The Downfall of the British Establishment

The BBC has some interesting points in this article about the downfall of the British Establishment:

1. The Daily Telegraph laid the groundwork with the exposure of the expenses scandal

It should be said here that the Daily Telegraph’s role in the exposure of the MPs expenses scandal laid the groundwork for this moment. The Telegraph proved you can attack major sections of the political elite, who had assumed impunity, and win.

2. The combination of honest newspapers, social media and public service broadcasters are a strong media force, that can challenge the old “machine”.

But a combination of the Guardian, Twitter and the public-service broadcasters, including Sky News, proved stronger than the power and influence of Rupert Murdoch, and for now the rest of Fleet Street has joined in the kicking.

3. Where the revolution in North Africa and the Middle East are powered by people in the streets and social media, the “revolution” in the UK seems to come from within its own propaganda ecosystem.

Six months ago, in the context of Tunisia and Egypt, I wrote that the social media networks had made “all propaganda instantly flammable”. It was an understatement: complex and multifaceted media empires that do much more than propaganda, and which command the respect and loyalty of millions of readers, are now also flammable.

Read the full article on BBC News here.