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Wednesday, Apr 10, 2013 - 23:26 SGT
Posted By: Gilbert

Maggie And Me

Former British Prime Minister "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher passed on this week, at 87 years of age. Whether one supports her policies or not, it cannot be denied that she stirs opinions - some laudatory, some far less so (and frankly quite unbecoming, but then who am I to impose?)


This one's certainly not a fan
(Lyrics)


First, some readings:

For

The Telegraph Margaret Thatcher: the economic achievements and legacy of Thatcherism
The Telegraph Margaret Thatcher was a great Briton. Whatever their politics, everyone owes her respect
Washington Post Margaret Thatcher's vigorous virtues
The Post and Courier "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher's inspiring legacy
The Toronto Star Margaret Thatcher made a Britain in decline stand taller
The Wall Street Journal The Genius of Thatcherism Will Endure
City A.M. The enduring principles of Thatcherism should still guide Britain today
The American Conservative Thatcherism's Secret Was Sex Appeal
Independent.ie A conviction politician who puts our leaders to shame
The Guardian Margaret Thatcher's Britain: we still live in the land Maggie built
The Economist A cut above the rest
Catholic Online Baroness Margaret Thatcher dies, leaves powerful legacy


Neutral

Yahoo News Thatcherism: the radical ideology that became the global norm
The Guardian Did Margaret Thatcher transform Britain's economy for better or worse?
The Guardian Margaret Thatcher's political legacy remains impossible to avoid
The Guardian Margaret Thatcher and her legacy (Letters)
CBC News Iron Lady's economic secret was really crude, oil that is
The Independent Margaret Thatcher's policies had a lasting impact on everybody during her years in power and beyond
ABC News Margaret Thatcher: Britain's Most Polarizing PM
New York Magazine A Lot of People Still Hate Margaret Thatcher
International Business Times Thatcherism a Debate That Rages on: Margaret Thatcher's Economic Legacy
The Week Why Margaret Thatcher was loved - and hated


Against

The Independent Thatcherism was a national catastrophe that still poisons us
The Guardian Margaret Thatcher made Britain a less, not more, desirable place to do business
The Guardian Clearing up the mess that Margaret Thatcher left
TIME Even in Death, Margaret Thatcher Divides Britain as Hundreds Celebrate
Socialism Today Thatcher's bitter legacy
Liberal Conspiracy The hidden costs of Thatcherism
Rabble.ca Margaret Thatcher is dead, but the struggle against Thatcherism continues
Maclean's A fierce joy at Thatcher's death
The Atlantic Bloody Compact Discs: Thatcher's Detractors Came From All Classes
Kansas City News Thatcher had troubled relations with UK sports


This is, of course, far from a comprehensive selection, but it should be enough to lay down the backstory - greengrocer's daughter who became a research chemist, then MP, Secretary of State for Education and Science, Leader of the Opposition, and then to the highest political post in the land.

That was just a beginning, and in her eleven years at the helm, she sought to make taxation more regressive, broke the trade unions, and privatised national assets (gee, any of this sound familiar?); recall, this was the Eighties, where Reaganomics held similar sway in America. However, all this did boost the economy and rein in inflation, and victory in the Falklands War probably did her popularity no harm at home.

But before parallels are drawn, a short digression is in order. Having sampled from the best that English media had to offer on my graduation trip, I thought it proper to recognize how their major papers lean, and set Mr. Robo on the job. This must, it goes without saying, begin with the immortal quote from Yes Minister:


Hacker: Don't tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers: The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country; The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country; The Times is read by the people who actually do run the country; The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country; The Financial Times is read by people who own the country; The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country; And The Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is.

Sir Humphrey: Oh and Prime Minister, what about the people who read The Sun?

Bernard: Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits.
[N.B. The Sun's readership is the largest by some distance. That may say something]


Mr. Robo: Hokay, done! Mind, I'm no expert on this topic, so it's merely an extremely rough summary, but probably better than nothing. I consulted a number of sources to get an overall feel, and to simplify matters plotted the newspapers on a single axis that ranges from stands commonly termed liberal at one end, and conservative at the other end, weighing economic and social issues about equally.

Therefore, a paper that is economically conservative, but socially liberal, would be placed about in the middle here, as would another paper that is centrist in both respects; if you would like it broken up along these dimensions, this forum post might be a fair starting point. There's also a temporal factor, in that some papers like The Sun do not peg themselves to a particular party (i.e. latch on to whoever's winning), which is factored into their spectrum position by magical hocus-pocus.

Circulation figures and ownership information are the most current that could be dug up, and are in general somewhat reduced from even four years ago, possibly reflecting the waning influence of the traditional media. For simplicity, the Sunday versions of the daily papers (e.g. The Observer, for The Guardian) are not considered (their leanings may differ)

For a far more in-depth (and humourous) discussion, try the TV Tropes article on the same. I could have attempted to study the U.S. situation too, but this graphic built from an academic survey probably nails it better than I ever could.


In no particular scale
[Well, you can't fault the Daily Sport for effort]
[N.B. Note that the UK kept to the traditional colour scheme, whereas the USA flipped barely a decade ago]


Me: Looks good. Interestingly, it can be noted that the papers do still mix it up in terms of viewpoints, as evidenced by the sources above.

Mr. Robo: Gee thanks, it was the least I could do, what with computer science branching out into areas like visualization and business analytics too. And I've got more!

Me: Oh?

Mr. Robo: Yup, the equivalent for the local press!


Scale not required


Me: *cough cough cough* I think that will be all.



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