Sequestering the Murdoch Debate(Warning: Contains LONG words)

Things that would inspire me to protest "student style" (minus the spade): Human Rights of Refugees, The Digital Economy Bill, Gurkhas and Rupert Murdoch.

There are a range of theories regarding the reasoning for Murdoch's "success" in appropriating, taking over, conquering, overwhelming, transcending and thrusting victory in British Media.

And I happen to agree with the majority of them.

Impartiality and Monopoly

For the alleged "liberal intelligentsia", as The Evening Standard refered to us, the risk of a bias and unilateral media presence is the largest threat.

We hate monopoly, and we hate injustice more. The representation of a dominant media mongul features strongly in left wing and dystopic literature as a frightening and dominating force. The media holds the potential to distort reality with words, which while it may only be persuasive, has the power to become manipulative.

Take, for example, one bugbear of mine, refugees. Representation through so-called impartial media has the majority of the public thinking we are overrun.

And this is perhaps my point. Ofcom, the alleged champions of impartiality in British Broadcasting, seem to be failing in any case.

I have been raised in the UK with newspapers that are instinctively left and right. And perhaps, before the Murdoch Monstrosity, I didn't see any reason to.

Criticism of mainstream media is vast, but it must be acknowledged that true impartiality, even from the great BBC, is very, very rare.

However, there is an integrity issue. Let me suggest that true media objectivity is as impossible as a truly objective jury. However, I find offence in the abject bias presented accross all mainstream media. There is not even a suggestion of an attempt at objectivity!

And this isn't just because I'm of the Lib Dem persuasion (although I routinely complain to BBC when we aren't represented). I have a penchant for extreme Tory papers which I can argue with voraciously. However, when you get articles where headlines proclaim one thing, but the story is very very different (Like This), there can be no true claim of impartiality.

Will a "Murdoch" supremacy, empire, domain, terrain or ascendancy change this?

Well, I would be persuaded to argue yes.

As Nicola Sturgeon MSP commented on tonight's Any Questions, there is a growing disatisfaction with mainstream media in the young, who seek alternative media formats online, such as Demotix, Red Letter and UKUncut.

Perhaps we, the young, are stoking the fire. As UK Uncut have shown, there is real potential for moral outrage at unfairness. We lack the alleged wisdom of the elders that toe the line, and are slowly, but surely, arguing against the status quo, the presumption of rich entitlement to dominance and easy passage.

In theory, the Murdoch victory will fuel this further, the unhappiness with lack of competition will grow, and the young will inherit the earth. Ah, a happy ever after.

Or, realistically, albeit cynically, the young will eventually toe the line, when times are good and they are on top, and seek to agree with "V for Vendetta" premises of extreme right wing persuasion, and welcome Kingdom Come.

Convinience

This title covers a multitude of reasons. One I liked was presented by The Evening Standard and Any Questions, my staple politics for the day.

Murdoch is on the verge of being sued left, right and centre for a miscellany of phone hacking offences. This is expensive. So to sell off Sky News would be convinient.

Strategic Convinience

And Strategic. After all, it's only 10 years before he can buy it back. A generation to forget his misdemeanors and welcome him into the Sky News with open arms.

Political Strategic Convinience

Of course, good old Vince, in a moment of seduced candidness, was spot on when he proclaimed the Lib Dems didn't want Murdoch to brutally dominate the British Media.

In a decade, a hell of a long time in politics, maybe the Lib Dems would forget Vince's brutal outcry of war.

And even if they didn't, it is unlikely to be a coalition of Tory-LD in this time.

Thereby resolving Murdoch's best mate Cameron's quandry. Give it a nice time limit, don't look like you're too much in the media monstrosity's pocket and roll over.

Good Old Spin

Of course, there is the added bonus of spin. The great irony. Because as the press make out, neatly tying this all in, the "loss" of Sky News is somewhat less impacted when it is simply the "redistribution".

And Finally

I would suspect we will see a further significant degredation of the British Language as BSkyB expand their all encompassing control.