Opinion, like water, finds its own level, and there is little the great and the good can do to stop it.
This new world of communications presents a paradox: while once there
was a shared cultural narrative which could be shaped and promoted by a
relatively small class of opinion formers, now each of these outlets for
news and opinion (including this august blog) feeds into its own
self-selecting audience. We can hear and know much more, but we tend to
use this freedom to compartmentalise ourselves into more entrenched
ghettos of opinion. Community is fragmented, and when this is coupled
with ‘multiculturalism’ it is little wonder that our political rulers
are struggling to keep up with the fast-moving monster they helped to
create.
They did this in a variety of ways. The progressive movement thought it
had captured the commanding heights of the media economy when it gained
dominance in the BBC and the major newspapers. We saw its early
successes in writing the agenda for a Palestinian state, the EU,
abortion reform and Irish Republicanism. It was the BBC that undermined
British Government attempts to marginalise Sinn Fein by employing actors
to voice the words that Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness were not
allowed to speak for themselves. Unfortunately for that strain of
opinion, the chickens are coming home to roost. We are fragmenting in
our news sources and our communities.
If bomb-planting Irish Republicans and Palestinians deserve to be heard,
why not violent Islamists? And if them, why not the EDL? If one media
outlet ignores such opinion, another will promote it.
full heartical here
check out the comments too....very interesting
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