Does The Suns opinion matter? (Full Version)

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RCdc -> Does The Suns opinion matter? (9/30/2009 1:21:43 AM)

... or is it more that it is reflecting public opinion, not trying to <sarcasm> influence </s> it?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8281859.stm


the.dark.



SL4V3M4YB3 -> RE: Does The Suns opinion matter? (9/30/2009 3:21:41 AM)

I don't read the Sun I find the journalism very poor and it is often just about cheerleading for the ignorant outraged majority. i.e. covering high profile stories and then giving an opinion as to how outraged they are and what should be done about it leading to some petition or other. The days when newspapers just reported the facts and left it at that seem to be gone. What would you expect when the majority of the newspaper industry is owned by one person? Sun readers get on my nerves a bit because anyone with a bit of objectivity can see they are buying an opinion and effectively giving up their vote to a newspaper mogul.

Given the choice between Cameron and Brown I'd pick Brown mostly only because of Cameron’s previous occupation in PR. I'd also rather have a government that didn't relish the option for public spending cuts. When times are bad I think you can trust a Labour government more to make cuts that will limit damage for the average person. The conservative approach has always typically been cutting corporation tax to revive the economy and cutting public services (this seems to be the balance they make in hard times historically.) Considering the public debt the options are rather limited for both parties but I have this feeling the conservatives would be trying to get the private sector involved in the public sector more such as the NHS. This would be their way of saving money; by palming off responsibility to the private sector at such a slow rate that it can only be recognised in full once the damage is done.

I think it is true though for the first time in a long time there is some kind of difference as to what each party says the way forward is. Also the promise to look into the voting system after the next election is no bad thing.

Also the conservatives are anti Europe which would be very damaging for us i.e. not having a credible voice in such a protectionist institution would only go against us economically.



RCdc -> RE: Does The Suns opinion matter? (9/30/2009 3:45:34 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SL4V3M4YB3
Sun readers get on my nerves a bit because anyone with a bit of objectivity can see they are buying an opinion and effectively giving up their vote to a newspaper mogul.


I dislike red-tops personally.  But with your statement do you not find it worrying that The Sun is the biggest selling paper?  What does that say about the community at large?

the.dark.



BrigandDoom -> RE: Does The Suns opinion matter? (9/30/2009 3:54:07 AM)

Good old Rupert Murdoch picking our next government for us again. Well as the Sun and the NoTW seem to have been providing most of the legislation for New Labour, may be they'll be providing the same service for the Tories if they get in. Our politicians seem more worried about spin, than they do about actually providing this country with sensible level headed leadership.

The row over the new Vetting Scheme seems to be the start of the New labour spin and lies starting to unravel, the old "protect the vulnerable, watch out for the nasty terrorists" seems to be wearing thin. Even the usual gobshites in the local seem to have had a belly full, and with the Operation Ore appeals and judicial reviews starting to surface slwoly, then I do believe that the public at large will start to wise up to the loss of civil linberties in this country.

I don't trust either the Conservatives or Labour and despite what some may say, I found the Lib Dem cionference refreshing as the membership have the balls to challenge the leadership in public. Last time that happened at a Conservative or Labour conference, the poor old guy was nicked under the Terrorism Act!



SL4V3M4YB3 -> RE: Does The Suns opinion matter? (9/30/2009 4:25:33 AM)

Yes. The majority are easily led and you see this in all walks of life even here on this board. Occasionally you see an op and perhaps everything pertinent may be said in the first couple of pages and the rest that follows will be the same opinions repeated but from another mouth. So sometimes I wonder 'will what follows from two identical ops be the same if they are responded to in different ways by the same first few posters?' Sometimes yes and sometimes no depending on how emotionally involved in that op they are (level of engagement) and how objectively they can look at it.

For instance a recent op regarding a contentious subject such as sex offenders and chemical castration gets a majority of responses not even addressing the subject of how effective chemical castration is but instead being sidelined by their need to express how much they hate sex offenders and how the only effective punishment is death. This wasn't really the question (although the op was a one liner and nowhere was the death penalty mentioned) and saying you favoured the death penalty is an opinion no more valid than any other opinion such as me saying I don't favour it: opinions alone don't form an effective discussion on a subject because everyone has one to counter each other with. The Sun works in a similar way it reports contentious issues and stirs up opinions about them to flavour the current political landscape, yes it is worrying but what can you do? Ask a Sun reader what they think about a topic such as Europe and they will say corrupt and expensive, ask them what they think about bankers and they will say they get paid bonuses that are too high. It may be true that Europe is what they say or bankers are paid too much but it isn’t an opinion based on looking into it themselves it is an opinion based on what the Sun says. They trust it without question, they don’t even think to question it.

Personally I think his monopoly should be split up so at least there would be some kind of counterweight to the Sun, a man that tries to buy every form of outlet for news wants to control what people are witness too which is no more different to what happened in Soviet Russia or in North Korea Now. He just is doing the same using the tool of capitalism rather than outright oppression. People are people the world over take away their ability to recognise the truth and they will end up the same everywhere.



SL4V3M4YB3 -> RE: Does The Suns opinion matter? (9/30/2009 5:28:49 AM)

Also the Sun is like a political party in itself i.e. it has to concentrate on the issues that it has seen in the past to have struck a chord with its readers thus the same issues get brought up time and time again and the Sun knows what it's opinion about such issues should be. This is the feedback effect that ensures the paper remains popular and is seen to be the voice of the majority.



Politesub53 -> RE: Does The Suns opinion matter? (9/30/2009 3:37:31 PM)

So the Sun have switched back to the Conservatives, no big deal really. Murdoch did the same back in `97 and switched to the side seemingly destined to win the election.

As an aside, I had a wry smile at Browns speech yesterday, when he claimed he was going to cut down on binge drinking ect ect ect, since New Labour policies have caused most of the current problems. It was amusing to see him throwing his toys from his pram during a couple of interviews today.



Aneirin -> RE: Does The Suns opinion matter? (10/2/2009 4:59:18 AM)

Does the Sun's oppinion matter, well, it shouldn't, but maybe it does, as it has the ability to 'educate' it's readership in any way it desires, and that for nothing more than money via increased or at least sustained customer loyalty. The red rags, the red top newspapers, I like Darcyandthe dark dislike them, and go as far as to distrust them, because of their sheeple management abilities. Murdock, as I see him, he does'nt give a fart who in power, as he has made his wealth and that by obviously directing his energies at where it is likely more money will be made, aka, a sucessful businessman.

But, as to the  OP, the article indicated , it shows the mealy mouthed politicians are at least thinking where they could gain or lose, something they are good at, when it comes to maintaining their position.

Two sayings come to mind here, The Power of the Press, and The Pen is Mightier than the Sword, in the case of the latter, it is just a pity the politicians can't exercise this, and stop the kneejerk, seemingly first response and submission to higher powers by sending their countrymen to die for unclear reasons in foreign lands.



Moonhead -> RE: Does The Suns opinion matter? (10/2/2009 5:46:11 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Darcyandthedark

quote:

ORIGINAL: SL4V3M4YB3
Sun readers get on my nerves a bit because anyone with a bit of objectivity can see they are buying an opinion and effectively giving up their vote to a newspaper mogul.


I dislike red-tops personally.  But with your statement do you not find it worrying that The Sun is the biggest selling paper?  What does that say about the community at large?

the.dark.

One advantage the Sun has over the other red tops, is that it seems to be the chosen paper of the Asian chav for some reason. That probably helps its sales a lot. (It also made for a less offensive front page than most on the 8th June 2005, iirc.)



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