Ever had a quote that has an impact that doesn’t sink for a long time after you hear it?
Well, there was one not so long ago that had that effect on me. It was part of a voxpop on BBC Radio 4 about the modern-day relevance of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The BBC was interviewing people on the streets of Manchester about what they thought of the head of the Church of England.
One guy said (and this is a paraphrase): “He’s ok and that, but he says he speaks for people, which is wrong. Nowadays everyone speaks for themselves so he is a bit out-of-date.”
I laughed at first, thinking that it was a nice myth to assume that there was equality of voice. Then I realised that actually, that wasn’t the point.
The point is that people no longer identify with large, organised bodies. Whther it be the corporation, the Church of England or even, perhaps, the media group, there is an implicit assumption that they do not represent the individual.
If that is true, then it backs up the idea that the future of media is the personal, the building of networks and relationships between individuals so that everyone can speak for themselves, even if some end up speaking louder than others.
I guess the church fits into the history of media if you think about it. The vicar or whathaveyou would have been a main source of news and social guidance (I’m resisting saying control) for a village or district. When I hear CofE leaders saying the country has lost its way because the church isn’t at the centre of things, or however they put it, I always think they’re bemoaning their loss of power. Whether they should have that power and whether it’s a good or bad thing for influence to be centralised like that to keep society together is up for debate.
Well our bloggers on the Mail are taking it all very personally – some won’t look at each others’ ramblings because it gives them an extra hit. Competitive souls…
@Ben Not sure that’s the best way to be competitive. Surely it’s better to be in as many places being as part of as many conversations as possible.
Compare to the Post blog site where the Post bloggers are some of the most frequent commenters! 😉 (I realise now it’s me who’s getting competitive! Lol!)