Thread by @Shy_Society

* A THREAD *

The @KayBurley / @Lugey6 showdown this week was a superb illustration of the deterioration of the mainstream media in this country and how social media is playing such a huge part in its decline.

If you’ve not watched it yet, case in point:

https://twitter.com/ofocbrexit/status/1169640443501527040?s=21

The fundamental issue here is that quality, independent and impartial journalism has eroded and broken down. It is why @afneil - a rare breed - is still so popular because he is living proof that it is possible to balance quality journalism with the demands of social media.

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What we mean by that is this: the fact that news now breaks in seconds due to the advent of social media, rather than minutes or hours, is meaning that journalists and broadcasters are increasingly blurring the lines between what is and what is not acceptable journalism.

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Social media has sensationalised the news far more than national tabloids ever did in their heyday. Everything now is about click-rates and engagement - so-called clickbait journalism. What this has done is lead to many journalists, particularly in high-profile positions...

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...become far more concerned about carving a “personality” online than upholding responsible and ethical standards of journalism. Let us be clear: Andrew Neil is the exception rather than the norm. Sadly, it is far easier to carve this reputation through sensationalised...

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...clickbait journalism than by responsibly meeting guidelines set out by their industry codes of conduct. Sex sells, controversy sells & the rapid nature of social media is being used as a vehicle to blur the boundaries between journalism & activism more than ever before.

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When Burley started working as a reporter at the Wigan Evening Post & Chronicle, aged 17, she’d have been familiar with the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Code of Conduct. Code 3 and 4 are particularly relevant, as it talks about “honest, accurate & fair” journalism.

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It also talks about doing your utmost to “correct harmful inaccuracies”. And although, strictly speaking, the NUJ doesn’t govern broadcast journalism these are principles which, ethically, apply to all aspects of the media whether that is television, radio, online or print.

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The Ofcom Broadcasting Code, of course, *does* govern broadcast media and is even more relevant in the case of Burley and Harris. In relation to impartiality, the code talks about “the prevention of undue prominence... to the views and opinions of particular persons.”

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The interview between Kay Burley, Brexit Party MEP Lucy Harris, and political activist Femi Oluwole was just over nine minutes in duration. Anyone who knows anything about street campaigner Mr Oluwole, knows his style is confrontational by nature- & that is fine in isolation.

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What is less fine is Burley standing back & letting it descend into the ‘Femi show’ - as observed by any fair minded individual - by dictating the interview & leading the questioning. When Harris is finally allowed to ask a question: “why don’t you want a general election?”

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Attention is quickly diverted back towards Harris by Burley interjecting “why don’t you want a second referendum?” whilst failing to direct a similar line of questioning to the other guest on her programme. It was quickly descending into farce and that was before...

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...she affectionately grabbed Mr Oluwole’s arm as she doubled down on a demonstrable lie by claiming she didn’t vote in the EU referendum. As evidenced in a Burley tweet from 2016, she did vote in that plebiscite & was probably hoping Brexiteer plebs weren’t going to find it.

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When Harris rightly challenges her impartiality,Burley’s reaction is fascinating & hasn’t been analysed as far as we are aware. She says: “An Ofcom report the other day suggested that Sky News was the most trusted news service in the UK as far as broadcasters were concerned.”

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So we decided to try and find that report. What we did find was this, Ofcom’s annual report into ‘News consumption in the UK’ published for the financial year ending March 2019. For “trustworthiness” (Burley’s own words) Sky News ranks lower than ITV and lower than CNN.

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It also shows that overall reach for Sky News, surely another indicator of credibility, is at its lowest level for 8 years. So just to make it clear, @KayBurley made not one but TWO demonstrable lies on national television within seconds of each other. A shocking indictment.

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Her reaction on social media was also fascinating and feeds back into the broader problem of social media. A responsible journalist would have held their hands up and apologised for the way in which the interview was conducted, and for the two demonstrable lies made.

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Depressingly, & with no degree of shame or journalistic integrity, Burley proceeded to attack Harris for the clothes she decided to wear. In what stratosphere is this acceptable behaviour from the mainstream media? Especially a person with so much experience in the industry.

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But this is the point,as the mainstream media lose their grip on the narrative (as evidenced by Ofcom), social media is being used by trained journalists as a platform to blur the lines between their profession & activism, masked as something acceptable- “the age we live in”.

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A free and responsible press is the cornerstone of our democracy and very regrettably we are descending into chaos and open warfare not just in our politics but also on our airwaves, on our screens, and in our newspapers. And the public are not fooled by it any longer.

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Luckily, it seems journalism students are still being taught the importance of public trust & “adhering to ethical principles”.

Might we suggest Kay Burley & others go back to university/college to refresh their understanding of the profession they profess to represent?

<ENDS>