The First Political Coup of the 21st Century - Coming up on TV

Posted on September 10, 2006
Filed Under Error and bias |

Yesterday’s events in Ramallah reminded anybody watching just how big the grudge is between Blair and those who report on him, especially the publicly-funded national broadcaster.

Imagine. You are with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Hundreds of people have died recently and you’re a player in the fragile peace process. You emerge for a press conference.

Here is the question the BBC put to Tony Blair: Do you fear for an absense of leadership once you have left office? And: Gordon Brown is coming under extraordinary attacks from within his own Party. Will you defend him?

Might they have asked a question or two about the Middle East?

Well if they’d sent their Middle East correspondent they would have but they sent their political correspondent to hound Blair instead.

And what about the questions from Sky?

Do you carry any weight now as a politician on the way out? And will you endorse Gordon Brown as your successor?

Well how about, and has your long experience of peace negotiations in Northern Ireland helping the process here in the Middle East?

Blair responded to Sky and the BBC in what I thought was a dignified and tactful way - he told them, lads, we’re in a hurting place here. Do you not see how selfish it is to talk about what ’s happening in Britain when we’re here to talk about what’s happening in the wake of a protracted armed conflict?

And he told them his view was the conflicts in our societies carry a level of danger that has to be all consuming for a politician. In other words: I’m busy with this, now.

The spin SKY put on this? He won’t endorse Brown.

For my money the reason conventional, established TV companies are losing audiences is because they are too full of self-importance and they pursue vendettas like this. We need grown up news and we go looking for it on the web.

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