Media: decline and fall
Tuesday 11 September 2012
I don't think my views on sport in general are any great secret – competitive sports leave me cold. However, I'm well known for being a tolerant sort of chap and if people wish to get excited over such a futile waste of energy, then I am not one to complain … except.
That means that, in the peak viewing hour, on the dedicated news channel, at least three-quarters of the time was devoted to sport.
Now, you are not going to tell me that, for the period, the world has gone into suspension and there is no longer anything worth reporting, while this branch of the media indulges itself on a sports-fest.
But it gets worse. This morning we see the serious German press – quite rightly – of one mind as to the headline issue. That is the refusal of Karlsruhe to delay its judgement on the ESM/fiscal pact. . Turn then to the "serious" British press and - as illustrated by the Failygraph (see pic above) - the newspapers are of one mind as to what is the most important thing in the world today: Andy Murray winning the US Open.
For sure – although I can't imagine why – such things matters to a great many people but, when all is said and done, it is still sport. To give such prominence to the event is more than self-indulgence. It is a sign of civilisation in decay.
And yes, I know the eurocrisis is boring – but being grown-up very often means having to take an interest in boring things, when we would much rather be putting our feet up and watching the telly, or whatever takes our fancy.
Furthermore, if the media should continue to lay claim to being more than just commercial enterprises, occupying a special position as guardians of democracy, then they need to do more than simply pander to the idle interests of their readers, and deliver real – and timely – news, whether it is wanted or not.
Just how badly served we are in this respect is again illustrated by the Failygraph, which in the self-important way that so irritates, tells us today that:
Michel Barnier, the EU single market commissioner, told The Daily Telegraph that Brussels would push for full supervision of all 6,000 lenders in the eurozone, going far beyond "systemically important" banks.This is under the heading, "EC on collision course with Germany over eurozone banking union", as if it was actually news. But the "collision course" has been in the German media since mid-Augustand cropped up again on 1 September when Süddeutsche Zeitung interviewed Michel Barier about it.
So, when a high-circulation German newspaper interviews an EU commissioner on an issue, it isn't news, but when the Failygraph reaches down and interviews the same commissioner on exactly the same issue, ten days later, suddenly it becomes news?
The point here is one of timeliness. Agreed at the June European Council, banking supervision has become a "hot potato" upon which much else depends - which we perceived at the time. Now we are seeing, and have for some time, this huge commission power-grab, it simply isn't good enough to treat this important development in such a cavalier fashion.
In truth, though, conveying the seriousness of our predicament was always going to be an uphill battle, but because we have a population degenerating into infantilism does not mean that the media should do likewise. A grown-up world needs first and foremost a grown-up media, and it is currently failing every test.
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Richard North 11/09/2012
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