Outside of trolling supporters’ twitter feeds, picking up conversations and packaging them as “exclusives”, they know nothing. The Sussexes and their team run a tight ship and especially following their move out of Kensington Palace, have sealed the leaky faucet and taken full control of their narrative, as they should. Is it really the case with all these stories flying around one might ask? The answer is yes. Those who are paying attention to the substance recognize that.
In this last ditch effort, the media machine has gone into overdrive to really try to convince us that, the substantive work we’re seeing from the Sussexes and their effort to draw attention to important issues, ones that matter to and impact a wide cross-section of people, is actually bad for business. Thus, this latest iteration of the media’s “Sussex sins” has come with carefully scripted themes with loaded terms like hypocrite, woke, leftie and their favorite PR problem.
Not that being attuned to social injustices in one’s community is awful, but let’s just make it sound really bad ok? The object is to create the impression that The Sussexes’ image and that of the monarchy by extension is in jeopardy and, according to the press, a consultation/or “clear the air” meeting with them will do the trick. Foxy move, but no thank you. Just a scheme to badger the Sussexes into granting unfettered access to every nook and cranny of their lives, that they can continually monetize. The media wants you to believe that the couple is unpopular and taxpayers are displeased with personal choices they have made for their own family. Imagine that.
The truth of the matter is that most British people support their personal choices and the couple remain popular(see YouGov poll here & 2nd poll here). This is notable in that, the long-standing anti-Sussex campaign while very noisy, only resonates in a tiny sphere. The media’s portrayal of the Sussexes is discordant with actual public perception. If this was public knowledge, media accounts will be readily discounted. So, to buttress their biased pitch, they cite bogus reader polls that are as representative as polling a vet’s office for pet lovers. That they continually churn out dozens of Harry and Meghan stories on a daily basis, is itself a tacit admission of the couple’s relevance. Afterall who, when given the choice, will sell out-of-demand commodities?
It wasn’t always like this and didn’t need to be. From the very beginning, the media came out firing on all cylinders with the most incendiary commentary about this coupling, egregious enough to warrant a strongly worded statement on behalf of Prince Harry. It wasn’t for lack of information. Though Meghan was not a regular tabloid fixture, much of her work and the essence of who she is, was and is still easily available in pictures, videos and write-ups in her own words as well as others’. Google would have been a great start. “Reporters” and so-called royal experts told and continue to tell lies about the duchess, even petty, inconsequential ones like saying she is vegan when she’s not. They followed that gravy train until it became profitable to cover the engagement and wedding. Then it was great expectation! Nothing about Meghan changed.
In spite of the media’s initial hostility, the couple accommodated them, routing major announcements through them. Yet their greed drove them to become a propaganda tool for a certain brittle court, soon after the Oceania tour. And so now, the chickens have come home to roost. Full access is denied. Some may argue that both parties need each other; the Sussexes for their work and the media for their livelihood. True, but that is only tenable if it is a symbiotic relationship, built on mutual respect and benefit. What we’ve witnessed for a while now is a parasitic one. Parasites exist to do harm. Simple. Lest we forget, this is not just a question of nuisance stories. There are consequences. Real lives are at stake: people have incited violence against the Sussexes and a man is currently imprisoned for calling for Prince Harry to be shot.
The birth of #SussexRoyal Instagram has been a real boost to the causes the Duke and Duchess are involved in. The captions are detailed, informative and focus on the substance of the organizations and their vital work, bringing well deserved attention to the organizations. Again for a while, the post-engagement reports we got, save a few from a handful of responsible journalists, were scraps buried in stories that were carried under sensationalized headlines based on tangential minutia, which objectively is a disservice to the worthy causes the royals work so hard to support.
It is safe to say that in most occupations, one would be hard pressed to find a person in an accountable position who will be rewarded for repeated sub-standard work or for that matter, one in a position of authority who will tolerate it. Surely, if a business repeatedly gives you dismal service, one would be wise take their custom elsewhere. Why then do we continue to reward all this irresponsible “journalism” with our time, attention and precious cognitive capacity? If we’re not in the market for junk, then we have no business surveying a junkyard. Our attention is valuable. Let’s use it judiciously.
SMOKE AND MIRRORS 1: Royalists, the royals they support and the people who cover them
SMOKE AND MIRRORS 2: Royalists, the royals they support and the people who cover them
