Pat Rabbitte, late of the Workers' Party and
presently part of the very unpopular Labour Party, is worried. No, not
about the slump in his party's fortunes - they have another four years to
address that - but about the effect of the social media on society.
Pat’s concern came off the back of that famous tweet into The Frontline presidential debate programme on RTÉ, which falsely claimed
that Sinn Féin would next day produce the man Sean Gallagher was supposed to
have collected money from for Fianna Fail. Yes, I know it’s temptingto go into
all that again, Virginia, but let’s stick to Pat’s point, shall we?
Which is? That social media – Twitter, Facebook, blogs, all
that stuff –may lower journalistic
standards. Eh? That’d be the
journalistic standards that threw everything but granny’s commode at John Hume
and Gerry Adams for daring to talk during the 1980s? That’d be the journalistic
standards that refused to allow the voice of a democratically-elected party to
be heard on the airwaves over the same period? And the journalistic standards
that spent the entire presidential election asking Martin McGuinness if he went
to confession rather than his political achievements over the previous
seventeen years. Cheesh.
The real reason Pat – and many other politicians – don’t
terribly like the social media is simple. It’s too democratic. Anybody can get
on there and say their two-bits worth, and it’s instantly available to anyone
anywhere in the world, assuming they have a computer and online access. What an
appalling vista! You don’t have to be a journalist, you don’t have to be
employed by Sir Tony O’Reilly or write in line with The Irish Times policy
– you just get in there and do it. All voices can be heard.
Almost as important, the social media let people know they
are not alone. A lot of people have a view on political events but they keep
their thoughts to themselves, because they think maybe they’re the only one to
think that way, so they’re probably just an oddball. By reading the views of
others like themselves, they’re encouraged, develop a self-belief in their own
judgment, find moral support. And I’d emphasise I’m talking about all political viewpoints, not just those
I’d agree with.
But Pat does his worried little frown and talks about
“journalistic standards” instead. Sorry, Pat. Admittedly the big guns of the traditional media
still pound the public with the message of the powers that be, but every day,
thanks to social media, those big guns are getting pounded right back.
Shocking, isn’t it? Next you know, people will be encouraged to think for
themselves, and then what’ll we do?
Excellent, Jude. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteGo raibh maith agat, Graydon
ReplyDeleteExcellent points Jude. I am not as depressed now that i know that all yanks are not war mongers, jews are not all Zionists and that im part of the 99%.Also, i was was born with a particularly embarassing birth defect(nether region)and grew up with a inferiority complex ,even though i woulden't say it was a very good one,but thanks to social media and the internet i am a happy mature adult instead of a lonely bigoted racist shouting at the bbc news. Now surely that proves it's a medium for good?
ReplyDeleteApart from your view that there was no need to call McGuinness to task on his lying - what else is a responsbile media about? - this is a brilliant piece that defends the small person against the corporation.
ReplyDeleteANON 8:55 AM - I'll take your compliment but I'll also take issue with you. If you read what I wrote I didn't say there was no need to "call McGuinness to task on his lying". What I am appalled by in the McGuinness case is the insistence of RTÉ and others on doing nothing BUT query McGuinness on his IRA past, which he has always acknowledged openly. This thing of "What date did you leave the IRA?" and "Do you go to confession?" shames the southern media beyond measure.
ReplyDelete