Although it’s good to read positive news and support positive charity media (focusing on solutions rather than guilting people with images of starving babies and abused animals, leads to more donations), most of us also like to take a realistic look at what’s going on in the world.
As someone once wrote ‘if we go to war, someone will probably tell you’. But today’s ‘proper news’ in the form of newspapers, radio and mostly TV, is truly dire.
Most of our newspapers are owned by a few biased media barons (and sales are massively falling anyway, which is why most online newspapers have paywalls, to support them financially as they increasingly go under).
TV news is truly appalling. We are supposed to be the pinnacle of the world with our BBC. But today’s rolling news channel for the broadcasting corporation is obsessed with Trump propaganda, panders to the narcissistic MPs who tend to set their own agendas, never asks necessary questions, and increasingly focuses on problems, and not solutions.
A quick look for research purposes today found a terribly upsetting article on cats being tortured. Of course such issues should be reported, but the manner is almost designed to give people nightmares.
And nowhere is there any positive information (say interviewing lawyers from Advocates for Animals, an exciting firm that is increasingly resulting in stringent laws against animal abusers).
The main news bulletins are nearly always the same:
What Trump has last posted on social media (who cares?) Most of us do not live our lives by someone else’s own-created social media channel.
The boat crossings. An important issue, but again never interviewing people who already know what the solutions are:
- Create world peace. This would prevent most refugees at source.
- Refugee Settlement. This uses an ordered airlift program (like Operation Pitting which helped Afghanistan refugees) and taking them to a pre-destined place where they are safe.
- Process asylum seekers in France, rather than on UK arrival. This would enable genuine refugees to stay in France (or travel safely to the UK in limited numbers, with no gangs to exploit).
- Make UK employment laws stricter. One big reason why gangs bring migrants to England, is because they can take very low-paying jobs like at nail bars and car wash stations, being paid a pittance. This could not happen in France, as the employers would go to prison.
The Gaza/Israel Crisis. Do you know the full story? Nor do most of us. There is now undoubted genocide with those seeking aid being shot dead. Yet political writer Daniel Levin (whose father had his arm blown off in the last days of the 1948 war) says rather than the now-utopian ‘one shared state’, a different vision of a two-state solution could work.
It would still contain aspects of the one-state solution (freedom of employment, movement and residency with security controls). So people could live, work and study anywhere. But only vote in their own state.
Israelis living in occupied Palestine could move back if wished to Israel (with relocation papers) or remain in Palestine and follow their laws. A Land for All would see see Jerusalem become the capital of both states and the solution can be implemented immediately.
These solutions are already being discussed and mapped out. So why do news channels (and newspapers) never report them?
We have non-stop news about the state of the NHS: older people bed-blocking and doctors and nurses complaining of poor pay and conditions, and being over-worked.
So where are the articles, interviews and reports on preventive health solutions (that would save the NHS billions) like creating walkable communities, and more preventive solutions for our huge mental health crisis, to help prevent serious depression?
Who is interviewing experts on air pollution and climate change (apart from the odd feature on Greta Thunberg)? Why are program producers not featuring community gardens (free organic food, fresh air and natural exercise) or creative inventions to stop litter.
The government recently massively delayed our deposit return scheme, which would likely rid our country of littered bottles and cans. The delay was due to the English government not wanting glass bottles to be included. But this happens in all other European countries. Where are the TV news presenters who are questioning MPs about this?
Why when every single MP (more or less) bangs on about ‘economic growth’ do journalists and TV news presenters not point out that this is harming the planet, as you can’t base economics on ‘buy, buy and throw away’ nor building more hospitals and prisons (more sickness, more crime) to make countries money.
Abroad, there are Happiness Indexes instead (why is this not discussed)?
When four or five MPs (or sometimes TV celebrities) sit around a table for BBC’s Question Time and (usually don’t) answer questions from the concerned public, what’s any different after an hour? Questions are brushed over, sound bites are given, then here we go again…
Our TV news is a complete load of nonsense. It’s not based on any knowledge (just opinions, soundbites and often pressure from others).
Independent news channels (and newspapers) now make their money from adverts. So they often won’t or can’t report the truth, as it would affect or upset the people who bankroll them.
For instance, it’s well-known that humane medical research is far more accurate, as well as kinder. But anytime we hear reports of breakthroughs say for cancer, out rolls an expert from Cancer Research (a charity that still uses out-dated animal testing). Where are the humane research experts (using kinder, more accurate and cheaper alternatives) for comparison?
You won’t find them. Because they don’t spend your donations on TV adverts. And if the news programs added them in, likely they would lose the huge fundings from the big charity that uses expensive ads to fund their news channels.
The same reason you’ll never find news articles on over-packaging and plastic pollution from perfume companies, or the problems with cheap fast fashion from big supermarket chains.
Who Owns England’s Main Newspapers?
Just three companies own nearly all of our newspapers, which raises huge concerns over individual freedom of the press and journalists. They also control almost half of our online news.
