The title of today’s blog is copied from the subject line of an email I received today from the Guardian. It sounds like the Guardian has turned into a charity with responsibility for the entire globe. Not just any charity of course, but a very precious charity with a noble history of uncompromising honesty and fair dealing. Their appeal this time round (the words ‘support us’ are delivered about once a week) proclaims:
So far this year, we have published more than 6,000 articles about the environment which have been read more than half a billion times. You recently heard from George Monbiot, Jonathan Watts and Natalie Hanman, writing about many of the pressing issues facing our living planet today and how we report on them. If you have enjoyed our journalism and value it as much as we hope you do, then please take a moment to consider supporting us so that we can keep our reporting open to all. All this writing! All this reading! But when you get the chance to support a politician who might seriously do something about it, you stick a hot poker up their arse (sorry for the vulgarity, my writing is not informed by Guardian writers’ guidelines). The Guardian is not about change, it’s about a form of journalistic voyeurism which translates into a) give me a byline and b) how much per column inch? The opinion writers are the worst, although to his credit Monbiot has stuck his neck out a few times and even Polly Toynbee temped a bit in the low waged economy. But it’s all a form of cushioned ’activism’ and so when their corporate paymasters decide it’s time to call time on a politician who threatens their model, the model wins. No, Guardian, the planet doesn’t need you urgently. One is entitled to ask, on behalf of the planet, what happened as a result of your 6,000 articles? Editorial note and faux apology: The author of this blog is very cynical and we hope no offence has been given. But after all, when they say ’we hope you have enjoyed our journalism’ it rather gives the game away.
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