Rupert Murdoch's long telegraphed decision to transfer the allegiance of the Sun newspaper to the Conservative Party was not the death knell of Labour's chances of electoral victory. It was merely symptomatic of Labour's steep popular decline and Murdoch's huge projected ego.
Senior Labour figures tried to appear relaxed about the decision and doubted its significance but they didn't half go on about it. Alistair Campbell, on the Daily Politics, expressed the simple truism that newspapapers do not have the same clout they had even 15 years ago. Harriet Harman added, "The press does not decide who will govern this country. The people do."
It is undeniable the printed word holds less popular sway as digital communications have begun to revolutionise opinion forming. Newspapers are but one medium; the power bases are media groups like MGN and Associated but they are still owned by the same tyrants. If we look to US to see how the revolution is progressing, we are confronted with a chilling image of the future of news broadcasting.
Murdoch has a hugely powerful media group in Fox. Its US News channel has massive reach and has formed the main bulwark against Obama, exerting more opposition force than the entire Republican party.
It is a different kind of journalism; one where adherence to the truth is hardly the main consideration and sometimes a source of intense irritation. That old BBC hack, Richard Dimbleby (above) would have thought it was some kind of tawdry satire and could not possibly be considered news reporting.
Obama's progressive agenda has rolled over these celebrity broadcasters at Fox and they have screamed back in collective hysteria. Here is Fox favourite, Glenn Beck, reviewing with Bill O'Reilly his 'beyond-apoplexy' rebuff of a supporter of a public healthcare.
Of course we don't have anything like this nonsense in UK. Broadly speaking BBC, ITN and Sky are fairly balanced and maintain journalistic integrity. But yet Murdoch appears to have persuaded Cameron of the need to break up this cosy cartel of news gathering and bring our own version of Fox News to these shores.
Tomorrow belongs to them.
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