John Bufton - EU propaganda machine joins in spinning web of lies

Speaker: John Bufton - European Parliament, Strasbourg - 7 September 2010

Thank you madam President.

The difficulty we have with press freedom is largely a financial one. Where it is felt the press is controlled it is often due to who owns and funds the media. The digital age has seen the profits fall rapidly and throw many companies into financial turmoil. But how can any political body fund the industry without crossing the line partiality.

A leaked letter to President Barroso from the new commissioner of communications Viviane Reding revealed that in order to boost his image, the President will have a photographer and a TV producer on hand 24 hours a day. Not only that, but journalists will be paid to follow the commission president on foreign trips. Eight staff will even be hired to monitor the blogosphere for criticism and quash whatever unwelcomed opinions are found.

In 2009 over 8 million euros was spent on entertaining and training journalists, including 350,000 on coercing Irish journalists during the referendum, using so called Lisbon Treaty Feminists. Seven hundred thousands euros have been spent on journalism competitions and at least 7000 on cocktail parties.

There is clearly a very fine line between funding the information industry and bribing it. What is not acceptable is for the commission to launch an attack on state owned publications when they themselves throw taxpayers' money at engineering a media to spin us all a web of lies.

Thank you madam President.