Why The Daily Mail Has Considered Problematic - Essay Example

Why The Daily Mail is considered problematic The Daily Mail is one of the oldest and most read newspapers in the United Kingdom and its influence is widespread within society. It has been described as one of the most influential newspapers in the country especially in the political sphere, with a readership exceeding four million people. Through its immense influence, this newspaper has become a basic part of British conservative political culture and this has ensured that the comments and stories published within it have a wide audience from all political leanings (MacKenzie, 2005). In recent years, The Daily Mail has come to face a lot of criticism for publishing some stories that have ended up not being true or those that are controversial and this has led to a situation where it has come to be viewed as problematic in some circles. One of the reasons why The Daily Mail has come to be considered problematic is based on the belief that its highly conservative nature has led to a situation where it has been accused of promoting the worst in British society. This is especially the case where this newspaper has been accused of publishing articles that essentially promote racism as well as discrimination against immigrants. Such instances are seen through its bringing to the fore incidents that occur rarely and promoting them as the face of those that take place on a daily basis (Pilger, 1998). Among these is the highlighting of those rare cases where immigrants are provided with housing and allowances by the government at the taxpayers’ expense. The Daily Mail has been accused of using these rare cases as a means of promoting the belief within British society that the presence of immigrants is detrimental to it and that it has to be opposed at all costs. Furthermore, this paper’s opposition to immigration has created a situation where there has been an increase in hostility towards immigrants from society who have come to believe that these individuals are taking advantage of them to secure themselves economically. It is necessary to note that this newspaper rarely publishes the stories of those immigrants whose need is quite genuine and those who have come to Britain not out of choice but because of necessity considering such conditions as war in their home countries. It is through such one sided views that has led to The Daily Mail being considered not to be impartial in its reporting. The Daily Mail is a newspaper that has been mired in controversy in recent years as a result of publishing stories that have lacked credibility. This was the case when it published a story concerning Ralph Miliband, the father of Labour leader Ed Miliband under the headline “The man who hated Britain” (Bond, 2013). The story brought about a massive outcry from all sectors of British society because despite his Marxist views, the elder Miliband had been highly patriotic and had served in the Second World War with distinction. If Ralph Miliband had indeed hated Britain, he would not have taken an active part in serving the nation and he would instead have been on the opposite side of the war. However, as a Jewish immigrant, he had more reason to hate Germany than to hate the country that had taken him in and given him an opportunity to restart his life. It is believed that the newspaper has published this story, not because of any need to ensure credibility, but to further promote its conservative agenda in the country and this was done in such a way that it was not sensitive towards the feelings of the family members of the person that it was falsely accusing. The resulting backlash forced it to apologise to the Miliband family because it ended up facing criticism even from conservative politicians (Levy, 2013). Furthermore, this newspaper came to face controversy when one of its reporters showed up uninvited to the memorial of Miliband’s relative and this created a situation where it was put in an uncomfortable position as a result of not respecting that family’s right to privacy (Wright, 2013). Over the years, The Daily Mail has come to face several lawsuits based on the false stories and accusations against some individuals in society (Fenton, 2011). Among the most famous of these was the story concerning the manner in which the businessman Allan Sugar conducted his stewardship over the football team Tottenham Hotspur. The lawsuit that he filed revealed that the accusations that this newspaper had made against him were false and this resulted in its being forced to pay Sugar 100,000 pounds in damages (Rogers, 2001). Another lawsuit was filed by Elton John after the newspaper published an article falsely accusing him of having bad manners and behaviour and this also led to its being required to pay 100,000 pounds in damages (Maley, 2006). These lawsuits and their successes show that despite its long history, The Daily Mail still has issues with credibility and the overzealous nature of its staff has brought about a situation where it has become difficult for