WHOEVER won or lost on Thursday, the greatest loser is truth. The victor – spin, distortion, avarice and perverted ambition. And the spinners of such are not just politicians but worse: so many journalists and newspapers, whose sacred mission I firmly believe is to present the facts and speak for those whose voice is silenced in the babble of self-interest.
Yes, I can still write that and mean it to the bottom of my soul. I am no ingenue but purity of thought and word; a striving for objectivity to allow readers to form their own conclusions; should be the ultimate goal of my trade.
Obviously, I’m speaking of news, not opinion columns such as my own, where one can indulge in tirades such as this, sometimes against the newspaper's own editorial stance.
That has always been acceptable and clearly marked as such, but we have been living for many years in a place where the lines have been blurred, and options and facts have melded in a distasteful mix.
But, but, in all the beating of my breast and remembrance of times past we have to accept that access to news has changed dramatically.
Once people bought a daily newspaper because their mother/father had always taken it. In Scotland, historically the largest newspaper buying population in Europe, they bought more than one.
From that they formed their thoughts and beliefs and their place in the world. It was a safe, secure, validation. A comforting blanket of ‘people like us.’
You knew who you were from the newspaper delivered daily by the boy. You were confirmed in your beliefs… and, even if one dimensional, you were secure in them.
You had just two, then three, then four, television stations and news was delivered in a staccato voice of statement of facts with moving pictures. No innuendo, no expert interpreting body language, no psychologist telling you that what you had seen was a lie...or a truth. Just you, viewing film. Deciding for yourself.
And then came the explosion of the internet. It has led us, I believe, to the most ignorant, ill-informed political generation ever and a resulting government of fools.
People like me, with nothing better to do, sit and scour the net and see claim and counter claim on stories, and hopefully sift and send on in hope of views and some sort of truth amidst the morass.
But we are rare. Many now ignore newspapers; their information comes from dubious click sites quickly passed over in favour of hair and make-up videos on YouTube.
Asked in vox pops who certain politicians are, they shake their heads and giggle. The plugs in their ears beam down music and they fast forward when news interrupts that as they walk mindlessly on.
In their homes their parents now watch films on Netflix instead of the once set hours of entertainment combined with news. Everything is instant – all is served up for enjoyment if you wish.
I spoke to a friend who is a fan of Facebook. He had seen postings that claimed the child on the ground in an NHS hospital was a faked photograph.
He believed those postings because that was his main ‘news’ outlet of choice. I pointed him to many more on Twitter – not necessarily the most reliable of sources. I pointed him to statements from the hospital involved, confirming, every step of the way, the story was true.
Afterwards he told me: "For a while, I believed what was said on Facebook…and I should know better.
"If I, once a journalist, actually believed for quite some time that was true, then, hell, what chance the public."
What chance indeed. .
I don’t know where we’ll all end up in terms of truth telling. I know we’ve lost it these last three years and lies and twists of reality have become the norm.
I know we’ve gone beyond the realm of one paper, one party, one belief and into a strange world of nastiness and loss of self.
It’s rather odd writing this before the result is known, as the magazine prints early.
I am still in a place of fear of what may be to come and know some of you may actually welcome it. That, I will never understand. That, I will never countenance.
One thing heartens me. I can write this in a newspaper. Within an opinion column.
Some of you have problems with this newspaper. I have never been silenced. No-one here has ever told me what I can or should write.
Newspapers have changed, that’s true. Have politics changed or merely been exposed?
I am tired. I am seriously tired and fighting against it. Maybe not tired, just suffering ennui.
I want to believe in truth, in newspapers, in good journalists, in uncovering the lies of politicians, uncovering the lies of those who seek power above decency, who give a bloody damn for all of us.
That’s all. I don’t think it’s too much to ask. But maybe it is/was…the result is now in.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel