Mainstream media’s failure to explain the banking crisis empowered Tory narratives

Evidence

Given the serious weakness of Labour’s offer, given the ferocity of the attack on Labour from the right-wing media machine in the UK, given the failure of supposedly neutral popular media such as the BBC to offer the public an adequate account of the banking crisis and its aftermath, it is actually surprising that the Tories’ victory was not even more comprehensive. Those who voted Tory aren’t necessarily indifferent to the suffering of the poor, or to the plight of the vulnerable — most merely accept (why wouldn’t they) the capitalist realist story about there being “no money left” and the need for “difficult choices”. No doubt, their acceptance of this is somewhat self-serving; no doubt, it depends on keeping those who suffer out of sight or in their peripheral vision. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1857

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘no money left’ austerity narrative aligns with the studied construct of mugging as a socially constructed crime in Essential Essays — how ideological tropes become naturalized facts. — connects to: Mainstream journalists now openly suspect economic crisis analysis was deliberately manipulated — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 826; Economists manufacture simplified crisis narratives blaming government to preserve public trust — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 841; Post-crisis commentary failures stem from refusing to admit the ideology itself failed — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 35 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Economists manufacture simplified crisis narratives blaming government to preserve public trust #expands (0.84) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 841
• The crisis narrative blaming government interference absorbed leftwing grievances to defend market orthodoxy #expands (0.83) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 496
• Post-crisis commentary failures stem from refusing to admit the ideology itself failed #expands (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 35
• Mainstream journalists now openly suspect economic crisis analysis was deliberately manipulated #corroborates (0.78) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 826
• Newspaper critics of the crisis are themselves cogs in the neoliberal discourse machine #complicates (0.76) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 832
• Neoliberal crisis narratives redirect blame from structures onto individual psychology #expands (0.75) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 433
• Media bias is neither conspiracy nor freedom but overdetermined institutional convergence #qualifies (0.74)
• Media framing shifts can reflect outlet politics rather than elite influence #qualifies (0.72) — Emily Greene-Colozzi, Amy Adamczyk, and Senahan Kiyal Keles, Differences in Religious Framing of…, 81