15 years on and the same story Way back when I worked in the Labour Party press office in 1999 under the great Donald Dewar and Gordon Brown, it became apparent early on during the campaign that Labour were going to win by a landslide . This was primarily due to Labour delivering the parliament in the first place . The SNP didnt really have a hope but to their dismay they were actually going to do way worse than even they feared. The SNP response was a master stroke - blaim the media , this protected the SNP leadership from any flack that came their way for a failed campaign and cemented loyalty amongst the base . Privately the SNP guys told me they didnt believe the media claim but it served a purpose and spun them away from answering questions they didnt want to answer . The ploy worked. And theyve used it often since but not as well as they are doing now. Not that Labour or any other party would not do the same or use a similar tactic . Our way was sleaze against the Tories back then . However we should be clear the SNP didnt believe there was bias they just needed as a trick when things got sticky. For the past few days there has been increasing screamings of conspiracy by the BBC , This is the old trick being pulled again and its the dark art of spin in its purest form . For me on the no side Ive raged at how easy a ride yes have had . On the day when Robinson was asking Salmond about. The Brass plaque moving, -something Sturgeon had previously said would be a disaster - and would mean that Scottish banks felt that deposits couldnt be covered by an independent Scotland . And that they felt safer being covered the English government deposit guarantee . This was big news . The major banks were fleeing and had no faith in the economics of the Yes argument ...But instead of this being the news the resulting news report droned on about how Salmond didnt answer the question ( he diidnt) and then Robinson explaining how the BBC had no case to answer. Of course it didnt Salmond knew it didnt .. You were being played Robinson . It was a trusted trick and it worked. Excellent dodge Salmond, well played . The truth is the nationalists have had the easiest media run in British or Scottish parliamentary history . The overwhelming majority of economists have painted dire warnings yet because each side gets an equal time on the the BBC it looks on every point that there is a well balanced two sides to every story . This is false - the evidence on the economics is overwhelmingly on one side . Yet because of BBC media fairness guidelines no one gets a definitive truth and instead is fed a soup of argument and counter argument with no analysis . In this vacuum of reason people have poured in their emotions and feelings instead to trying to make the judgement logically.. No rationalism just emotion and what feels right or whoever sounds better or more positive. These three points but in particular the last point positivity has served yes campaign monumentally well . And they should be sending buckets of flowers to the BBC instead of criticising it. ( I suspect Salmond is actually over the moon with the coverage) The BBC own fairness guidelines have unintentionally but undoubtedly saw the nationalists win the media war by a clear margin. The one word that will ring out after the polls are closed is scaremongering To me it sounds like a cross between the scarecrow in the wizard of oz and a dusty ironmonger. Its place where theyve been doing a booming business of late . 3 fears, a scare and mild panic please ...and the no campaign has been its best customer . But to attack them unreservedly would be to do them an injustice. Instead whoever came up with the wording on the ballot ,(Salmond) should get a medal . If the question was Should Britain stay as one country and the no campaign was now the yes campaign then obviously by definition it would be more positive after they would be seeking a yes . However its not and they are seeking a negative and you dont get a negative by being positive . If you did that youd end up with a neutral. . The fact we are forced to be negative and campaign for a no has been entirely to the nationalists benefit and those voters willinging to buy into. Positivity Bullcrap ... . this isnt a,singer auditioning for X factor - its the future of a country. ...a serious reality check is surely desirable and.advisable for everyone but without the analysis and the hard facts positivity and feelings are all we have. For me Today was the ugliest day of the campaign so far when Saltire decked hordes descended on the BBC with people calling no voters traitors and accusing them of not believing in Scotland . I hope tonight they are reflecting and take and step back, and remember they are being played as pawns in a. Political game before it gets worse. This is and always will be political bullshit and you should know you are being sold it at least . Perhaps then theyll see that From a No perspective there was 30,000 out in Edinburgh yesterday which was largely reported as a tag on to an Orange March while the main story was Salmond in a helicopter flying the country like he was Hitler in the opening scenes of Triumph of the Will , being statesman like and showing how the yes vote was nation wide . If you are going to go with the biased media line, you can its your right, but Salmond isnt, he didnt believe it 1999 and he doesnt believe it now .
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 22:39:44 +0000
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