GOOD evening and welcome to the latest edition of the Media Watch newsletter. Remember you can sign up to get the newsletter in your inbox every Monday for free by clicking here.
Just a week after an attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the US presidential election has hotted up again after President Joe Biden pulled out of the race for the White House.
Succumbing to huge pressure to step down due to concerns over his health and suitability as a candidate, Biden eventually conceded it was best for the party and the country for him to step aside.
The attention of the media has now turned rapidly to his vice president Kamala Harris who looks set to be the frontrunner to take Biden’s place after receiving his endorsement.
Amid the UK’s coverage of the US election, a lot of criticism has surrounded the seemingly constant platforming of new MP Nigel Farage, who likes to shout about his friendship with Trump on a regular basis.
He appeared on Laura Kuenssberg’s BBC show last Sunday following the shooting of Trump in Pennsylvania where, despite once saying he would “pick up a rifle” if he didn’t get the Brexit deal he wanted, he still claimed violent language by BBC comedians and commentators had “encouraged” what happened to the former president.
But despite the negative reaction his appearance received, he popped up again on Monday on LBC reacting to Harris putting herself forward for the Democratic candidacy.
Yet again, Farage (above) garnered attention for all the wrong reasons after calling Harris a “black African woman”.
The Reform UK leader was instantly panned for “straight up racism” given that Harris was born in the US to a Jamaican-American dad and a Tamil-Indian mum.
Even after Reform’s surge in support during the UK General Election and Farage’s own victory in becoming MP in Clacton, you have to wonder why we still see so much of him on our TV screens, particularly in relation to an election across the Atlantic.
We attempted to answer the question in some detail when we spoke to expert Tom Mills in the run-up to the General Election and he had some interesting insights.
But there must be some much wiser and more in-the-know academics and commentators out there who could enhance debate and discussion about what happens next in the US much more than Farage can.
However, given Farage’s entertainment and shock appeal in the age of social media, it would seem him being regularly platformed is going to be an ongoing problem we’ll be keeping a close eye on.
Picture of prince sparks breaking news
Amid all of this political upheaval going on in the US and a shocking new death toll of 39,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since Israel’s bombardment began last October, Sky News appeared to feel a new picture of Prince George was more important.
The news that Kensington Palace had released a new image of the future king for his 11th birthday was put out as a breaking story on Monday morning much to the bafflement of anti-monarchy campaigners.
The story about the black and white photograph remained breaking for at least half an hour after it was put up.
BREAKING NEWS? US presidential candidate drama? New policies from the gov't? Developments in major geopolitical crises? Nah, it's just a photo of a random kid, apparently...#NotMyKing #AbolishTheMonarchy https://t.co/WazJlv2TG3
— Republic (@RepublicStaff) July 22, 2024
Campaign group Republic said on Twitter/X: “Breaking News? US presidential campaign drama? New policies from the gov’t? Developments in major geopolitical crises?
“Nah, it’s just a photo of a random kid, apparently…#notmyking.”
This type of treatment of royal stories amid people’s multiple serious concerns about global issues happens regularly and we are always committed to calling it out until the mainstream media realises the royal family are not a priority for most people.
Tory bid for the Telegraph
Elsewhere, former Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is reportedly preparing a £600 million bid for the Daily Telegraph, according to Sky News.
Zahawi, who left Parliament in May after opting not to stand as an MP again, has approached a number of billionaire backers about helping to finance an offer for the newspaper, its Sunday title and The Spectator.
Although he is not yet thought to have submitted a formal offer, he is said to be confident of securing sufficient financing firepower to table a competitive bid.