Even most of our ‘local newspapers’ are also owned by big companies, so they are not really local at all. These big companies regularly have meetings with government ministers, which obviously could influence politics (that’s why newspapers often tell people how to vote, something they should never do, that’s your choice).
Rupert Murdoch owns The Sun and The Times, and also owns many ‘local’ newspapers around the world. He is presently in a huge legal battle with President Trump, while most of us would simply like to read accurate news by independent media. Something that neither man wants.
Tax Justice Network reports that at least one media baron lives in England, but is registered as not domestically based, to avoid taxes. So contributes little or nothing to the NHS that it champions in its newspapers. And asks others to support.
The Evening Standard is owned by someone who sits in the House of Lords, so has political influence (despite not being elected). He also invests in The Independent, which now appears not to be, the very reason it was set up.
The Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and The Spectator magazine all used to be owned by the billionaire Barclay Brothers (who owned a castle on one of the Channel Islands).
Since being sold, The Spectator is now owned by a hedge fund tycoon, who also owns UnHerd (a fairly right-wing news website – though to be honest, this is better than the rest in quality of content and impartiality – it also employs left-wing writers for balance).
Why Do Liverpudlians Boycott The Sun newspaper?
In 1989, the tragic Hillsborough disaster led to 97 people being killed (and many more injured) when crushed at a stadium, at a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest football clubs.
The Sun newspaper (now we know falsely) reported that some Liverpool fans had stolen from victims, and even urinated on dead bodies. The Sun later issued an apology, but many locals still boycott the newspaper to this day. Boris Johnson (while editing The Spectator) approved an article that said drunken Liverpool fans were partly to cause for the tragedy.
To this day, the sign at Liverpool’s FC home ground reads ‘Scouse not English’. When asked why fans booed the national anthem in the FA Cup Final with Chelsea, then-manager Jurgen Klopp replied ‘Fans would not have done this, ‘if there was not a reason’.
ByLine Times: Honest and Accurate News
ByLine Times is a super publication. You can order monthly printed copies to your door, or read online (there is also an accompanying TV channel). You can read many articles for free online.
This is citizen-funded, so your support enables it to report with news, with no ads, bias or political interference. Its ‘poster boy’ is actor Hugh Grant, who you may remember took newspapers to court for tapping his phone.
You can read news here that you won’t find elsewhere. For example, today’s news reports that the government is considering closing a loophole to let foreigners donate huge amounts to UK political parties.
Elon Musk wishes to donate $100 million to Reform, which Nigel Farage says he would accept, if offered.
Here’s the scary part:
Elon’s father says that Reform could get this donation ‘if needed’ to help the party win the next election. Saying ‘I think it’s a good idea’. His father is a South African politician, so what’s it got to do with him, on who funds UK political parties? Byline Times stands up to power.
It also reports how recently Sir Keir Starmer has hired a chief communications officer, linked to The Sun’s phone-hacking and media intrusion (not to mention sexism, with page 3 girls). And even once published an image of a sexual abuse victim, without consent.
You won’t find any of this ‘real news’ on the BBC programs or websites.
A new type of newspaper. No oligarchs, no government bungs, no adverts. Just journalism. Funded by our readers. We will follow the story wherever it goes, without fear or favour.
No PR company, advertise or press baron can influence the stories, we choose to cover. Our integrity comes from our editorial independence. Byline Times
What Was the Phone Hacking Scandal about?
In 2022, it came to light that journalists working for News International (which owned News of the World) had illegally hacked into the voicemails of public figures to get stories, by guessing pin codes and hiring private investigators.
A special law meant that it was almost financially impossible for anyone to go all the way to trial (the only one rich enough to do so was Prince Harry, who recently won his case).
Hugh Grant instead took a financial settlement, and donated all proceeds to press regulation charities. He thought this was more beneficial, than potentially losing the case and going bankrupt.
What gets more serious, is that one phone was hacked of a murder victim. What happened to Milly Dowler revulsed the public so much, the newspaper ended up closing down.
After finding that their daughter’s voicemails had been deleted, Milly’s mother exclaimed to her husband ‘She’s checked her voicemail, Bob – she’s alive!’ In fact, the messages had been deleted by a private investigator, and Milly was likely already dead.
Hugh Grant at the trial called the hacking of a murdered schoolgirl’s voicemail ‘cowardly and shocking’.
The Friend (a weekly Quaker newspaper)
The Friend is a smashing weekly newspaper, with intelligent and non-sensational news (you can also read articles online) by the Quakers, a peace-based faith organisation.
Just like Radio 4’s Thought for the Day, here you’ll find a Quaker Thought for the Week:
I have good news for you. This is not the sort of news that you would get from the media, filled with hate-filled rhetoric. No, I need to tell you this: hatred is not normal. Neither is anger, prejudice, or spitefulness. They are all diseases of the mind.
Furthermore, it is up to us to do something about it, by looking deeply at ourselves and removing them from our hearts and minds, and so from our character.
Here’s a nice ‘letter to the editor’, hope for a better world:
A Friend said that Quakers are getting too political. I referenced Matthew 25:35: ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me’.
Acts of kindness and compassion towards others, especially those who are vulnerable or marginalised, are acts of service to Jesus himself. Caring for the needs of those around us is a demonstration of our faith and love for God.
Canary (a good left-wing indie newspaper)
Canary is another good independent newspaper (it’s quite left-wing, if that’s not your politics, be warned). But it has won an award for reporting accurate information (and not manipulating facts, just to ‘gain points’).
Run by independent journalists and volunteers, it’s run as a democratic co-operative and has a clean record for fact checking by Media Bias website. This website is not shy about speaking truth to power. Here’s what it says about Westminster’s two political leaders:
Sir Keir Starmer broke every single pledge he made to become Labour leader, trampling on the foundations of democracy. He is propping up the fossil fuel industry with a £22bn bung on vanity carbon capture projects that don’t work.
And at last week’s PMQs, he denied what’s happening in Gaza is a genocide, despite the International Court of Justice ruling that it is a ‘plausible genocide’.
Then there’s Badenoch. She regularly lies and continued to do so at PMQs. She has described herself as a ‘net zero sceptic’, fanning the flames of climate denialism.
It’s good to ‘be positive’. But when you have children being shot dead to get aid, animals tortured, humans starving and a planet up in flames, sometimes it’s necessary to stand up to media and political bullies. And with our help, these are the brave souls that are doing so.
Good media is so important. Without it, we’ll continue to have celebrity-obsessed dogma and propaganda, which won’t change anything for the better. Either in England, or the world.
Fair Observer is a non-profit media organisation where nearly 3000 citizen journalists in over 90 countries write factually correct articles, in an era of ‘FAKE NEWS!)
Get Involved in the Media Revolution
The Media Revolution is a new idea, asking us all to stand up (by ignoring) state, corporate and social media, which has been hijacked by a handful of powerful interests – billionaire owners, political operators and advertisers, who push narrow and toxic agendas, which are eroding democracy, and destroying life in its path.
We will not stay silent. We will call it what it is. Genocide, ecocide and menticide (controlling people’s minds):
- Climate activists are called ‘eco terrorists’.
- People aghast at genocide in Gaza are called anti-Semitic.
- Genuine refugees are called ‘invaders’
Even Trump recently said that Epstein ‘stole’ the late Virginia Giuffre (who recently committed suicide) from his Florida resort. This young woman who had been through so much in her short life was not a mobile phone. She was a person, survivor and mother.
The organisation is running the Stop Selling Lies campaign on climate change:
Climate scientist John Cook when asked how much of global warming is caused by humans replies ‘Nearly all of it’. Yet still big newspapers and political parties continue to deny the urgency, or say that it’s not mostly manmade. They are not climate scientists, he is.
He says that just 10% of Americans (and likely people in the UK) are aware that over 95% of global warming is caused by humans (mostly through fossil fuels, livestock farming and deforestation).
He says 97% of climate scientists are with him on this – the other 3% are nearly all employed by vested interests.
The media does a lot of damage through false balance – giving deniers equal weight with climate scientists. This reduces acceptance of climate change. The news media could cover climate change accurately, while fulfilling the journalistic norm of balance. Dr John Cook
Real News Network (citizen-funded TV)
The Real News Network is an excellent worldwide news channel, run along the same lines. It’s funded by donations (though you can watch for free if you have no money, supported by others who donate, so everyone has access to real news).
Unlike say our BBC News, the journalists tend to live and work in the areas. So if a report is coming from say Mexico, it’s going to be a Mexican journalist reporting.
Again due to lack of influence from ads or politicians, these programs are enlightening, and make for gripping viewing, if you want to know what’s going on in the world. Without sensationalism.
This recent program reports on the plan to destroy 550 tons of emergency food relief languishing in warehouses, intended for children in impoverished and war-torn regions, due to the now-defunct USAID program.
These high-energy biscuits could feed every starving child in Gaza or 1.5 million children for a week. Why on earth is our BBC not reporting on this?
Change isn’t going to be handed to us from the elite power brokers and donors controlling the political parties that got us here. And it sure won’t come from the same oligarchs and zealots plundering our societies, democratic institutions, economy and our planet.
If we expect to see a future that’s still worth living in, the people will need to fight for it. And The Real News Network will be there on the front lines, with cameras and microphones. The Real News Network
Truthout (independent real news network)
Truthout is an independent worldwide news organisation, which you can tell by the name, is dedicated to truth! It has categories on Trump (this organisation is based in the US), fossil fuels, gerrymandering (political bias) and international politics.
Recent articles include Trump’s plans to open up millions of acres of land for Arctic drilling, which would lead to irreversible harm for local caribou, migratory birds and fish. And Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill’ resulting in sky-high energy price increases, mostly for his loyal (and mostly on low income) voters.
