Sunday 6 July 2014

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

[Six years ago today, I posted on this blog an item headed Scottish newspapers accused of shirking investigative duties. It reads as follows:]

Today's issue of the Sunday Herald contains an article about a letter written by Professor Hans Köchler complaining about the supine attitude of the Scottish press over the Lockerbie miscarriage of justice. The article reads in part:

'When readers are asked what they want more of in newspapers the answer is often great, jaw-dropping scoops. Yet investigative reporting - the discipline behind many such stories - is increasingly seen by many newspaper executives as too expensive to bother with.

'This is certainly the view of Professor Hans Kochler [sic], the former UN monitor of the Lockerbie trial, who has attacked the Scottish media for its coverage of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi's continuing appeals against his conviction.

'Kochler believes Scottish journalists are becoming unwilling to question the establishment version of events and work under editors and executives who refuse to finance proper reporting. He says he has a list of publications and journalists he believes have failed to do their jobs properly, which he may seek to publish at a later date.

'Says Kochler: "As far as Lockerbie is concerned I can't understand why more isn't being done by the European country that was most concerned with it. There is a lot at stake: the rule of law, security, the role of international terrorism. Why isn't somebody trying to find out why the authorities are now trying to withhold evidence and delaying everything?"

'In an earlier letter to veteran campaigner Robbie the Pict nee [sic] Brian Robertson, in which Kochler raised the issue of a potential media blackout, he simply wrote: "Where are Scotland's investigative journalists?"

'Kochler claims that editors reduced coverage under establishment pressure. Some journalists closely related to the story argue that the real reason why Lockerbie is off the agenda is because people are tired of it, but Kochler claims it is a symptom of a wider problem that cuts across the profession.'

The comments from members of the public which follow the article are well worth reading and are extremely well-informed.

[With a shamefully few honourable exceptions, the same can be said of the Scottish press today. The original article now appears here on the newspaper's website, but the readers' comments are no longer available.]

1 comment:

  1. If you want to read the truth about your own country read the foreign press! Not literally true, but often the foreign media will have the freedom [or contrary state orders] to publish news that has been banned at home.

    Sometimes the foreign media also fail to report the truth, because they too are under orders from their own state not to undermine relations with another country by telling the truth.

    Sometimes this changes when two States are in conflict when they both reveal the truth [and tell lies] about each other, but still a risky move that can escalate a conflict.

    A recent ‘revelation’ [a one-off warning] on Russian TV was a programme debunking 9/11, no doubt a response to US attacks on Russia, both military and political, in the Middle-East [and now Ukraine]. Iran did the same at the UN following the history of US attacks on them.

    But as the rest of the world knows telling the truth can be a desperate measure to be avoided at all costs unless you have no choice due to US aggression.

    But check the foreign media/web and you will find a treasure trove of independent true [and false] history that never appears in the mainstream media.

    But my point is if the UN Observer Professor Hans Kochler could see through the Zeist trial and said so, then so must have the foreign media, writers and secret services too.

    And if they saw through Zeist I’m sure they would have seen through the [lesser known and unreported] Fatal Accident Inquiry too.

    And this means there must be a wealth of information about Lockerbie available in the wider world available and some awaiting broadcast on foreign [Russian] TV, particularly if the US/neo-cons continue to attack Russia [and allies].

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