Bleared boundaries in Byrne’s press-free, digital gaya

The problem of enforcing a clear message across the UK government has become painfully apparent of late, and one suspects that, no matter how many blogs, Facebook groups or YouTube channels are set up, this will always be the case – it’s simply too disparate. Last week, Cabinet Office minister Liam Byrne claimed
that the Daily Mail ‘no longer set the agenda’ for the government, and government’s digital architecture would provide an unfiltered channel to the people.

Fast forward a few days, and communities secretary Hazel Blears is telling journalism students how political commentators ‘have too much power’ and praising the aforementioned newspaper.

So, here’s the difficulty with Mr Byrne’s plan: people will generally go to the more entertaining source for news, and tend to prefer a one-stop shop. Hence the Mail and other newspaper websites recording upward of 20 million unique users per month, dwarfing the visits to similar government sites. For these to succeed they would have to be more inticing, which a) leaves them open to ridicule and, b) costs money, which the tax-paying punter is unlikely to stomach in the long term. (There is also c) they become rabid rant sheets, such as Ken Livingstone’s now-defunct Londoner.) The solution? Accept the situation and try to rise above it. Easier said than done, of course. (As Hazel Blears says, “You are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”.)

Because it’s hard to resist, a link to a piece regarding the leaked 11-page memo entitled ‘Working With Liam Byrne’, which outlined his need for an espresso at 3pm sharp. And one to his good-humoured response.