I N PA S S I N G :
Dispatches from the Great Awokening by Michael Kirke
G
iven our strange and uncertain current poli�cal and cultural landscape, it is probably inevitable, but it is s�ll a strange inversion. News itself con�nues to make news and be the news. And it’s not good news. In the anglophone world too much of mainstream media is in the doghouse. That is the only term you can use to describe the place where some formerly proud ins�tu�ons with an important part to play in our democracies now find themselves. The an�-social mobs on social media are certainly part of this story, taking at will whatever scalps they see crossing their woke horizons. But they are not the only problem. Real mobs are now on the march. Not content with the news organisa�ons they have already
in�midated and infiltrated they are now opening new fronts. Ex�nc�on Rebellion (XR) ac�vists have recently disrupted the produc�on and distribu�on of several na�onal newspapers in Britain, a�er blocking access to three prin�ng presses owned by Rupert Murdoch. Prin�ng presses across England and Scotland were successfully targeted and eighty people were arrested. Subsequently, more than 300 people were arrested during protests in central London. XR has accused the newspapers and their owners of “failure to report on the climate and ecological emergency” and “pollu�ng na�onal debate” on dozens of social issues. Ten more days of ac�on are planned to put pressure on the government “to do more to act on climate change”. The irony of all this is that they already have much of the media on their side. But, we might say, mobs will be mobs. Let us just grin and bear it un�l the storm passes – as these storms invariably do. 5
