As a propaganda exercise, slagging off the EU in general and the European Parliament (EP) in particular, Andrew Gilligan's piece in the Sunday Telegraph this week, got some favourable reviews, not least from Autonomous Mind.

The proceedings in the EP are condemned by AM as "an appalling abuse of our money", coloured by Gilligan's description of the manner in which the agriculture committee last week "passed" reform provisions for the CAP, together with the substance, which was "even worse".

Gilligan described the proceedings as a "bingo hall vote", filling out the detail with this narrative:
All seven tiers of seats in the giant meeting room were rammed with people, and the sun poured in through big windows at the back. Rows of lobbyists in the spectator section ticked off decisions worth billions as Paolo de Castro, chairman of the European Parliament's agriculture committee, read out the votes as if he were a bingo caller, two or three a minute.

View full article here

One of them does. I used to get journos rung me on such matters, but I tended to find they don't want to know the truth if it spoils the story. In this case, if Gilligan has reported what was really going on, he wouldn't have had his story, and would have had to rewrite it completely. That very much characterises modern journalism - story first and facts later, and then only if they fit the pre-ordained storyline.

Oh I think they did learn a great deal, but as the book's title suggests, it was full of inconvenient facts, so they continue to engage in the deception. Nothing illustrates this better than liar Cameron over Norway...

Edited by user 30 January 2013 11:26:37(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified