Alan Rusbridger on Rupert Murdoch, WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden | Unfiltered with James O'Brien #48

[@1o1s1s1i1e]

Excellent interview. I've pre-ordered Mr. Rushbridger's book for I go to "The Guardian" for U.S. news and find their articles well researched and relevant at a time when getting that level of journalism difficult. I'm college educated, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a degree in history and political science. I live in a small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a town where you can not go to a news stand and purchase "The Wall Street Journal" and our local newspaper is only good if you fish and need something to clean them on. My income is less then $25,000.00 per year, yet I make donations on-line to "The Guardian" for I feel it's worth supporting. I see the effects in this small town of poor news sources and a poorly educated population, hence Trump. When you have very poor people not voting in their own economic interests, or see gun ownership more important than their healthcare, it's frighting! I am grateful to 'The Guardian" and will continue to support them. Thank you.

[@Soordhin]

Great and interesting interview. whatever your views of the Guardian and its reporting are.

[@Alex-kh3dv]

Fantastic guest, great chat!

[@sicga4925]

If the journalists were any good at all, or the papers themselves when ever there is a discussion about Brexit for example, they should have put article 50 at the top of the page. Here it is: 3. The Treaties shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extend this period. Instead, the crappy journalists will put that in a thousand word opinion column and never point to the actual thing.Why? so they can put their own spin on it when there is no spin.

[@SkyEcho7]

👍

[@levolvik5231]

This man with the glasses has potential i think. One day He could become a good Journalist :)

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

The only thing missing was the cake trolly and bone china tea set :-)

[@robbieomahony5741]

Ed Woodward is that you

[@FloodedFortuna]

What is all that shit on the floor?

[@cbarclay99]

From 53:37 onwards, James O'Brien admits that he sees his role as acting as a 'gatekeeper', a censor who determines what the public can know and what must be hidden from the public: "We (journalists such as himself and Rusbridger) have spent 30 years weighing up what's good and bad ...what should get through the gate and what should not. Of course we are the people who should be trusted." No mention of Rusbridger's salary of £700k pa (sic) and whether that was an attraction for becoming Editor of the Guardian. The Editorship of the Guardian is a key position which the US Government and intelligence agencies seek to influence if not control. The right-wing press in Britain can be expected to side with US foreign policy. However much it disagrees with Government policy on domestic matters, the BBC can also be counted on supporting foreign policy and therefore US foreign policy. What the US seeks to do is also own the 'opposition', which in the UK is The Guardian and, while it still has any influence and readers, The Independent. I am not surprised that O'Brien does not question Rusbridger about how the Guardian under his editorship meekly accepted UK and US Government lies. None of the LBC presenters, not even the lefties such as O'Brien and Shelagh Fogerty, will allow any caller to question the official narratives of the UK and US Governments.

[@Morrisopolous]

Christopher Barclay I noticed that too. Great post

[@ApolloValdez]

I agree with your points. As I listened to O'Brien talking about how the masses need to be herded away from counter-narratives that go against the all-pervasive UK and US Establishment's version, which he clearly supports, I couldn't help but be amazed that he has the gall to host a show called "Unfiltered", what supreme irony.

[@edders2009]

What rubbish, James and Sheila criticise Trump and the Tories all the time!

[@cbarclay99]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5OWlmpvYrSHhck

[@ApolloValdez]

Edmund, are you implying that Trump is part of 'The Establishment'? I have to disagree with you there. The permanent US Government that has existed behind the scenes, longer than the lifespan of many a former President's term of office, has all but mutinied against him. Hilary Clinton was the Establishment's candidate of choice and James can often be heard bemoaning her defeat due to the scandal of her 'emails' as he puts it, as if that was the only and totally unimportant reason why she failed. As for the Tories, yes he does criticise them sometimes but he pours greater scorn on Corbyn's Labour. The political parties or politicians that he saves from harsh criticism, are those that support the EU and oppose Brexit. Funny thing is, a few years ago I really liked the guy and enjoyed listening to his shows but his tactic of using cheap straw-man arguments to shut down and belittle callers that have an opposing view to his own, really irritates me. Rather than exchanging views and debating ideas without preconceptions or prejudice, his whole modus operandi is to try to humiliate or aggressively confront callers who hold opinions that he decides are not in tune with his narrow, preconceived world-view. Sadly, if you point out to him that his world-view has some flaws, he will not for a moment consider it possible because not only is James a self-proclaimed gate-keeper of news for his listeners but I believe that he is also a victim of the Establishment's censorious nature that discards real journalists that expose the truth or rock the boat, and instead favours those that want to play it safe and progress their careers above all else. Therefore, whether knowingly or not, he advocates only the limited, Establishment narrative that pervades the entire Western mainstream news.