LONDON EVENING STANDARD takes its time before publishing real comments on its coverage of “London Politics”

LONDON EVENING STANDARD takes its time before publishing real comments on its coverage of “London Politics”

27 March 2012

By © Muhammad Haque

1640 Hrs GMT

London

Tuesday

27 March 2012

The web site fo the London EVE INING STANDARD has failed to publish the comment that I have posted on its site in the past 40 minutes.

This is usual. Since the ES changed its comment posting system, most comments get put onine by them without fuss. The fuss onky occus when they do nt want top carry a given comment. Mine tiday appaers t be one such.

So I pibsh the comment here.

Your piece is correctly topical. Could you look at the contents of the known candidates' known records "for the wider public" as opposed to "for their own careers"? It would also serve the cause of democratic accountability to hear from you about how you have found the conduct of the London Assembly members over the years that you have been covering the Onion. Have they justified the £Millions of public money that is spent on keeping and on maintaining them? And a hundred other questions like this about the Assembly. There is still a month of reporting time left before the “key” to the London Onion is allocated to whoever! And another period of silence descends about the “suitability” of these persons to claim to be in the offices [Assembly and the Onion] in the name of the people London.So far as I can verify, neither the London EVENING STANDARD or any of the “Fleet Street” titles nor their broadcasting counterparts has EVER carried out----------- or published any i-depth and democratically relevant------------ investigation ito the democratic usefulness or otherwise of the “London Assembly”. Yet the Assembly and the Onion-"holder" have been allowed £Billions to spend IN THE NAME of the people of London! It is about time that the “mainstream” Media did scrutinise both the London Assembly and the Onion-"holder"! The tokenistic “interview” that the BBC London did last night [with Ken Livingstone] did feature four BBC “persons” apparently asking highly sophisticated questions of that candidate but it was such a shallow event! I suspect their promised one with Boris Johnson to be shown in the next hour, will be equally shallow and as banal. Unless some historic, epoch-making CHANGE has happened in or about the BBC’s ENCOUNTER with Boris Johnson.The people of London deserve much more evidence, rigour and far higher standard of journalism than the charades that the broadcasting outlets stage and call them special dedicated events about the “Mayor of London elections” typify.

Muhammad HaqueLess than a minute ago Your comment is awaiting moderation Your piece is correctly topical. Could you look at the contents of the known candidates' known records "for the wider public" as opposed to "for their own careers"? It would also serve the cause of democratic accountability to hear from you about how you have found the conduct of the London Assembly members over the years that you have been covering the Onion. Have they justified the £Millions of public money that is spent on keeping and on maintaining them? And a hundred other questions like this about the Assembly. There is still a month of reporting time left before the “key” to the London Onion is allocated to whoever! And another period of silence descends about the “suitability” of these persons to claim to be in the offices [Assembly and the Onion] in the name of the people London.So far as I can verify, neither the London EVENING STANDARD or any of the “Fleet Street” titles nor their broadcasting counterparts has EVER carried out----------- or published any i-depth and democratically relevant------------ investigation ito the democratic usefulness or otherwise of the “London Assembly”. Yet the Assembly and the Onion-"holder" have been allowed £Billions to spend IN THE NAME of the people of London! It is about time that the “mainstream” Media did scrutinise both the London Assembly and the Onion-"holder"! The tokenistic “interview” that the BBC London did last night [with Ken Livingstone] did feature four BBC “persons” apparently asking highly sophisticated questions of that candidate but it was such a shallow event! I suspect their promised one with Boris Johnson to be shown in the next hour, will be equally shallow and as banal. Unless some historic, epoch-making CHANGE has happened in or about the BBC’s ENCOUNTER with Boris Johnson.The people of London deserve much more evidence, rigour and far higher standard of journalism than the charades that the broadcasting outlets stage and call them special dedicated events about the “Mayor of London elections” typify.