Daily Propaganda
The Daily News is a state owned newspaper. What it publishes parrots and praises the party line and is usually taken with a grain of salt. Lately, however, it requires at least a kilo. The front page has a little box which for weeks has been attacking the Editor of the Sunday Leader personally, even alluding to potential tax investigations. This is chilling coming from a government entity to a private individual, whatever his editorial record.
More recently, this unjournalistic box has taken to echoing the JHU in alluding to people and media that oppose the government as LTTE supporters. This ‘With Us or Against Us’ mentality is both inaccurate and injust, and it’s a shame that it’s being espoused so openly. This government has weakened media through it’s shut-down of CBNSat, re-establishment of monitoring/censorship boards and the firing of Rajpal at the Sunday Observer, but now it is quite bold in its corruption of journalism, in the vicious little slanders on the front page.
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Indi,
Good post, but old problem isn’t it? This isn’t the first government to use the State media as its propaganda machine, and every government comes into power promising media reform, but does quite the opposite when actually in power. Don’t know who else on Groundviews caught the Prez’s speech when he openly admitted to giving the JVP radio + TV licenses because of their political alliance that helped him win the elections. Now that to me is clearly not the way to go about things, especially for a government that hypocritically prides itself by doing everything by the book, and points fingers at everyone else for corruption, nepotism and partiality and favouritism.
Actually, it’s not with us or against us. It’s with the common man or against the common man. Have you not noticed that the likes of the Prez and Keheliya continuously refer to the common man as their spies, pillar of strength, bastion of Sinhala-Buddhist heritage, guardians of the State, defenders of the nation and all manner of other things as they see fit?
Fascinating times we live in – and increasingly dangerous. It’s only a matter of time before vicious slanders become open attacks.
I was watching a Rupavahini programme the other day with Keheliya, the Media Minister (Yapa chap) and the Education Minister. Keheliya was waxing loquaciously on the responsibility of media to protect national security and the interests of the State and peaceful citizens. The other two ministers joined in with their adoration and adulation of the Chintanaya. It was sickening to watch – not because I disagreed on principle with what was said, but the level to which slavish sycophancy has taken over all State media.
Where is the voice of opposition?
B/S! State media have always been like this. It wasn’t any different during Ranil’s time. In fact back then, even most of the private media were on his side and were being dictated to by Sudath Ralahamy, one of Ranil’s closest aides. I agree that state media is probably sickening to watch. That’s why no one’s making you watch it. It’s important to understand that large sections of this country unequivocally support this government’s policies, particularly when it comes to the war against terrorism, and they are not represented by the private media. I don’t see any problem with the state media putting forth that viewpoint while private media is free to publish what they want.
It’s always been a part of Sri Lankan culture that the state media is the voice of the party in power, and most people have accepted that reality.