Time For The Daily Mail To Apologise?

[sp1814]

A YouGov poll reveals that 69% of the nation thinks that the Daily Mail owes Ed Milliband an apology for trashing his father.

And more tellingly, 57% of the paper's own readership think the same.

In what other circumstances could a national paper get away with dancing on the grave of a war hero?

[sp1814]

Hmm...I was going to change 'dancing on the grave of a war hero' to something less confrontational.

My other wording was, 'denigrating the memory of someone who fought for this country to score political points'.

However, I accidentally hit 'Submit'.

Honest.

[Gromit]

It is probably too late for the Mail to apologise, so it won't.

Most people will quickly forget this incident and it will be business as usual.

People on the extremes (left and right) thrive on us against everyone else mentality. Everyone might think they should apologise so that just confirms to them that they are the only ones that are right, and the enemy is everywhere. Bonkers of course, but their world view is very very narrow.

[IggyB]

People are incredibly brand loyal with their choice of paper, it would probably take a lot more than this to dent the mails sales figures and in the end that is the only measure of public opinion they are going to care about.

Like most problems if you ignore it long enough it will go away

[ichkeria]

They should apologise if they are genuinely sorry.
That depends on the owner who I suspect is uncomfortable with it.
Otherwise there's no point.
The fact that so many of the Mail's own readers apparently think they overstepped the mark is heartening and I would have thought enough.
And might be the only reason the paper would ever print an apology: for fear of losing a few of them ...

[mikey4444]

Hell will freeze over before the DM apologises.

But if so many of its own readers think that an apology is needed, why do they read the newspaper in the first place ? I know that they are mostly rabid Tory voters but its quite clear that Dacre has gone too far in this issue. You would have thought that they would migrate to another Tory-owned paper, perhaps the Telegraph.

[Svejk]

Is this a true story? Or is it another 'funny' one, which is OK if it stimulates conversation.

[mikey4444]

http://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/10/06/most-people-think-daily-mail-apologise/

I have gone to the trouble of looking up the evidence for the post for you.

[Gromit]

The Mail is not really bothered what others think, but is interested in satifying its readers. Its readers are divided on this.

43% of readers who say the Mail shouldn't apologise is a significant minority.

[jno]

the Mail is too macho to do apologies, having stuck to its line so far. But it will worry that it has misjudged its own audience so badly.

[grumpy01]

If we take this a step further then surely the trade union barons who forced through Ed Milliband's leadership of the Labour party must hate Britain too.Why else would they champion someone so out of his depth as labour leader.

[Brenden]

Mickey, you should take the trouble to look at the defiinition of the words you use as well. I read the DM (old enough not to believe all I read or hear) but do not class myself as "rabid" (furious, violent, raging, unreasoning, affected with rabies). When you use insulting wording you have lost the argument. Probably people just have no love for Marxism or communism - their choice.

[patrickblue]

Are you in danger of being trashed by the Daily Mail?
Use this to check how much the Daily Mail hates you.

http://toys.usvsth3m.com/are-you-hated-by-the-daily-mail/

[emmie]

Brenden totally agree, and patrick someone already posted that, we are all hated, DM alike..

[bazwillrun]

" I know that they are mostly rabid Tory"

whereas the guardian panders to rabid lefties like you

[mikey4444]

Brenden...I will take no lectures from you or anybody else when it comes to the DM.

The only reason that they decided to run this story in the first place was to smear Miliband. It wasn't "investigative journalism" as the Telegraph used in its exposure of the MP's expenses scandal. It was just a clumsy smear campaign. The Mail on Sunday even sent a undercover reporter to a private memorial service for a member of the Miliband family...again as an attempt to smear Miliband and therefore the Labour Party. The actions of the gutter press, not a noble attempt to expose some wrongdoing.

Even Dave and other Conservative MPs have distanced themselves from this disgraceful behaviour.

SP's question is will the DM apologise ? If it has any sense of shame or dignity, it will do so and move on.

You are, of course, at liberty to read whatever newspaper you wish, and I would defend that freedom of choice, but ask yourself...are you happy and content that your choice of daily newspaper has to stoop to such behaviour in an attempt to ensure a Tory win in May 2015 ?

[emmie]

i was given to understand that the Mail had apologised, or someone who works for the Mail, and i didn't read that in the paper, either online or tv news,

[Brenden]

Oh my goodness Mickey I have hit a raw nerve - that was not a lecture it was a bit of advice on your choice of words, of course I am happy with the choice of newspapers I read, but there is a difference in reading and believing - unlike you, I am not so sure of the 2015 Tory win - by whatever methods.

[mikey4444]

emmie...as I understand it, someone has apologised for sending an undercover reporter to a private memorial service. That has been widely reported in the media. They don't appear to have explained why the reporter was sent in the first place, but I suppose that as an apology has been issued, we can draw a line under that affair.

However, they have shown no intention of apologising for the smear campaign against Ed Miliband. This is the matter at the heart of SP's original post. It that apology that we are waiting for.

[emmie]

all right for Labour people to smear their own politicians to get their candidate into the hot seat, how is that different. and it wasn't just smearing their own but their families, Politics as if you didn't know is a dirty business, it always has been, read the tomes of Blair, Mandelson, Campbell, it's a vicious game, and the nearer the election the more the spin comes to the fore.

let us see what happens nearer the time of the election, it's too long away to predict this race. It may well be a Labour victory, however i can't see them doing so without the aid of the Lib Dems.