it to develop original stories based on the truth. The ability of this newspaper to publish credible stories has been brought to question in some circles and this has created a situation where it has become difficult for some individuals to accept its stories at face value (Boyce 2007, p.22). However, despite the accusations that have been made against it, The Daily Mail continues to be a leading newspaper in conservative circles and it is essential to note that its influence among these individuals has not been destroyed by the various lawsuits and allegations that have been brought against it. Despite the controversy surrounding The Daily Mail, it is still considered to be the bastion of all things that are traditionally British and this has ensured its success in society. Not only is it the second most widely read paper in the country, it is also the source of the most conservative news, as well as features on culture and values that have been held dear in the country for centuries (Rickards and Twyman, 2000; May, Page & Brunsdon 2001). Furthermore, this newspaper has immense influence in political circles with many politicians often seeking its blessing rather than being antagonistic towards it because it has been recognised to have the ability to either build or destroy political careers. This is because its influence has been useful in the delivery of necessary swing votes in elections and this has been seen as critical in ensuring the victory of parties whose leaders it supported. Therefore, despite the accusations that have been made against it concerning the small-mindedness of its stories as well as controversies surrounding immigration, racism among other issues, it has remained prominent in the political and social scenes of the country. In conclusion, the discussion above has attempted to show that The Daily Mail has come to face a lot of criticism for publishing some stories that have ended up not being true or those that are controversial and this has led to a situation where it has come to be viewed as problematic in some circles. It has show that among the reasons why The Daily Mail has become problematic is its highly conservative nature that has led to a situation where it promotes the worst in British society. Moreover, it has been found that it is a newspaper that has been mired in controversy in recent years as a result of publishing stories that have lacked credibility. Moreover, over the years, The Daily Mail has come to face several lawsuits based on the false stories and accusations against some individuals in society. The arguments made above have been countered by the argument that despite the controversy surrounding it, The Daily Mail is still considered to be the bastion of all things that are traditionally British and this has ensured its success in society. References Bond, A. 2013, “"Daily Mail Hates Britain": Demonstrators gather outside newspapers HQ to protest over controversial Ed Miliband coverage.” Mirror. [Online] Available at: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/daily-mail-hates-britain-demonstrators-2344700 [accessed 19 Jan. 2015]. Boyce, T., 2007. Health, Risk and News. London: Peter Lang Publishers. Fenton, T. 2011, “Compare how the Daily Mail treats two controversies.” Liberal Conspiracy. [Online] Available at: http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/08/16/compare-how-the-daily-mail-treats-two-controversies/ [accessed 19 Jan. 2015]. Levy, G. 2013. "The man who hated Britain: Red Eds pledge to bring back socialism is a homage to his Marxist father. So what did Miliband Snr really believe in? The answer should disturb everyone who loves this country". Daily Mail. [Online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2435751/Red-Eds-pledge-bring-socialism-homage-Marxist-father-Ralph-Miliband-says-GEOFFREY-LEVY.html [accessed 19 Jan. 2015]. MacKenzie, K., 2005. Why Dacre’s worth his million. British Journalism Review, 16(1), 70-74. Maley, J. 2006, “Elton John gets £100,000 for Daily Mail libel. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/may/25/pressandpublishing.media [accessed 19 Jan. 2015]. May, M., Page, R.M. & Brunsdon, E. 2001. Understanding social problems: issues in social policy. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Pilger, J., 1998. Hidden Agendas, London: Vintage. Rickards, M. & Twyman, M., 2000. The encyclopaedia of ephemera: a guide to the fragmentary documents of everyday life for the collector, curator, and historian. London: Routledge. Rogers, D. 2001, “Sugar wins libel battle.” The Guardian. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2001/feb/16/dailymail.pressandpublishing [accessed 19 Jan. 2015]. Wright, O. 2013, “Daily Mail executive admits paper mislabelled controversial Ed Miliband article that claimed father Ralph hated Britain.” The Independent. [Online] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/daily-mail-executive-admits-paper-mislabelled-controversial-ed-miliband-article-that-claimed-father-ralph-hated-britain-8858402.html [accessed 19 Jan. 2015]. Read More