The people have spoken and TheMediaBlog.co.uk is delighted to unveil the Media Hero and Villain of the past year as voted for by readers of this site.
In a sometimes controversial and often celebrated year for the UK media there were strong claims from many of those nominated in both categories, but in the end both winners were the stand-out in their respective categories, according to the votes of Media Blog readers.
Media Villain of the Year
With 41 per cent of the vote - not to mention more than 20,000 complaints to the PCC - the Daily Mail's Jan Moir stormed this category for her views on the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately. Among the claims made in Moir's column, after Gately's death was adjudged by a coroner to be from natural causes, were the following:The sugar coating on this fatality is so saccharine-thick it obscures whatever bitter truth lies beneath. Healthy and fit 33-year-old men do not just climb into their pyjamas and go to sleep on the sofa, never to wake up again. Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one. Let us be absolutely clear about this.
Not to mention:
...his mother is still insisting that her son died from a previously undetected heart condition that has plagued the family... Another real sadness about Gately's death is that it strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships.
Moir's 'I know better' insuations and unfounded speculation, all published ahead of Gately's funeral, caused an unprecedented backlash and accusations of homophobia which Moir weakly attempted to refute with an apology that included the following line:
If he had been a heterosexual member of a boy band, I would have written exactly the same article...
Both the "exactly the same article" claim and the 'I'm an equal opportunities bigot' defence however fall down on the "happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships" conclusion Moir built towards, not to mention the inexplicable attempt to link Gately's death to the entirely unrelated death of another young homosexual male.
Media Hero of the Year
If Moir, her column and her opinions showed the UK media at its ugliest then elsewhere journalism was still proving a positive force for change. Guardian Editor Alan Rusbridger was rightly lauded for his publication's stance against super-injunctions and he won 20 per cent of the vote for this award. However, there was one UK story which dominated the headlines in 2009 more than any other and that was the Telegraph's dissection of the MPs' expenses scandal and largesse, from duck houses to adult movies for spouses. As a result the Telegraph was voted into first place by 38 per cent of voters.
While some branded the Telegraph's approach "chequebook journalism" over the alleged price tag for obtaining the lowdown on MPs' moats and second homes, others have praised the paper for the momentum it generated around its exclusive and its ability to dominate the news agenda while other papers flogged to death such tabloid fodder as the split of reality TV stars Jordan and Peter Andre and the over-hyped threat of 'swine flu'.
Certainly the Telegraph reaped the rewards of its story and the thorough way in which it stripped the meat from every last bone of Westminster's tainted integrity. At a time when almost every other newspaper was experiencing declining circulation the Telegraph put on an extra million copies during May 2009 alone, according to ABC figures.
In terms of long term impact, the Telegraph's uncompromising revelations have ensured a brutal glare upon the future behaviour of MPs, forced resignations and raised vital questions about what kind of person needs to watch Ocean's 13 once, let alone twice in 48 hours.
The full results in both categories were as follows (all nominations for the shortlist were made by Media Blog readers):
Agree? Disagree with the selections of Media Blog readers? Have your say, post a comment below.
The Telegraph story was great. Wasn't sure at first but it was palpable hit. I hope it proved, if nothing else, that people actually do want to read good journalism as opposed to celebrity bollocks.
Posted by: Anton Vowl | Jan 02, 2010 at 13:33
Can't disagree with the winners. Daily Mail homophobic gutter journalism at it's worst and a newspaper investigation that really did change politics.
Posted by: Pyjamas | Jul 25, 2010 at 16:26