tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5680771968888528726.post1662863993244788081..comments2023-11-05T00:38:56.097-07:00Comments on 21st Century British Nationalism: The MassersDefender of Libertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16093052197059748663noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5680771968888528726.post-55483401964430607922007-11-05T07:04:00.000-08:002007-11-05T07:04:00.000-08:00Thanks Lee, two most informative articles.From Pla...Thanks Lee, two most informative articles.<BR/><BR/>From <I>Plague, Pestilence and the Pursuit of Power</I> by Steven Ransom, Credence Publications, 2001, ISBN 0-9535012-8-0, p 72-3:<BR/><BR/><I>"Before a packed New York Press Club, John Swinton, the former chief of staff of the New York Times, approached the podium to lead his colleagues in a toast to 'a free press.' Known as "The Dean of His Profession,' the legendary newspaperman proceeded to horrify his peers by delivering his famous and monumentally revealing statement:<BR/><BR/>""There is no such thing, at this date in the world's history, as an independent press. You know it and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you, who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions, would be out on the street looking for another job.<BR/><BR/>""If I allowed my honest opinion to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone. You know it, and I know it, and what folly is this - toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes.""</I><BR/><BR/>The quote has been the subject of some controversy, summarised <A HREF="http://www.rense.com/general20/yes.htm" REL="nofollow">here</A> but is reckoned on balance to contain a fair amount of truth.<BR/><BR/>What is interesting is that Swinton's remarks were evidently made in about 1880.<BR/><BR/>Corruption has cast a long shadow.alanoreihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12013953165470026155noreply@blogger.com