Jeremy Corbyn on Media Reform
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
The state of Western media is deplorable by any standard – operating as press agents for wealth, power and privilege, suppressing vital information dissenting from the official propaganda narrative.
On Thursday, UK Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn called for “building a free and democratic media for the digital age,” stressing the urgency of freeing journalists and others to hold powerful public and private interests accountable.
“(W)e need bold, radical thinking on the future of our media” because of eroding public trust,” said Corbyn, adding:
“Tech giants and unaccountable billionaires control huge swathes of our public space and debate.” He called for taxing social media and other tech giants to fund the BBC in lieu of UK consumers stuck with a monthly license fee to watch to rubbish everyone should shun.
UK-based Media Lens earlier called BBC television and radio broadcasts “the most insidious propaganda outlet(s) today.”
Government officials appoint senior BBC managers – sacked if dare permit criticism of UK, US, NATO, or Israeli policies on air.
State-approved propaganda consistently substitutes for real news, information and analysis, Terrorists used as imperial foot soldiers in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere are called “moderate rebels,” their atrocities ignored.
White Helmets linked to al-Qaeda are falsely called civil defense workers, their criminal offenses never reported. Nor is UK complicity with US terror-bombing in Syria and elsewhere.
The BBC is a lying machine, resembling US media scoundrels with a British accent.
Corbyn called for empowering public interest journalism by strengthening media freedom, giving charitable status to independent media, and taxing tech giants as discussed above.
He wants public involvement in and control over the BBC in lieu of government control, along with transparency and diversity of its workforce – transforming the Beeb from a propaganda disservice into a legitimate, informative media operation, featuring journalism the way it’s supposed to be.
He wants Britain’s Freedom of Information Act expanded to include private sector providers of public services.
He wants ministerial freedom of information veto power ended to prevent overruling information minister decisions.
Journalism with integrity should “take on the powerful in the corporate world as well as government, and help create an informed public,” said Corbyn – what’s sorely lacking in America, Britain, and other Western societies.
The BBC has been an imperial tool since created nearly 100 years ago. From inception, it followed the standard set by its founder John Reith, saying: Government officials “know they can trust us not to be really impartial.”
Throughout its existence, it operated as a mouthpiece for powerful interests, notably on war and peace, corporate empowerment, partnership with Washington’s imperial agenda, and other issues mattering most.
It systematically distorts, suppresses and ignores vital information on major issues, betraying the public trust, instead of serving its viewers and listeners responsibly.
Claiming “honesty and integrity (are) what the BBC stands for, free from political influence and commercial pressure” is polar opposite how it’s been run from inception.
Corbyn calls the BBC and other UK media the “leased trusted” in Europe. Deplorable US print and electronic major media are as bad or worse – mocking journalism the way it’s supposed to be.
Corbyn’s high-minded ideas won’t change things. It’s up to ordinary people in Western and other nations to rely solely on independent alternative media to stay informed – mainly online as long as increasing censorship doesn’t compromise or eliminate the last frontier of digital democracy.
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