Jeremy Corbyn is like Marmite, you either love him or hate him, and as for most of the media – they seem to hate him.
The Daily Mail for example devoted hundreds of column inches to Tom Bowler’s highly critical biography Dangerous Hero: Corbyn’s Ruthless Plot For Power. Just one issue of the paper contained 13 pages derived from the book – and that’s not the first time the DM has had a go at JC.
Mainstream media can’t stop picking on the smallest things about Corbyn, from what type of coat he was wearing on Remembrance Day to interviewing his ex-wife. How is Corbyn’s treatment of his former wife from decades ago going to tell us how he will run the country if he were to win an election?
Even when Corbyn has been the victim, the media don’t come to his aid. Recently, he was attacked at an event at Finsbury Park Mosque. He was punched by a man holding an egg – assaulted! But the incident was downplayed and reported as Corbyn being ‘egged’. MP Diane Abbott took to Twitter to point out that in reality he was punched “very hard” and that she was there to witness it.
Corbyn has been portrayed as racist and anti-Semitic. A man who has worked towards peace and spoken very passionately about his anti-war beliefs has been painted in the worst light because the British media do not like him and what he stands for. Could it be they’re fearful of this veteran politician?
Other political leaders do not come in for this treatment. The way Corbyn has been singled out for media scorn, is itself despicable. He is the elected leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition and the Labour party membership has voted for him twice. Given his position, to treat him like this is disrespectful to the people who voted for him and very disrespectful to the man who could potentially be running the country in the future.
Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn should be given the same amount of respect as the other leaders appear to be afforded. Corbyn is entitled to his opinions and it’s for the public to decide whether they agree with them via the ballot box at general elections. In the meantime professional journalists should abide by the ethics of our profession. This includes maintaining a respectful approach towards senior politicians with a serious base of support.
“Jeremy Corbyn MP speaks at anti-drones rally, 27 April 2013” by stopwar.org.uk is licensed under CC BY
