DO THE PRESS REALLY REPORT THE TRUTH WHEN IT COMES TO THE BANKS?

Due to the ravages of a kidney infection I have not been able to update this blog for the past two weeks.  However, during my illness (I spent the majority of the time in bed), many television news  reports focused on the Euro crisis as well as the generic banking crisis as a whole.

     Reporters used ambiguous terminology including "toxic assets" to describe why the banks are losing money.  They also stated how the crash has resulted in billions of pounds being lost through negative investments.  However, it soon became clear that the Press are not reporting this crisis in a way which will enforce change.  We are given figures relating to the losses, however, the figures used are so large many of us cannot really comprehend them.

     For example, over one fifth of the UK's working population receive a weekly wage of £250 per-week.  A large majority will be lucky if they have £150 per-month to spend on food after bills including rent, electricity and telephone have been paid.  Simply being able to afford a night out at Wetherspoon's is a luxury.  However, with the noticeable exception of Fred "The Shred" Goodwin, the Press have failed to investigate the rapacious lifestyles top level bankers currently lead.  There are currently over 10,000 bankers working in The City who earn over £500,000 per-year.  Many of these analysts think nothing to paying over £100 for a single bottle of wine; they have no qualms about booking an exclusive island resort in the Seychelles for a weekly cost of £20,000, and despite facilitating the worst recession since the Wall Street Crash, many are now accruing bonuses comparable to those they received prior to the crash.

        However, if the Press conducted in-depth investigations into the individual lifestyles lead by these city slickers, the main source of resentment would not stem from the most impoverished in our society.  The middle classes, who are the real instigators of political change in the UK, would be on the verge of revolution.  For university and college lecturers, teachers, nurses and middle-ranking managers - people who's financial power allows them to live frugally yet comfortably in order to save for retirement - would force the government to introduce legislation to limit the everyday excesses which are so prevalent in the UK's financial sector.

     However, instead of disgracing individual bankers by publicising their excess, the Press have simply chosen to report the issue generically, blackening the name of the banking industry as a whole.  By reporting the financial costs of the issue without actually attributing specific examples of greed and excess, we are all angered by the actions of the banks.  Yet without actually targeting individuals who are guilty of excess, our anger at the titanic losses sustained will not force politicians to introduce the necessary legislation which will really regulate the banking industry.  Because to many of us the millions of pounds lost are merely statistics.  Only when we can equate the actual cost with tangible examples of greed and rapacity will we as a people actively demand change.