The Sun had campaigned throughout the election for a Conservative victor and ended with an attack on the Labour leader with a front page that superimposed his head on a light bulb with the headline: “If Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights?”
Sun readers were important to Major in 1992, comprising more than a fifth of the electorate and more than a third of the “don’t knows”. And with that election, the seeds were sown for the extraordinary events which saw former Murdoch employee and “good friend” of David Cameron, Andy Coulson, arrested .
That his minions have been allowed to get away for so long with the sort of behaviour that leaves non-media types dumbfounded is a testament to the hubris of Murdoch and the gutlessness of politicians who would rather court The Sun king than risk waking up one morning to find their face superimposed on a light bulb. This is not a party political issue. Cameron is in power now. For years, it was Labour frontbenchers quaffing Murdoch’s free champagne.
But it shouldn’t be like this. There is no real evidence that newspapers still have the power to convert the unconverted. Even The Sun, which declared “Labour’s Lost It” in September 2009 after years of backing the party, couldn’t deliver an outright victory to the Conservatives a few months later. But Murdoch’s newspapers acting as they have is a sickening negation of democracy propagated by both politicians and the egotistical former journalists, often from a tabloid background, who advise them. “You need the tabloids to win”, these ex-hacks tell new bosses, until the politicians start to believe them, even though there is often so little information in the tabloids that reading them poses a serious risk to the nation’s civic competence.
Despite this, I’m sad that the News of the World has closed – not least because 200 journalist have lost their jobs. I’ll miss reading it over Sunday breakfast, with a mixture of indignation and delight, exclaiming over gossip every bit as delicious as my boiled egg and soldiers, before furiously turning to the next story, half hopeful and half fearful that someone I know might be involved. It was always a great read. And, despite whatever personal prejudices you may harbour, it hit the nail on the head nine times out of ten. Of course, now we know why.
Surely the gloating messages posted across the internet – “Death to News of the World, the biggest load of shit ever to call itself a newspaper” is a typical example – cannot all have been posted by people who have never read it? Otherwise how could they be in a position to judge? Perhaps they read it “just the once” How many times have I heard that?
Like many others in print journalism, I love my job – not least because I find out things other people don’t know. It’s a privilege, but contrary to popular opinion, it’s not always a particularly well-paid privilege. In fact, there are relatively few highly paid jobs in journalism and those that do exist are with national titles in London. Most graduates will probably never get within a 100 miles of a national title. Those who do should not have to suffer the kind of abuse that has been heaped on them, collectively, through association, recently.
When asked: “What do you do for a living?’ I’ve always been proud to answer: “I’m a journalist”. Invariably, the next question is invariably: “Who do you write for?” At this point, I’ll often pause for thought. I need time to consider which “side” is my inquisitor on? This is a shame. I can think of almost no other profession that invites such a minefield of possible reactions. I once took “him indoors” to a party at the offices of The Field (or maybe it was Country Life). The room was full of hunting, shooting and fishing types, and for some reason – I suspect just to be annoying – when my partner, who is actually a fine baroque violinist and music teacher, was asked by a lady dressed in tweed what he did for a living, he replied: “I’m a sex-worker”. Without batting an impeccably made-up eyelid, the woman continued: “And where are your offices?” Rather than admit to being a journalist, I may give a similar answer next time I’m in polite company. And for that alone, Murdoch, Coulson and Rebecca Brooks deserve everything that’s coming their way.
