by Tony Attwood
“Scoop” recently wrote a comment on this blog relating to our regular pieces on what some of us consider to be wholly misleading articles in the media about football.
Scoop expressed the opinion, which is often heard here, that “calling it out here is not going to change anything at all, and all you’re doing is shouting into an echo chamber.”
So I thought I would write a little article and explain why I keep writing and publishing along these lines. Then at least when the issue arises I can simply point to this article. The picture incidentally is of the founder of the Daily Mirror.
Why write articles pointing out that the media is biased and misleading when it comes to football?
- Because the technique the popular press, and the blogs that copy them, use, is incredibly successful in developing the way people think about a particular topic. I think the message the media put forward is a false message designed to help themselves, therefore I feel the urge to fight back.
- Because there are a number of people who after seeing a misleading article express the view that they felt something was wrong, but didn’t fully understand what was happening. But having read one of our little exposes, they realise they were not on their own, and renew the argument they take forth that in the area of football, the media are having a malicious influence
- Because people who realise how misleading the media can be can feel somewhat isolated and in my view it is never a bad thing to help people feel they are not alone.
- Because the effect of the technique that the media use in relation to football is to hide various issues from public gaze. I do think there are things wrong with football and by exposing what is happening it is possible to make some small changes.
- Because when certain views become dominant they can influence how the club behaves.
- Because, I suppose, I’ve always been a campaigner, fighting against things that strike me as wrong. It is a bit like standing up to bullies. I might get a broken nose, but I retain the belief that if only more people would stand up to these people things would be better. Put simply, and at risk of making myself a laughing stock, I believe it is the right thing to do. Just as, if I saw a collection of thugs run past an individual and knock her or him over I would go to that person, lift the person up and try and console the person. I didn’t stop the attack, I can’t stop the bruises, but I can say, not everyone is as mindless as the gang that just ran by.
The comment was also made that “it’s really easy to filter out all the rubbish in the press if you don’t want to read/watch it.”
But the Mirror and other media do keep publishing this material, and if no one read it, they most certainly wouldn’t. I run three blogs, and have helped many companies set up their blogs and raise their audiences, and I know a lot of the tricks used. I know what the Mirror etc are up to and I am trying to make people more alert rather than saying “you can avoid it if you want.” That’s a bit like saying, you can stop drinking too much alcohol if you want. The world isn’t like that.
Thus when our correspondent wrote, “Anyone who believes that what they read in the Mirror is anything even close to “important news” is a cretin and not worth worrying about,” I disagree. I am absolutely not a Christian, but I do share the view that all people are worth worrying about.
So I am going to go back to point 1 above – that the technique used in the football media is incredibly successful. And writing about that is, I believe, helpful, because the technique (known to psychologists as “gaslighting” is used widely by the media and by individuals, and the more people know of that technique the better it is.
Quite simply gaslighting is a technique that stops people thinking about one subject, by getting them to think about another. It is used throughout our society by bullying husbands (and to a degree, but a lesser degree, wives), it is used by politicians, business people, and journalists.
I’ve written about it quite a lot on this site, and if you are not familiar with the concept, or want to see how gaslighting is used in order to stop us thinking about refereeing in the Premier League in a critical way, you might find it of interest. The series begins with Are the referees and the media really out to get Arsenal, or am I just imagining it? and there is a link to the whole series at the top of that article.
You might also be interested in articles such as “What the opening game means”. Another was “When it comes to commentating on Arsenal…”
I’ll come back to this topic shortly, but I’ll highlight each episode because if you don’t want to read about how the media is trying to manipulate how you think, even when you are certain you are immune (as almost everyone does), you’ll want to avoid it.
And endlessly the people who say privately, “I never really understood before”
Hear, hear. I’m with you 100% Tony.
The real job of the media is to investigate and report honestly on their findings; not set the agenda it chooses and then ignore the truth in order to convince people something untrue is true because it suits the agenda they have created.
The more people who can be made aware of this degenerate approach, the more they might actually question the media rather than remain blindly wedded to what they are fed.
As I said in the other article the likes of Allezkev and Scoop have had this explanation put to them many many times and simply ignore it and come back a week later saying the same thing.
Nevertheless what you say is absolutely correct and yourself, me, Mikey, mickshelley and all the others that see the media for the charlatans they are should keep calling them out as often as we can.
Others that think turning the page is the answer can continue as they wish but I find it odd when people who constantly admonish us for commenting on and criticising the media constantly comment on and criticise us.
Very odd in fact.
If there’s one good thing I’ve learnt from PGMOL is selective vision!! You might wonder why it is good? It allows me to ignore the BS that the media constantly spews, giving me a much brighter view of the world.
Knowing the truth and the reality that truth will always win, it is easy to block out lies.
From the Metro – “‘Right now, I wouldn’t [move to Arsenal],’ Mills told talkSPORT.”
Just as well – it would be a wasted journey.
The recent panic over “fuel shortages” sparked by The BBC and its allies may be a good case in point. It was blamed on a shortage of tanker drivers caused by Brexit. It appears to me that it may have been caused by the transition from E5 unleaded to E10, and the fact that many forecourts were deliberately running E5 stocks down in order to be able to adapt their storage to handle the newer fuel (which is 3% less economical for motorists, incidentally).
Nothing is as it seems when the media are involved.
Someone has to fight it. If you posted on this subject every day it wouldn’t be enough.
I support and applaud your efforts.
Aurier “snubbed” by Arsenal.
Media like any other business caters to what the market wants.
Readers of untold come here because untold churns articles they like.
Readers of those other publications equally like the content they put out.
When Arsenal lost the first 3 games, media was very harsh with them. When they beat Tottenham, everyone was singing them praises.
Such is the flipping nature of neutral media houses. When Arsenal is not performing, it’s easy to sell negativity. When they are winning, positivity sells. Same goes for any other team.
Untold is a publication run by Arsenal fans. I don’t think other media houses read by a diverse fan base will report on Arsenal similarly.
A million articles criticising them serves nothing other than appeasing readers here who are mostly Arsenal fans.