Tabloid paper labels indymedia 'subversive'

by Paul Kinsella - ATGWU (For the time being!)! Sun May 19, 2002 18:00 paulkinsella53 at yahoo dot com 53 Lorcan Grove, Santry, Dublin 9, Eire 087 - 9748511

Yeah Shane I seen this article in a British based paper that passes itself off as an 'Irish' Sunday newspaper. Again not giving any names coz I won't give any publicity to this rag that last week called on it's readers to vote for a continuation of the Fianna Failure/Regressive Democrats coalition government. Don't worry I didn't buy it just had a quick look at it while I was gauking at the papers in Easons. It was kinda strange article really. If anything it's giving Indymedia Ireland more publicity. They published IMC Ireland's Web Site Address so at the very least we will get some curious people looking up Indymedia Ireland for the first time so that's not a bad thing at all! One interesting thing that they said was that one particular Garda who I won't name and we all know who I'm talking about is being singled out and left to dry and that 5 or 6 six other guards as well may become the sacrificial lambs. I was there for the whole day on the Reclaim The Streets Street Party on the Bank Holiday Monday and what happened that day was planned for well in advance and ordered from the very top i.e Ministerial level. Even hours before we all met up outside the GPO O'Connell Street was crawling with coppers, the largest turnout of cops many of whom were never seen in Dublin city centre before and they all crawled out of the woodwork. So there was no spontaneous loss of control and sudden panic as the Garda apologists and the Garda rent a mob and their rich and powerful and corrupt friends in the media, the business community and politicial circles are claiming.

by Oliver O'Hern Sun May 19, 2002 18:01

Well done you guys, sorry persons in Indymedia, you have been paid the ultimate compliment. The establishment press does not like you. Keep up the good work.

by Anton Blake Sun May 19, 2002 18:15

Conservative Unionist, Eoghan Harris, inventor of Democrat Left, to-day in the Sunday Independent also attacked indymedia. The conservative forces are getting worried that their monopolization of the means of communication has ended, and that their monopilization of power is thereby threatened.

by neogeo Sun May 19, 2002 18:19

A few points -

The paper is not a politicaly orientated newspaper in the truest sense - more a gossip/celebrity rag aimed the the most uneducated in our society. It rarely applies analysis and employs shock value to sell papers. Now, most papers do this but The Sun, et al are different. It's audience couldn't give a shit about politics except when it visibly/directly effects them or when some flavour of scandal is abound.

I remember a famous incident in 1990. The the day the Soviet Union collapsed they had a headline and major story about some celebrity's philandering. Not to worry, the most significant world event since 1945 got a four line monosyllibic write up somewhere after page 3.

Its a sensationalist little rag that takes advantage of people ignorance and keeps them in the dark as to real issues - all the time playing to the agenda of conservatism and the status quo. Granted, it can mask it well at times, but lets take one thing for granted - These papers are deeply conservative and highly opinionated. The Sun supported Thatcher all through the 80s. Stir up a bit of rabid nationalism, too. That takes minds away from realising the evils of capitalism in the global sense. Anyone old enough will remember the infamous "Gotcha!" headline from the 80s, or the german footballers in world war one uniform.

Mr. Lowest Common Denominator knows his audience. And by manipulating them it's easy to play politics as seen in the last number of British elections.

Take a copy and look at the use of language. Words like "blasted" "terrorist" "scum" show up a lot - simple, sensationalist words - interesting to certain minds. "Mayday's Robo Cop" another, nice and simple euphemism. It's not the job of the Sun to give detailed, correct facts followed by individual opinion.

I've held this opinion for a long time and personally, I wouldn't use it to wipe my arse.

by 8den Sun May 19, 2002 20:58

Paul you might not want to advertise this rag but personally I want to be able to find out whats been said about us, so please can someone tell us which paper said what?

Maybe an excert or three?

by 8den Mon May 20, 2002 00:57

I have several life long ambitions

One is to be classified as a dangerous subversive by a Government.

Getting there.......

by Carola Mon May 20, 2002 11:34

Bei Indymedia de sind zur Zeit die Open Posting und Kommentar Funktionen ab geschaltet.

by paul cummins Mon May 20, 2002 22:54 chewy at redbrick dot dcu dot ie

i think why indymedia has been misunderstood is that, along with the increased activity or the last few cos of what happened not everyone is posting _news_ some ppl including me are posting opinion pieces which are entirely different from the _independent_ news and there should be more distinction made between between news articles and comments and alot more signs put up around the site saying " we (the loose group called indymedia) cannot be responsible for what is posted etc, to help the confused tabloid journalists.

by Paul Kinsella - ATGWU (For the time being!)! Tue May 21, 2002 17:41 paulkinsella53 at yahoo dot com 53 Lorcan Grove, Santry, Dublin 9, Eire 087 - 9748511

Hi 8den,

Sorry for not replying to you sooner but I started a new job last week so I don't have as much time to comment here as I used to. Anyhow the tabloid rag in question is the 'Irish' Sunday Mirror. Notice the Irish in italics as they're not an Irish based paper at all, but that's beside the point here.