Let’s censor censorship
Cancelled talks, censored shows, journalists under influence: freedom of expression is wavering under the blows of selective self-righteousness and a power that locks everything down. In this opinion piece, Pietje Schramouille hits where it hurts: subsidised media, political compromises and a chain of cowardice.
In one week, a talk by Thierry Meyssan and a show by Guillaume Meurice have both been cancelled. The former is a French writer, founder of the Réseau Voltaire. He was among the first to denounce the inconsistencies of the New York attacks in 2001. The talk was being held in a municipal hall in Woluwe-Saint‑Lambert. A municipal order decreed its cancellation.
Guillaume Meurice, humorist and columnist, was banned by France Inter for calling Benjamin Netanyahu a “Nazi without a foreskin”. The Uccle theatre, through its municipal authorities, cancelled the show as a precaution… to avoid problems with certain citizen lobbies. The municipality of Saint-Gilles offered its Jacques Franck hall in the name of pluralism[1]. A possible and welcome comeback.
Hot on its heels, the humorist PE announced he would not be performing at the Centre Culturel d’Uccle out of solidarity. A fine and courageous decision. Recently, it was the comedy show of Stefan Cuvelier, a doubter, that nearly fell by the wayside in Namur.
In all three cases, it is denunciation that leads to cancellation… And the courts upheld a complaint filed by the RTBF and the Association des Journalistes over remarks made in a Facebook group started by the Liège humorist David Schiepers. He had died by the time the judgment was handed down, but it was his comrades who were sanctioned.
The tipping point
Today, not a day goes by without a mainstream, and therefore subsidised, media outlet disclosing a dysfunction in the Covid crisis. The new American administration keeps bringing out into the open the open secrets that the alternative media denounced at the height of the crisis. And as Nicolas Vidal put it: “Alternative media were born because the mainstream media weren’t doing their job”[2]. BAM is part of this movement. Distrust of subsidised media is rising by the day.
What do we do with the liars?
Some journalists knew they were taking part in the lie. Others didn’t want to see. The only real lie detector is the look reflected in their mirror in the morning. The pillars of journalistic ethics are: truthfulness, accuracy and factual reporting, independence, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and respect for others.
But let us citizens organise a space for the repentant. Let us accept their grievances to provide them with a semblance of protection, but above all to create a positive citizen dynamic. Repentant journalists will then be requalified as whistleblowers. There is a Maison des lanceurs d’alerte whose aim is to support them in protecting themselves.
We must also be able to democratically elect the journalists of the semi-public media, with an analysis of their side activities, including, for example, their membership of a Masonic lodge.
Politics and the media
There are far too many conflicts of interest between political power and the subsidised press. The current farce starring the Machiavellian Joëlle, chair of the Board of Directors of the INR, demonstrates this abundantly with the election of the next CEO. It is a tug of war between two parties[3]. The MR wants to place its pawns against Les Engagés, whose she-wolf Joëlle is already in the sheepfold. Far from a selection based on competence. The aim is control. An open letter from the former chairman of the Board[4] of the RTBF, Jean‑François Raskin, attests to this.
Traditional media are dying…
The future of the media is bleak. Financially, it’s a struggle. The Belgian public service competes unfairly with the private sector, since it is allowed to run advertising on top of citizens’ taxes. There are too many subsidised media. Let the moribund media die.
The Rossel (Le Soir, Sudinfo, La Meuse, l’Echo, RTL, Ciné-Télé Revue, Contact,…) and IPM (La Libre, La Dernière Heure, Paris‑Match, Vers l’Avenir, Fun Radio, …) families are merging their titles, with a bloodbath announced among journalists. LN24 risks being left by the wayside.
Young people no longer watch TV, no longer listen to the radio, no longer read the press, … They do their shopping online. The social network most used by young people worldwide is Instagram. It is closely followed by TikTok and Snapchat. YouTube is also very popular with young people, but not as much as Instagram and TikTok. There is educating to be done in their free will.
AI is entering the ring to add another layer of confusion. The almighty mess of disinformation is under way… We are going to hit rock bottom. That’s good news, because it is at the bottom that you find your friends. Including BAM.
Pietje Schramouille
The opinions expressed in this opinion piece are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent those of BAM!
Standfirst by BAM!
Illustration inspired by a drawing by Eric Drooker.
[1] Guillaume Meurice : après l’annulation à Uccle, Saint‑Gilles et le Centre culturel Jacques Franck lui ouvrent les bras - RTBF Actus
[2] Médias mainstream : le grand errement ! - Le Zoom - Nicolas Vidal - TVL
[3] Guerre juridique autour de la succession de Jean‑Paul Philippot à la RTBF - La Libre
[4] Le CA de la RTBF répond à la ministre Galant : "Vous avez remis en cause notre gouvernance, vous avez tenu des propos simplistes et offensants…" - La Libre
