Monday 7 March 2011

A SNUB TO HISTORY? CERTAINLY. AN AFFRONT TO JOURNALISM? MOST DEFINITELY!

























I’m amazed that it takes the resignation of one of its journalists to bring the sly antics of one of Britian’s red top rags to the fore. Writing in his letter to its owner, Richard Peppiatt is entirely correct when he invokes the effect of Daily Star reportage as inciting hatred: I am definitely overcome with hatred and rage whenever I see its front page glaring at me from newsstands.

My anger is mainly directed toward the people who would peddle and masquerade such filth, but not exclusively. As the written testimony of one of its journalists suggest, there is no smoke without fire. The fact that people buy the newspaper in their droves points towards a wider set of concerns.

I think it is a shame that Mr Peppiatt’s resignation letter should solely grace the pages of other news outlets and be omitted from the very one which it references. I therefore advise anyone who shares this same concern to print copies of Peppiatt's resignation letter and slip them inside the pages of as many copies of The Daily Star as you should see as benefiting.

Incidentally, the passage that I have extracted was made in reference to the front page headlines on the day that Egyptians took to the street to demand an end to Mubarak's rule. I do not entertain a desire for reductionism nor do I demand that we all follow a single historical narrative. I am even happy in the knowledge that we all entertain varying levels of interest in certain topical affairs. What I do find hard to swallow is that a widely consumed news outlet would snub such a significant international development in favour of the latest installment in the soap opera life of Katie Price.

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