The people vs the press, round 94
I’ve commented before on how the rise of social media has given unhappy newspaper readers far more ability to express their views and gain a head of steam than was the case previously.
There’s been another example of this in the last few days over on the Daily Telegraph.
The brief summary: Cristina Odone writes piece attacking Lib Dem MP Evan Harris; numerous people post comments disagreeing with her. Cristina Odone then writes a follow up piece deprecating all the criticisms and suggesting they were from a ‘rapid reaction force’; numerous people again post comments disagreeing with her. There is also then a spin off on Twitter where, thanks to Odone’s use of the phrase “spooky posse” to describe commenters disagree with her, people start tweeting how proud they are to be members of the #spookyposse.
It’s noteworthy that the comments to her first piece weren’t just whistling in the wind; they had enough of an impact to flush out a second piece. Moreover, they are part of a wider erosion of trust in newspapers; the more people see others point out the flaws and mistakes in newspapers, the less trust they have in them. As I’ve said often before, that lack of trust in newspapers is part of the problem they face: it’s not just that people can get news from elsewhere; if they don’t trust your source of news, what are the odds of persuading people it’s worthy paying for?
“if they don’t trust your source of news, what are the odds of persuading people it’s worthy paying for?”
Which is a particularly poignant predicament for a newspaper that’s just about to pioneer the use of paywalls…
(sorry for the alliteration – it wasn’t designed; the words just sort of fell out that way)
Or…
A particularly poignant predicament for a publication pioneering paywalls.
I’m sorry; paying for the telegraph? I’m trying really hard to imagine why you might.
BTW – Shame on you Mark; the comments on this piece of Catherine Odone election hackery are much funnier: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/cristinaodone/100036269/why-the-french-want-nick-clegg-to-win/
Vote Lib Dem get Camembert!
P.S. – Actually if there were a ‘Lib Dem death squad’ it would be better directed at Amazon. “Her latest novel, The Good Divorce Guide, is published by Harper Collins.” – Shame we aren’t that petty. Those interested can pick up a copy for just 1p plus postage and packing.
P.P.S – I suspect that LibDem blogs linking to the telegraph might actually result in some changes to their standard readership. Take this gem from ‘Neil’ “It was PR that put Hitler in power and gave us World War 2. […] The rest they say is history, but one which Nick Clegg and his Euromasters would prefer to forget.”