3 ms·

To be fair, a former PM lends a bit more credibility to an event than some random backbencher, and so you can expect that the market value of having a PM speaki

To be fair, a former PM lends a bit more credibility to an event than some random backbencher, and so you can expect that the market value of having a PM speaking at your event would be quite high. Regardless, on those examples you gave, I don't think it was a Portuguese TV channel, I think it was a global CNN summit which happened in Lisbon (but please correct me if I'm wrong). Also, The Hindustan Times (which is the Indian newspaper I think you're referring to) is also not exactly a small media outlet with a circulation more than double that of the Times of London (based on the most recent numbers for The Times in 2020). Additionally, a significant number of British citizens have family ties with India, and are likely to continue to follow English language news in India, so it's not simply 'some foreign newspaper'.

notahacker 3y ago
I'm not disputing the fact Johnson can draw crowds to overseas media companies or that theyre big enough to afford to pay him, I'm disputing the insinuation of the exact opposite (i.e there's no reason to pay him the big bucks except bribery). From the point of view of there being no UK policy decisions the Hindustan Times' Indian media empire could feasibly have been trying to buy an ex-PM for, it's absolutely "some foreign newspaper". Its not that politicians are incorruptible, it's that people are absolutely willing to spend that much on them for non-corrupt reasons. Some random backbencher isn't getting Johnson or Clinton sized speaking fees.
- d1sxeyes 3y ago
  Except it's well known that there's a 'revolving door' for politicians, especially with the press. Even if there's no reason to SPECIFICALLY overpay Johnson, inflated speaking fees for former politicians helps to keep the door well greased and spinning freely. Johnson himself started his career as a journalist.
  - notahacker 3y ago
    And it's well-known celebrity speakers like Becks and BoJo are compensated very highly for speaking at events organised by entities that have nothing to gain from bribing them. This doesn't help those entities pay off their local regulators in any way; it's simply the market price they're willing to pay for the actual speech. I'm well aware of Boris' journalistic career; I've even read some of his waffle. You share his flair for insinuation and missing the point so I wish you good luck with your own campaign to be PM ;-)
    - d1sxeyes 3y ago
      Ouch! ;)

notahacker 3y ago

I'm not disputing the fact Johnson can draw crowds to overseas media companies or that theyre big enough to afford to pay him, I'm disputing the insinuation of the exact opposite (i.e there's no reason to pay him the big bucks except bribery). From the point of view of there being no UK policy decisions the Hindustan Times' Indian media empire could feasibly have been trying to buy an ex-PM for, it's absolutely "some foreign newspaper". Its not that politicians are incorruptible, it's that people are absolutely willing to spend that much on them for non-corrupt reasons. Some random backbencher isn't getting Johnson or Clinton sized speaking fees.

d1sxeyes 3y ago
Except it's well known that there's a 'revolving door' for politicians, especially with the press. Even if there's no reason to SPECIFICALLY overpay Johnson, inflated speaking fees for former politicians helps to keep the door well greased and spinning freely. Johnson himself started his career as a journalist.
- notahacker 3y ago
  And it's well-known celebrity speakers like Becks and BoJo are compensated very highly for speaking at events organised by entities that have nothing to gain from bribing them. This doesn't help those entities pay off their local regulators in any way; it's simply the market price they're willing to pay for the actual speech. I'm well aware of Boris' journalistic career; I've even read some of his waffle. You share his flair for insinuation and missing the point so I wish you good luck with your own campaign to be PM ;-)
  - d1sxeyes 3y ago
    Ouch! ;)