And the 'media' is pro-Tory all the way ( even to some ridiculous degree ), then the other media just run with it because it's mostly copy & paste.
As far as survival goes, Bozo Johnson is a top performer. He only talks to the media he vets, that's why the UK is something like a mix of Truman Show with a sprinkle of 1930's Germany.
* 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
* 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
* The Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is.
(The Sun readers do not care who runs the country as long she's got big tits!)
Also the "big tits" version of the joke is clearly funnier and it's on the way interesting to watch people embrace this or be uncomfortable with it. I expect with Page 3 in practice consigned to history we'll go back to uncomfortable. By now there are probably a considerable number of Sun readers today who aren't aware the Sun used to feature topless model shots every day with essentially no excuse beyond people like looking at tits.
Senior politician cheats on his fiancée with a former stripper? Not corruption. But definitely sleaze.
That same senior politician gives £25,000 of taxpayer money to the former stripper - but giving 'business development' grants is within his power? Arguably corruption. But definitely sleaze.
A lot of the Tory stuff is plainly corruption, but expect Tory papers in particular to soft pedal it. They don't want to get called out for not reporting a huge story, but they needn't emphasise how bad it really is.
Why didn't they do this at any point in the past 10+ years? Because the press are owned and operated by the Tory party (sometimes once-removed, sometimes not) and understand that their primary function is to distribute pro-Tory propaganda.
So why are they doing it now? Because a) the opposition has been thoroughly defanged after the wholesale demolition of the left-wing Corbyn project and b) a lot of top Conservatives do not like Johnson because he makes them embarrassed at dinner parties, and would prefer someone like Gove. In other words, it's a Barclay twins vs Murdoch ruling-class squabble.
Maybe I'm just too cynical but I think if you're the media you need to shake down your favourites from time to time, even if you do prefer them over the opposition. If you can make a storm, you can make it blow over as well.
Except for the Daily Mirror, the Guardian and the BBC.
The apparent acquiescence of so many in the face of encroaching tyranny is the most frightening thing I've ever seen in my life. The vaccines don't work properly ('my vaccine only works if you're vaccinated too!'), the long term effects are unknown (despite their claims of safety for which they simply have no long term evidence), it is all obviously being used as a precursor to a social credit system, there is no evidence that masking the public works, the WHO etc. in an act worth of Orwell changed the actual definition of vaccine and herd immunity (nothing fishy there eh!) to suit their interests, the UK intentionally recorded any death within 28 days of a test (including being run over by a bus!) as a COVID death etc. etc. etc.... The whole thing stinks, and I won't be silent.
Any downvoters please respond with evidence to refute me. Bet you can't.
I have this in my reading list: "A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic "