Why am I writing this blog?

What did you think of the Business Manifesto Labour launched during the recent UK General Election campaign? Nothing much, I should think. Most probably you're not really interested (though I am) and most probably it's not very interesting (maybe not even to me). But if you were interested you would probably still know nothing about it. It was launched by the Labour Party at a news conference a day or so after the leak to the media of the Attorney General's full legal advice on the legality of the UK going to war with Iraq. No questions were asked at that news conference about the Business Manifesto. Instead the same questions were asked over and over about the Attorney General's advice. I only know that it exists because I recognised someone in the audience at the news conference. A couple of weeks later I asked him why he had been there. He told me about the Business Manifesto, which was the first I'd heard of it - and I watched days worth of election coverage!

My point is that, if we are to have a democracy in this country (UK) or anywhere else for that matter we must respect the process. The campaign should be a time to leave the stage to the politicians, listen to what they all have to say and make our choice at the ballot box. Instead the media seem intent on controlling the agenda, and seem to be succeeding.

This is just one example: my reason for starting this blog is dissatisfaction with the mainstream media. I'll try to highlight issues where I think the news is being distorted by the interests of media organisations, their herd mentality and the groupthink that occurs within them. And I'm nothing if not ambitious: I want to get closer to the truth AND show why it is being distorted.

I can't say I spent a long time thinking up a blog title or my "handle", but they do have some rationale. I'll try to explain another time...