Thursday, September 04, 2008

Is the Independent suffering from myopia about its own content?

There is little more ironic than watching left wing bloggers and writers moan about newspapers like the Daily Mail and the Sun playing loose and fast with the facts whilst they seemingly ignore the same things in the "quality" papers they read.

Take for example the cartoon in this morning's Independent (pictured). It is essentially pushing the line that John McCain is just a George Bush clone. A vote for McCain is thus a vote for the same failed neocon policies of Bush. What short memories the Independent's editors must have of their own reporting to actually think that such a line of criticism can stand up to scrutiny.

A quick look through the Independent's archive shows, in May 2002 Rupert Cornwall reported upon how Bush came under attack from Lieberman (Democrat) and McCain in the Senate for his response to the terrorist threat.

Then in July 2002, Cornwall reports on how Senator McCain clashed with Bush on party finances. Or let's look at December 2003 when the Indy reported that Bush and America were at "war on nature" but also noted how,
In July this year, EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] scientists leaked a study, which the agency had ordered suppressed in May, showing that a Senate plan ­ co-sponsored by Republican Senator John McCain ­ to reduce the pollution that causes global warming could achieve its goal at very small cost. Bush reacted by launching a $100m 10-year effort to prove that global temperature changes have, in fact, occurred naturally ­ another delay tactic for the fossil-fuel barons.
So here we have McCain going head to head with Bush over the issue of whether Kyoto and emmission reduction plans would be expensive or not. Clearly the bastard child of Dubya isn't he? How about in March 2004 when it was reported that John Kerry and McCain were great friends, and that

After their fierce 2000 primary battle, there is no love lost between the President and Mr McCain. Since Mr Bush took office, Mr McCain opposed the more extravagant of Mr Bush's tax cuts and sponsored a campaign finance reform bill which had been long resisted by the White House.
Jump forward a few months in 2004 and we have the Indy reporting a split in the Republicans led by McCain against Bush's budget proposal. With McCain saying Bush has abandoned fiscal responsibility with the budget. Isn't it oh so clear how alike McCain and Bush are? Separated at birth without a doubt given how much they agree huh?

Then in Septemeber 2006, the Independent reported, once again by Rupert Cornwall, that McCain led the criticism of Bush, and rubbished Bush's defence of power for the CIA to use would were quaintly caleld "agressive interrogation techniques".

Of course, I'm not suggesting that there are not some areas of agreements between the two men, but what is clear from the reporting by the Independent is that John McCain has been the most high-profile Republican rebel against the Bush Administration in the past eight years.

Clearly the Independent is suffering from myopia about what they've put on record in past. That can be the only explanation given that their past reporting completely disputes and discredits their current editorial line. Can't it?

8 comments:

Thomas said...

Did the Independent ever report the rumours that McCain was considered as VP candidate for Kerry?

Nancy's stout said...

The Independent is a piece of self maturbatory crap, thats pretty much all there is to it.

Elby the Beserk said...

Content? Independent? Are you sure? Always seems to me to be an utterly content free paper, fronted by hysteria on the front page.

Anonymous said...

seems to me this cartoon is a not so subtle sideswipe at Sarah Palin's forthcoming grandchild's parentage. the indy true to form with the rest of the left wing gutter media

dizzy said...

TRue, hitting multiple bird with one stone

Blackacre said...

But it's a cartoon not a leading article. It states the view of the cartoonist not the newspaper.

dizzy said...

Cartoons are commissioned.

Blackacre said...

Not sure that is right here - extract below from an article by Dave Brown, the cartoonist, which seems to indicate that he has the idea and is largely in control of the process beyond the choice of story:

"I manage to absorb the day's news by osmosis. The Today programme comes on at 6am and I lie half-asleep trying to ignore it, then I sit down with all the newspapers over breakfast. I have BBC News 24 on, too, which means that there are about three sources of news competing for my attention.

"At about 10.30am I call the comment desk. By that time, I'll have a shortlist of the main stories. I'll have a discussion with Adrian Hamilton, the comment editor, and between us we either alight on one story or choose two or three that are good, from which I decide the one I like best. Having decided on a topic, I just sit down and try to decide what I think about it, and how I'm going to approach it.

"Once I've got an idea I'm happy with, I do a rough pencil-sketch and fax it over to the desk for them to approve. It can be nice to have another person's point of view, but you do also have to trust yourself. If you have a cartoon passed round the office, then eight different people will give you eight completely different views on it. You'll end up with a cartoon drawn by committee, which will please nobody. In the end, you have to trust that what you find funny and what works for you will work for the rest of the audience. You get a feel for it over the years."


Whole article at http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art-and-architecture/features/art-of-darkness-dave-brownrsquos-merciless-satire-849084.html