Proforma Press Releases

I've recently been struck by how the Brits report what politicians are going to say in advance, "so and so will say blah blah about blah blah tomorrow". Once the so and so has said "blah blah" that is also reported. The so and sos get double the mileage from their PR budget, and the media seem to go along with it presumably because they also get twice the mileage from the story.

I wish they would focus more on what the so and sos are actually doing, and less on what they say they will say they are going to do if they can. Sadly the gap between what they say and what they do is often vast and it is only the light weight satirical media like Have I Got News for You or The Now Show that pick up on the discrepancies. The so and sos say so much, put out so many press releases - and as we have seen recently the press don't always bother to check their facts! - that the details become overwhelming. The media cherry pick according to their own agenda - which I think more or less consists in outraging as many people as possible.

It is good to have a reprieve from IDS/DWP press releases in the last week or two. They were coming thick and fast for a while and I was feeing suicidal trying to keep up and understand what it meant for me.

Welfare Reform

The Guardian are at it again today:

George Osborne to axe benefits in race to slash deficit

Welfare targeted in £85bn package, but safeguards for education, defence and transport

This is an article with no content. Don't read it. It is a lot of speculation and reporting on the opinions of Tory think tanks. Total facts? One.

The government is going to announce a budget on Tuesday in which welfare will be targeted for reductions in the amount spent.

Despite all the feverish guessing, the papers do not know what the government is thinking. Note the words here are slightly different from the previous headline I discussed. Now it's not war and bombs, it's axes and slashes - we will be maimed, but not killed, which is an improvement I suppose.

So what are the media up to when they do this? They have no information to present so they basically make stuff up. This is creative writing, it is not investigative journalism. No one can provide pre-emptive analysis. Or perhaps this is gambling. One makes a prediction on the basis that there is a pay off for getting it right (in terms of kudos and perhaps readership, which sells advertising).

Now you have to add to the mix that the Government employs spin doctors who purposefully leak drips of news to the media. They do this to mainly to sustain the media interest in the Government - in promoting a brand the main thing is to keep their profile high; and these days the government is a brand. It also helps to soften the blow of negative news, and drags out positive effects.

So why do the media buy into the government's spin program?

Why do we buy into the media spin program?

I will also point out that in making massive reductions in spending unemployment is going to to increase. Labour pursued a low unemployment/high borrowing strategy. It did work all that well. The Con-Dems are about to pursue a high unemployment/low borrowing strategy. So spending on welfare is only going to rise as many more people claim unemployment benefits.

BTW My prediction, for what it is worth, is that the government will try to rebrand unemployment payments - which are already called Job Seeker's Allowance, which fools no one but does expose the role of Public Relations consultants in the government.

Welfare Reform

The Independent's helpful headline: Osborne's Bombshell: Chancellor declares war on middle-class welfare (By Andrew Grice, Political Editor).

Great example of a paper going beyond commentary in order to provoke outrage and upset in readers. They all do this all the time. There is no simple reporting any more, if there ever was. All the media are striving with all their might to get an emotional reaction to the story, rather like the way advertising no longer informs you about the specifications or quality of a product but tried to create an image. Newspapers trade especially on stimulating our fight or flight response - driving us all towards anxiety, depression and the like. Note the language here: bombs, war, i.e. death, destruction, mayhem. Is this accurate or true? No. It is a lie. A lie designed to stimulate fear and keep you buying newspapers.

I need to be informed about changes in welfare because I am wholly dependent on it. Is there anywhere I can get the facts without the hyperbole and the emotional string pulling?

Blog posts of note:

Angry Mob: More Lies about the NHS. Critiquing a Daily Mail article. Daily Mail seem to get a lot of stick from more liberal middle-class commentators. Ben Goldacre reckons they characterise things into 1. those that cause cancer, 2. those that cure cancer - with no neutral ground. They are also accused of having a Princess Diana fixation. I wouldn't know as I don't read the papers much. But this seems like an important blog post because it highlights some bad reporting of medical facts generally, and some unsporting digs at the NHS.

Benefits Culture: Welfare Reform: penalizing claimants and carers. A round up of news on reforms especially of the law as regards mental health. It seems as though the general mood of the government is to take out their mismanagement of the banks and economy on the least fortunate while allowing bankers to claim bonuses for running banks into the ground. They also want to punish all sick people because a few people rip the system off. Could we focus on the cheats and frauds (at all levels including the government!) and leave the sick people alone do you think?

Look at how lightly the MPs get off for their frauds: no jail terms for instance, no one got sacked, some of those (gracefully) leaving parliament next year will still get their fat pensions! Listen how loudly and plaintively those who were honest complain about being tarred with the same brush - not so much fun when the boot is on the other foot, is it!