Monday, December 15, 2008

The Independent is a Newspaper Again

I shall whisper this. Every Monday I buy The Guardian and The Independent. Go on, boo and hiss. Accuse me of being the closet lefty you always suspected I was.

The truth of the matter is, dear reader, that they both have media supplements on Mondays and I like to keep up with what's going on in that particular world. Getting The Guardian on a Monday also enables me to see whether this week Jackie Ashley says Gordon Brown is the greatest politician alive or whether he's all washed up and will lose the election.

Today, two things struck me. Normally the Guardian media pages are stuffed with at least 20. Pages of media adverts. Today there are just three. OK, we're near Christmas, but even so.

Secondly, The Independent seems to be reverting to being a newspaper again. Which is nice. Gone are the ridiculous front pages and interminable features on lefty subjects of their choice. The new editor Roger Alton has transformed it back into a newspaper in which you can actually find out what is going on in the world, rather than a newspaper in which you can read what its columnists think is going on.

13 comments:

Newmania said...

The Independent has been getting a lot better for while now Dominic Lawson and that,Hamish McRae bloke are both superb on the economy

David Smith said...

see the News of the World was forced to pull a story about an early general election - after pushing it out to the broadcasters - due to concerns about its accuracy. What a surprise!

Brom said...

You're very naive if you think any newspaper lets you know what's going on in the world as opposed to what their columnists think!

The only difference between the Independent and other broadsheets is that they explicitly say what they believe instead of trying to hide behind unsubtle right-wing or left-wing headlines.

The media makes me sick!

Bill Quango MP said...

Roger Alton? the same Roger Alton who was editor of the British national Sunday newspaper The Observer from 1998 to 2007. Under his editorship, The Observer's editorial view supported the invasion of Iraq, a stance that Alton,has since admitted may have been incorrect?
The man who had the original dodgy dossier first because Blair knew he was "one of us"?

The same Alton who presided over political reporting by saying to the assembled hacks "I'd better check this with Alistair. he may not like it."?

Its not just failed bankers and football managers and politicians who endlessly swap their failures for a new and better opportunity to cock it up all over again somewhere else.

Well Mr Dale..Whatever makes you happy

Anonymous said...

Brom has a certain point.

Newspapers tell their readers what they want to hear.

This is maybe why I try to read as little of what the Daily Telegraph is saying as possible at the moment.

Talk about taking your eye off the ball.

The Black Knight said...

Iain I'm very dissapointed. You are just encouraging them by spending your 50p. Please stop it.

NameHere said...

I quite like the Sunday Indy, but it's way too expensive on weekdays for what it is. I much prefer The Times on weekdays.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know of a paper that's not pro ZanuLabour? Apart from the Mail that is.

neil craig said...

I believe this sort of activity alone explains why we are in a "world recession" & China & the majority of the world aren't. I was extremely surprised to see the Indie report it & not in the least surprised that the rest didn't report something as minor as the loss of what, along with coal mining, used to be what made a country developed.

Chris Paul said...

The observation re adverts is just wishful thinking rubbish Iain. Just think when the closing date and interviews would be if one advertised now. NYE and the first week of January. Always slow for job adverts as this time of year. Apart from the timetable no-one's really looking to move. Too weighed down by turkey and all the trimmings.

neil craig said...

Sorry the above was the 2nd part of a post praising the Indie for being the only paper to have reported the boss of Corus (what remains of what used to be British steel) saying that because of the "environmentalists" Corus faces having to pack up & move wholesale to China.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/corus-we-will-quit-eu-to-avoid-carbon-regime-1065639.html

I was surprised they reported it & unfortunately unsurprised that the rest of the MSM didn't.

Anonymous said...

Newspapers> I like the Independent. It's always an interesting read.

The Times can be so dreary. The Telegraph is too staid.

I don't read the Guardian for the same reason I don't read the Daily Mail. it's just too bi-polar...

But I do check out the websites for the Times, Guardian and sometimes the Telegraph > to get an idea of what they're saying...

manic marc said...

The Indy is the only paper I can stand.
The Daily Mail, Guardian et al just like to preach - and the rest all seem to be owned by Murdoch.