaper too, isn't it? My English teacher used to bash the Times all the time, calling it a broadloid. It's been going down since Rupert took over.

Some people in Britain call it The Torygraph. The Times still remains pretty good (it's not gone the way of The Sun).

There's a great Yes, Minister quote on the subject of British newspapers.

[Platypus]

on the subject on newspapers in australia, the highest-selling one in the land, Melbourne's own Herald Sun (aka The Hun, Herald Scum, IRBFIMES [i'd rather be ed in my eye sockets]) at least has the decency not to describe itself as a newspaper. It is, officially, a 'News Pictorial'. Basically, front page with something like "MUM'S AGONY" and a story about how 17 year old Tareesja-Marie can't cope with the fact that her son, Keylin-Brock got him arm broken when he fell off a playkit in their neighbour's back garden and that she's suing, with a telephone number for the legal cost appeal; followed by three pages of ads, then a page reading "EAGLE CAUGHT IN NET NAUGHTINESS" detailing how a footballer was looking up porn, then two pages of 'politics' "HOW LABOR PLANS TO SCREW CARERS OUT OF THEIR MONEY", followed by "MIDDLE-CLASS WELFARE CAUSING INTEREST RATES TO RISE: RBA"; then the opinion pages, a few pages of classifieds, half a page of world news with an ad for a TV Travel show below it, and then 80-odd pages of sport.

Give me the Spencer Street Soviet, please; or at least The Australian...

[jeron]

mm i never realised the Indie was that bad too. My favourite British newspaper is the Guardian. The Daily Telegraph is a respectable newspaper too, isn't it? My English teacher used to bash the Times all the time, calling it a broadloid. It's been going down since Rupert took over.

Some people in Britain call it The Torygraph. The Times still remains pretty good (it's not gone the way of The Sun).

There's a great Yes, Minister quote on the subject of British newspapers.

'

Oh yes i remember that. Great series that was. You mean the quote: the Times is read by people who run the country, people who read the Guardian think they ought to run the country etc.. I don't know the exact words , but i suppose that's what you meant

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Jim Hacker: "Don't tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers:
- The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country;
- The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country;
- The Times is read by people who actually do run the country;
- The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country;
- The Financial Times is read by people who own the country;
- The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country;
- And the Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is."
Sir Humphrey: "Prime Minister, what about the people who read the Sun?"
Bernard Woolley: "Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits."

[Filuwaúrdjan]

on the subject on newspapers in australia, the highest-selling one in the land, Melbourne's own Herald Sun (aka The Hun, Herald Scum, IRBFIMES [i'd rather be ed in my eye sockets]) at least has the decency not to describe itself as a newspaper. It is, officially, a 'News Pictorial'. Basically, front page with something like "MUM'S AGONY" and a story about how 17 year old Tareesja-Marie can't cope with the fact that her son, Keylin-Brock got him arm broken when he fell off a playkit in their neighbour's back garden and that she's suing, with a telephone number for the legal cost appeal; followed by three pages of ads, then a page reading "EAGLE CAUGHT IN NET NAUGHTINESS" detailing how a footballer was looking up porn, then two pages of 'politics' "HOW LABOR PLANS TO SCREW CARERS OUT OF THEIR MONEY", followed by "MIDDLE-CLASS WELFARE CAUSING INTEREST RATES TO RISE: RBA"; then the opinion pages, a few pages of classifieds, half a page of world news with an ad for a TV Travel show below it, and then 80-odd pages of sport.

Give me the Spencer Street Soviet, please; or at least The Australian...

lol

[minionofmidas]

mm i never realised the Indie was that bad too. My favourite British newspaper is the Guardian. The Daily Telegraph is a respectable newspaper too, isn't it? My English teacher used to bash the Times all the time, calling it a broadloid. It's been going down since Rupert took over.

150 years before that.


As to the Guardian and the Indy, that's easy. One is aimed at sensible pinkos, one is aimed at stupid pinkos.