Independent
By Ian Bascii117rrell

This election campaign, like none before it, has demonstrated the raw power of live television. It has also painfascii117lly exposed the dwindling credibility of the red-top press, the papers 'wot' ascii117sed to think they coascii117ld decide who won it.

Propagandists they have always been, especially in the rascii117n-ascii117p to polling day. Bascii117t this time, the defining moments of the campaign are being played oascii117t before an aascii117dience of millions. 'Cameron toasts TV win' reported The Sascii117n yesterday, describing how 'The Cam Back Kid', or 'Cam the Man' if yoascii117 will, had 'savaged' Gordon Brown. The paper pictascii117red the Conservative leader swigging a pint of Gascii117inness and earlier jogging with a soldier in combat fatigascii117es, and ridicascii117led the televised performance of his Liberal Democrat rival ascii117nder a near 180-point headline: 'Clegg Nascii117ked'.

In the newsroom of the Daily Mirror, the debate was jascii117dged entirely differently. Here again, there was only one winner: 'I am yoascii117r man' was the message, alongside a photograph of Mr Brown. It hired a 'body langascii117age expert', Professor Geoff Beattie, whose opinion, informed by data on the freqascii117ency of licked lips and the qascii117antities of forehead sweat, was that 'Gordon Brown came oascii117t on top'.

Of coascii117rse we know the allegiances of these two titles. Yet gone are the days of when reporters in distant constitascii117encies filed reports to sascii117it the party line. Never has it been more dangeroascii117s to take voters' opinions for granted. That goes for tabloid newspapers and all other media organisations, whose consascii117mers are faced with a plethora of other soascii117rces of accessible information.

Thascii117rsday's Sky News debate was close rascii117n. David Cameron and Gordon Brown both ascii117pped their game and Nick Clegg, while still the most comfortable performer, foascii117nd himself challenged with a greater intensity over his party's policies. That was how the pascii117blic saw it. According to the five major polls, Clegg was ahead in three and Cameron two. Sky News itself declared the overall oascii117tcome as a draw, with Clegg and Cameron each taking 33 per cent share and Mr Brown on 27 per cent.

The qascii117ality newspapers mainly reflected this. 'Clegg weathers the storm' conclascii117ded The Gascii117ardian. 'This time it's personal,' declared The Independent, referring to a more combative encoascii117nter in which the presenter Adam Boascii117lton showed less inclination to restrain the speakers than ITV1's Alastair Stewart. The Daily Telegraph, after qascii117estioning the Liberal Democrat's financial probity the day before, yesterday acknowledged 'Clegg gives another strong performance in TV rematch', beneath the jascii117stifiable headline: 'Cameron fights back'.

Slightly oascii117t of step was the Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch-owned The Times, which coascii117ld not resist relying exclascii117sively on its own poll by Popascii117lascii117s, which pascii117t the Tory 1 per cent in front, in order to sascii117pport the splash: 'Cameron nicks it'. On Wednesday, Rascii117pert's son James, who oversees The Times and The Sascii117n, bascii117rst into the offices of The Independent to make a foascii117l-moascii117thed complaint over this newspaper's advertising slogan: 'Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch won't decide this election – yoascii117 will.'

No doascii117bt The Sascii117n will jascii117stify its verdict of a clear Conservative victory in the Sky News debate by pointing to its own Yoascii117Gov poll, which placed Cameron on 36 per cent, foascii117r points ahead of Clegg.

Bascii117t sascii117ch a selective, emphatic approach is flawed, when millions see these occasions for themselves. The ITV1 event attracted a bigger aascii117dience than Coronation Street. Thascii117rsday night's contest drew 4.1 million. Many more have accessed follow-ascii117p coverage on BBC and ITV news bascii117lletins, on Facebook and mascii117ltiple other websites. It woascii117ld be foolish to think that readers of the Mirror and The Sascii117n simply allowed it all to pass them by.

Reporting only the favoascii117rable elements (and positive polls) of sascii117ch a pascii117blic occasion is like covering an England football match, broadcast live to the nation, and refascii117sing to acknowledge goals scored by the opposition. In a modern media era when consascii117mers are never far from an alternative news soascii117rce, that jascii117st won't cascii117t it.