Protests Just Don't Sell Newspapers Like They Used To

Photo by Loz Flowers' via Flickr

I've been sitting here for most of the day watching streams of people commenting under the Twitter hashtag #SaveOurNHS.  People from across The United Kingdom talking about rallies they attended yesterday; rallies that in many cases are continuing on today. Throughout the morning and afternoon there's been a fluid cascade of information from these protesters, desperate to save their National Health System from being carved up for the private sector by the UK's coalition government. They posted details about the marches in real time yesterday. On YouTube they posted footage of police pushing protesters to the ground, without any clear provocation. They tweeted updates on where the march had been, and where it was headed. Today they are tweeting about vigils being held, and one last final attempt to stop the legislation in its tracks this coming Monday. They have also published photographs that show police officers brandishing machine guns at these peaceful protests about healthcare reform. 

It's a good thing they did, because the established news outlets don't seem all that bothered.

No one really knows why, but over the last 24 hours, while those hoping to save the NHS from the clutches of privatisation -- "top down" restructuring that in 2010 Cameron promised the people they would not see  -- have been doing their best to make their voices count, the journalists, news cameras, and reporters from the UK's mainstream media have stayed away, outright ignoring the protest. The BBC, the nation's taxpayer funded news service, has nothing on the rallies. The same goes for The Independent and The Telegraph. Not having much use for Twitter, I only found out about the marches, and the media's curious lack of interest in them, while reading posts on The Guardian's "Comment is Free" forums in which users demanded to know why The Guardian was ignoring the protests. 

The non-coverage has left many involved in the quest to save the NHS puzzled. The question of whether or not an undisclosed media blackout of the protest is in effect has been raised. This seems a far fetched notion. All the media outlets listed above have, through yesterday and today, run semi-related news stories about the NHS saga. The Independent broke the story that a collection of doctors and medical professionals are planning to run candidates in a direct challenge to MPs that support the legislation. The Telegraph ran a story on the NHS hiring doctors at various pay rates to combat staff shortages, which they blame on EU regulations. The Guardian ran an article detailing evidence of tax avoidance among many of the major healthcare corporations that stand to benefit from the proposed changes to the NHS, as well as an article claiming that Labour peer Lady Thornton is planning a last minute attempt to block the bill, accusing Ministers of lying to push the NHS reforms through. 

The media is talking about the NHS, but leaving out the bit about people marching in the streets to try and save it. The question is, why? 

Photo by 38 Degrees' via Flickr

Perhaps the major purveyors of news and information feel they have bigger fish to fry. No doubt the stories they ran throughout yesterday and today are important. But for many people the BBC, the Guardian, and the other giants of international media remain their primary source for learning what's happening around them. I'm sure there are still a substantial number of people left in Britain that don't yet know what a hashtag or a Twitter is. Protesters marching in the streets of London should never fail to make the news, particularly when they are out there trying to save a healthcare system that serves all 60 million residents of the United Kingdom. 

Or at least it does for now.