Mediating the Scottish Independence Debate

3 Mediating the Scottish Independence Debate Alex Law n the six months leading up to the fetish in Scotland, most obviously in the times more likely to be anti-independence Ireferendum vote on 18 September political vertigo that continues to be and articles were three times more 2014 Scotland experienced a period experienced by the representatives of likely to be pro-Union, deploying a of exceptionally heightened political the Unionist parties and what might be more pejorative use of language such discourse, a widespread form of political called ‘media Unionism’. A mass grassroots as the ‘Nats’ (meaning the Scottish participation unusual in western liberal- movement in support of Independence National Party) and the personalisation democracies. For almost two years benefited from a changed and, in some of the Independence campaign around a fundamental questions about nation, ways, reinvigorated media field. Where negative cult of Alex Salmond, leader of state and society that are routinely taken television once threatened the authority of the ‘Nats’ (https://www.youtube.com/ for granted were exposed to widespread newspapers, social media now challenges watch?v=2bYajHIcXMk). public discussion and debate involving the dominance of television and the press. millions of individuals normally silenced Any influence that newspapers may have by the political fetish. Instead, these The press over the politics of their readers has became the subject of open, often heated, Newspaper Unionism has been a central been diminished by its loss of dominance discussion and debate by wide layers of plank of the political fetish in Scotland over a more crowded media field. Clearly society, in workplaces and meeting halls, since the eighteenth century. Every single the tabloids in Scotland did not want to streets and city squares, shopping centres day the press expresses its Scottish alienate a large section of their mainly and job centres, bus stops and pubs, credentials on page after page. Banal working class readerships. This readership schools, and so on. declarations of Scottishness are routinely was split down the middle, although framed by the apparent permanence of working class readers in cities like Dundee This process of self-representation meant the political Union. Until as recent as the and Glasgow proved more likely to vote that political discourse was forced to shift 2007 Scottish elections, national titles Yes according to the post-referendum from the logic of political self-marketing in Scotland refused to endorse either poll conducted by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft as the neutral, technical preserve of small independence or the SNP, despite the (http://lordashcroftpolls.com/2014/09/ circles of networked state managers latter’s increasing electoral support. With scotland-voted/). and media interlocutors. Such routine the SNP landslide victory in 2011 and the forms of representation express what formation of the first majority government This does not mean, however, that the Pierre Bourdieu (1991) referred to as in the Scottish parliament, the politics press now exerts only negligible, if any, ‘political fetishism’. A fetish of political of the press in Scotland began to look influence as some claim. News UK, owners representatives ensures that ‘isolated, even more one-dimensional and non- of the Sun, Times and Sunday Times, for silent, voiceless individuals, without democratic. instance, claimed that survey research either the capacity or the power to make commissioned from pollsters YouGov themselves heard and understood, are With the sole exception of the showed that newspapers were more faced with the alternative of keeping endorsement of independence by the influential in determining how people quiet or being spoken for by someone Sunday Herald, the Scotsman supported voted in the referendum than either social else’ (Bourdieu, 1991: 206). Individuals a No vote, while the Scottish Sun and media or the campaign groups (News are typically unable to constitute a Daily Record refused to adopt an explicit UK, 2014). As evidence of the renewed political movement unless they delegate position, although content analysis political vitality of the press, Mike Darcey, the right to communicate the collective indicates a clear pro-Union bias. David CEO of News UK, could point out that it symbolically to a ‘representative’ of the Patrick’s statistical and qualitative analysis was a Sunday Times poll putting the Yes group. of front-page articles, editorials and campaign narrowly ahead that panicked comment pieces found that much of the the No campaign into last-ditch promises This wider public discourse began to coverage was ‘neutral’. However, for the about increased devolution of powers break the stranglehold of the political remaining coverage headlines were four should Scotland vote to remain in the media education journal 56 4 An Informed Choice’ it declared. As ‘The Vow’ itself boldly claimed: ‘A No vote will deliver faster, safer and better change than separation [i.e. independence]’. Yet ‘The Vow’s’ status as a sacred contract with the Scottish nation was soon the object of UK party political positioning and rivalry. Once the No vote was delivered ‘The Vow’ became ensnared in the self-interested political manoeuvring of the Unionist parties in England for the forthcoming General Election on 7 May 2015 and open ‘civil war’ inside the Scottish Labour Party, forcing the resignation of its leader Johann Lamont six weeks after ‘winning’ the referendum. Broadcast Unionism and Independence In such ways, the referendum put the credibility of media Unionism to a stern test, above all the impartial public service ethos of the BBC. This was revealed by the analysis and reaction to Fairness in the First Year?, a research report published in February 2014 by John Robertson (2014), professor of media politics at the University of the West of Scotland. This year-long content analysis of fairness in mainstream TV coverage of the Scottish independence referendum found that although both broadcasters gave significantly more favourable coverage to No than Yes statements, the BBC’s Reporting Scotland coverage was more biased than STV news coverage, with a ratio of 3:2 for statements favouring the No campaign over the Yes campaign. Union, which itself was announced on the the case of the Sunday Times poll, they front page of the tabloid, Daily Record. appear to have much more influence However, since both sides enjoyed a over the behaviour of the political large presence on broadcast news the Yet, such a positive gloss on the influence establishment than their readers. This overall ratio proved rather less important of newspapers was disputed by Angela was graphically illustrated by the three than the structuring of reports and the Haggerty (2014) for media analysts The political leaders of the Unionist parties subtle repetition of bad news, especially Drum. She claimed that mainstream print agreeing to issue a solemn ‘Vow’ on the about the economy after independence. and broadcast media coverage influenced front page of the Daily Record. From When the sequence of statements were the decisions of a mere 28 per cent of quite different positions on the further examined, reports tended to be defined by voters in the referendum. While many got devolution of powers, in the event of a negative framing of the Yes campaign, information from TV and radio (71 per a No vote ‘The Vow’ promised a last- who were then compelled to respond cent) and 60 per cent from newspapers minute guarantee from the three political with a reactive and defensive posture, and their websites (60 per cent), more leaders of the UK parties for ‘extensive’ often concluding reports with a generally than two thirds (68 per cent) said that new powers for the Scottish parliament negative framing of the Yes position. mainstream media was not a decisive without the risks and upheaval of influence in forming their decision. independent statehood. Despite the qualitative difference Social media and websites appeared to between the spontaneous discourse of exercise more influence (39 per cent) than ‘The Vow’ was depicted by the Daily the instant commentary that appears on newspapers (34 per cent), although TV and Record in the cliché style of an old blogs, newspaper editorials and opinion radio was the strongest source (42 per historical document, with parchment columns, including that of academic or cent), while almost one third (30 per cent) curled at the edges. Under the banner independent experts, and the necessarily had their decisions shaped by the Yes and ‘Our Nation Decides’ the Record’s editorial delayed discourse of sustained scholarly No campaigns. described ‘The Vow’ as ‘a historic joint analysis, Robertson’s findings were promise’ offering the low risk option generally ignored by mainstream media Newspapers therefore retain some to independence and as a statement of while it went viral online. Rather than influence over voter intentions but, as in final authority: ‘Now Voters Can Make answer the claims of the study publicly in media education journal 56 5 an open democratic forum of experts, BBC and authorised political representatives, an ordinary family background in central Scotland’s head of policy and corporate above all political parties. Neil insisted Scotland. Hence the No campaign Better affairs raised serious objections about the on framing the discussion in terms of the Together preferred to place Labour methodology, accuracy and language of electoral positioning of the Labour party politicians to the forefront of their public the report, and complained of ‘corporate and the SNP and the personalities of profile, supported in a lower key by disrepute’ directly to the Principal of UWS, political leaders, rather than fundamental Liberal-Democrat Scottish MPs. an accusation that could have threatened problems of citizenship, democracy, the terms of Robertson’s employment. equality and statehood: STV’s news and current affairs programme Scotland Tonight staged an initial series While the BBC publicly defended their Freeman: .

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