Comments on: The Curious Obsessions of Gordon Brown: The Case of Martin Bright http://nickcohen.net/2009/03/04/the-curious-obsessions-of-gordon-brown-the-case-of-martin-bright/ Journalism from London. Mon, 28 May 2012 07:28:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: bridging loan http://nickcohen.net/2009/03/04/the-curious-obsessions-of-gordon-brown-the-case-of-martin-bright/#comment-925 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:34:18 +0000 http://nickcohen.net/?p=528#comment-925 G Brown is even worst than Blair :]

]]> By: Ross Burns http://nickcohen.net/2009/03/04/the-curious-obsessions-of-gordon-brown-the-case-of-martin-bright/#comment-660 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:42:04 +0000 http://nickcohen.net/?p=528#comment-660 What’s Left was like a lighting strike, and I think it is the most important book this decade. Hazlitt would love it.

]]> By: Atomboy http://nickcohen.net/2009/03/04/the-curious-obsessions-of-gordon-brown-the-case-of-martin-bright/#comment-619 Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:11:18 +0000 http://nickcohen.net/?p=528#comment-619 Eventually, the incestuous symbiosis of the MSM and politics has to come unstuck, or at least detached.

Blair and Campbell led the press by the nose and whipped it from behind, but the media seemed to enjoy it so much, they kept asking to be abused and made fools of over and over again.

As the MSM became addicted to public humiliation, people turned away in embarrassed disgust.

When people like Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/04/brown-obama-meeting-labour-election

can pretend that if Gordon Brown would only clench his teeth and spit out a mumbled apology, New Labour could glide to a ticker-tape, historic fourth term election victory, is it any wonder that people see the press as the government’s propaganda arm or brain-damaged or both?

Is it any wonder that people turn to blogs?

http://writenow.politicalnewsblogs.com/2009/03/04/gordon-brown-je-ne-regret-rien/

Is it any wonder that people like Hazel Blears and Andy Burnham think that censoring the internet and chopping the typing-fingers off bloggers are the only ways to ensure that the government and party line gets out there, loud and clear, on-message and without deviation, analysis or discussion?

Once politicians and the media decide they are going to make a bed together, they inevitably have to lie in it until one or the other decides to leave or kick the other one out.

For the onlookers, it is just another porn-fest which provides some temporary grunting titillation, but in the end you just change channels.

]]> By: Oscar India http://nickcohen.net/2009/03/04/the-curious-obsessions-of-gordon-brown-the-case-of-martin-bright/#comment-616 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:28:18 +0000 http://nickcohen.net/?p=528#comment-616 Martin’s an interesting case. He blogged at Coffee House recently that he was enjoying the level of debate (with the odd exception) compared with the NS, suggesting that leaving the party line was instant gamma-ray time amongst NS readers, whereas Speccie readers enjoyed the argument.
Don’t wish to generalise, but as Guido says, “New Labour – New Ferrets”

]]> By: Nick Cohen http://nickcohen.net/2009/03/04/the-curious-obsessions-of-gordon-brown-the-case-of-martin-bright/#comment-615 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:06:45 +0000 http://nickcohen.net/?p=528#comment-615 Brit, that’s a tough one I get the screams of pseudo-leftists and the condescension of smug rightists almost daily. I would say that in their own distinct ways they are both equally appalling.

]]> By: Brit http://nickcohen.net/2009/03/04/the-curious-obsessions-of-gordon-brown-the-case-of-martin-bright/#comment-614 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:40:29 +0000 http://nickcohen.net/?p=528#comment-614 I’d be interested to know to what extent, since What’s Left, you have been plagued by furious lefties calling you a traitor, and unbearably smug righties saying ‘welcome to the club’. Also, which are more annoying?

]]> By: 4th March, 2009 - Brown to say in Congress - “Never Before …” « Tony Blair http://nickcohen.net/2009/03/04/the-curious-obsessions-of-gordon-brown-the-case-of-martin-bright/#comment-613 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:38:57 +0000 http://nickcohen.net/?p=528#comment-613 [...] Nick Cohen – On Brown & his (whisper it) “legacy”, and Martin Bright, New Statesman [...]

]]> By: Nick Cohen http://nickcohen.net/2009/03/04/the-curious-obsessions-of-gordon-brown-the-case-of-martin-bright/#comment-612 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:47:42 +0000 http://nickcohen.net/?p=528#comment-612 Not much to tell, Dwight, it all got very nasty and the NUJ had to get involved, but as I say in the piece editors have the right to decide who writes in their papers. Gordon Brown does not.

]]> By: Dwight http://nickcohen.net/2009/03/04/the-curious-obsessions-of-gordon-brown-the-case-of-martin-bright/#comment-611 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:37:57 +0000 http://nickcohen.net/?p=528#comment-611 “I was forced out of the New Statesman for writing What’s Left? ”

Sounds interesting. Any chance of a post on that?

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