PRESS POWER It was the press wot won it?

IN A NUTSHELL: 

It was always debatable to what extent press bias reflected or shaped public opinion; in the digitised age, press influence is easy to dismiss, but the near-uniformity of anti-Labour flak and the close links between the Tory campaign and press angles (e.g., the vicious attacks on Miliband), to the extent of the Telegraph promoting 'stories' about letters it helped to generate, and the Sun offering to pay for pro-Tory stories, was undeniably a factor. The press brutalised the party (Labour) that dared to propose tougher press regulation; the Tories policy to leave it as it is, with IPSO. Political leaders will remain wary of picking fights with the press. Also, it certainly wasn't Twitter wot won it!

In the1992 general election it was the Sun “wot won it” for John Major’s Conservatives. In 2015 such hubristic declarations seemed to hark from a different era, dating back to a time before the advent of social media and rolling news curbed the influence of the rightwing press. ...

'Shock' as J-Lo posterior causes BGT 'outrage'

BGT and its ilk rely on heavy tabloid/mid-market coverage to maintain buzz, with social media coverage also important. On either side, it came as no surprise that the ritual shock at [insert female pop star name]'s

J-Lo forgot her skirt shocker [pic source]

revealing costume and sexual dance routine was duly sparked by the 2013 BGT final. J-Lo, like a certain Middleton sister, may have talents in other areas, but a large chunk of her fame is accounted for by her derriere, which the media have been unironically salivating over for many years now. BGT judge Amanda Holden remarked she'd like to "bite" this lucrative posterior.
J-Lo, as she usually does (just like Rihanna and Xtina, subject of previous shock and outrage narratives from X Factor/BGT appearances), appeared scantily clad, maximising the famed appeal of her rear. Her dance routine, as it (and the vast majority of pop dance routines) usually does, featured sexually imitative gyrations. Standards really have slipped in today's media, they weren't like that in the good ol' days ... which is true so long as you completely ignore the inconvenient fact that such outrages go back to the early beginnings of pop on TV: hip shakes got Elvis into trouble back in the 50s, and Jim Morrison's groin thrusts got The Doors banned from The Ed Sullivan Show in the 60s.
Back to today though.
Here's an excerpt from The Evening Standard, a London daily now owned by Lebvedev (Russian Indie):

It wouldn't have happened in the good ol' days...

owner of the

Wearing thigh-high black boots and a tiny black leotard that struggled to cover her famous posterior, her performance finished with her thrusting her crotch at the judges.
Viewers took to Twitter to express their disgust at her raunchy routine, which took place as schools across the country were on half term holiday.

Jim Morrison's groin thrust got The Doors into trouble too

Note the standard press tactic of weaving together two unrelated facts to make the story appear more sensational: J-Lo' appearance/dance took place whilst children were on hols!!!!! OMG and so forth. First of all, the bulk of moral panics either involve children misbehaving (often a technophobic kneejerk from those being left bewildered by technological advancements) or being corrupted. The real story here might have been about the exploitation of child performers, vulnerable to media exposure and every episode of which goes out on weekends, when kids are always off school, was being watched by kids ... on holiday ... just as they would if they weren't on holiday. Wow!
ridicule, by the Simon Cowell juggernaut for profit. But, no, BGT,
This isn't to say that there isn't a case to answer, and OfCom has previously warned broadcasters to respect the watershed following similar cases, but we can see here how the press manipulate their discourse to try and whip up outrage, and ideally manufacture a moral panic.

If you're not convinced that such whipped up press hysteria isn't anything new, try this NME list of 44 controversial moments in pop history.