Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

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Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby jodieohdoh » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:09 pm

Quite a few of the people I follow on Twitter have commented in disbelief at the lack of coverage in the mainstream media of the history-making event that is Occupy Wall Street. When I first heard of it I was sure that this was the signal that America is waking up and realising how oppressed it really is, then I realised that it was getting zero coverage. Only because I'm on Twitter did I hear of it.

Then on Sunday, thousands of angry Britons descended on Westminster Bridge to protest against Andrew Lansley's health bill. I went to the BBC website to find out "the latest" and found it buried as a minor story in the "health" section.

What is going on here?? I can understand why the respective governments wouldn't want these events covered - but don't we have a free press? I'm confused.

For anyone interested, I found this blog on the Wall Street protest very engaging.
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby BrigitDoon » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:22 pm

There's nothing unusual here.

jodieohdoh wrote:What is going on here??

Funny hand shakes.

jodieohdoh wrote:...but don't we have a free press?

In theory, yes, but it tends to be drowned out by the larger media organisations who aren't interested in conveying news so much as wielding influence and making lots of money. You and I can publish our own news on our own websites, but how many people would know it was there, let alone read it?
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby Josef » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:50 pm

Go to the Guardian website, search for "Occupy Wall Street", and you'll get eight pages of links to articles they've carried.
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby edward carolan » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:55 pm

NI and the Tories who'd thought it??? Appro of nothing Fox's wife's name is Jesme Baird, anagram= Jis me Beard
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby pingu » Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:57 pm

its all over the US's news's too
toot toot
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby Josef » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:04 pm

I have to say, I've seen - shall we say, several - "The Photo they don't want you to see!! Facebook will be deleting this photo shortly!!" Facebook pages featuring photos of Occupy Wall Street events. They, and the photos in question, are still there several days later.

There's no doubt that the protest is not getting much, if any, coverage in the tits 'n' sport red-tops or the popular right-wing papers. You expect what else, precisely?
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby jodieohdoh » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:37 pm

I don't expect anything of the red tops since I don't read them. I would have expected the BBC to be on the ball and provide some timely coverage.
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby Josef » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:53 pm

Then you're clearly not old enough to remember the Battle of Orgreave, where they reversed the footage to make it look like the miners attacked the "Police". Or the Falklands War coverage. Or...

Unless it's skate-boarding ducks or football results, I don't believe a word BBC News says without independent corroboration.
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby The Egg Man » Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:23 pm

Who actually took the footage in the events you mention? BBC camera crews or "official" film crews?
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby Dexter St. Clair » Mon Oct 10, 2011 10:54 pm

The Egg Man wrote:Who actually took the footage in the events you mention? BBC camera crews or "official" film crews?



"I before E, except after C" works in most cases but there are exceptions.
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby The Egg Man » Mon Oct 10, 2011 11:00 pm

Is that supposed to be an answer to the question or just another piece of propaganda for whichever side it seems to support?
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby Dexter St. Clair » Mon Oct 10, 2011 11:04 pm

It shows police on horseback at Orgreave. Like every other film shot at Orgreave that day it does not show the miners charging the police particularly the police on horseback as was described in the BBC Commentary.

Now what's your point?
"I before E, except after C" works in most cases but there are exceptions.
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby The Egg Man » Mon Oct 10, 2011 11:15 pm

You still haven't answered the question. I doubt you will. Shades of Liam Fox.
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby Dexter St. Clair » Tue Oct 11, 2011 6:48 am

The film that appeared on the BBC with the commentary " miners charging the police" was I presume taken by BBC cameras. It was filmed from behind the police as was most of the other news footage. I have no idea what you mean by an official film crew. As this was a major strike a number of news organisations from the UK and abroad were involved. At that time the concept of an "independent" film crew selling stuff to the BBC would have been most unusual particularly when they would have had a national (ie crew from London) and the regional team. The same would go for ITV. Channel Four had subcontracted their news to ITV.

Image

By the the time the BBC's film footage was shown on the news it had been cut and spliced to show the miners advancing first and the police seeming to respond in self-defence. BBC presenter Moira Stewart had opened the coverage with an image of a miner kicking a policeman.

Arthur Scargill was both arrested and injured on the 13 June, and he was shown saying that he thought he had been hit over the head with a riot shield. This was denied by a policeman, saying he had seen Scargill fall down a bank and hit his head on a sleeper. Assistant Chief Constable Clement told the media that Scargill, "could not possibly have been hit on the head by a shield-carrying officer on the bank, as they stayed on the road", adding, "I'm not lying about this". He was, of course. Pictures later released showed Scargill clearly receiving his injury from an assault by a policeman, as a group of them charged miners, with their shields, on the bank.

From the Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer by Michael Mansfield: Mansfield had the task of cross-examining Assistant Chief Constable Anthony Clement, the senior officer on the day. Clements told the court that Arthur Scargill had been at the scene orchestrating trouble, that the use of horses had been justified to break up a push by the miners, and that when the police horses had approached the sky had darkened with missiles thrown at them by the miners.

Unknown to the prosecution, the defence had managed to get access to the police's own video footage of the clash. Mansfield showed it. Within minutes Clement was shown to have lied at every point. Soon after, the prosecution decided not to proceed with the charges.

Just in case you've forgotten the film shown on the BBC was taken and edited by the BBC. So what's your point?
"I before E, except after C" works in most cases but there are exceptions.
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Re: Media black-out - Occupy Wall Street & Block the Bill

Postby RDR » Tue Oct 11, 2011 9:34 am

Excellent summary.
The treatment of the miners strike was a disgraceful episode in the UK establishment's history, not surpassed by many others.
The behaviour of the state manipulated media at the time was worthy of anything the USSR could and did do in history.
Thatcher will stand forever condemened and so will the Tories by many ordinary citizens in this country for her actions.
Don't think for one moment that Cameron isn't looking for the same sort of confrontation with the public services workers now.
He advocated for the weak against the strong, the poor against the rich and labour against capital.
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