Volume 21, Number 3, 2010 |
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ContentsEditorial - Correcting history 3Not finally... Subjective views on matters journalistic 5 Martin Dunn, Mark D Harmon, Don Berry Jim Chisholm - The future is in the hands of journalists 13 Michael Cole - Brave, yes, but this war game is wrong 21 John F Burns - Neutrality isn't the same as being fair 27 Paul Donovan - Catholicism's poisoned chalice 33 Quentin Cooper - A quantum leap for science writing 39 Terje S Skjerdal - How reliable are journalists in exile? 46 Alan Watkins - Life is a carnival, old chums 53 Will Barton - History is the first casualty of war 61 Stephen Maughan - Life's a puzzle all right, trust me 70 BOOK REVIEWSPeter McKay on Christopher Hitchens 77John Kampfner on Heather Brooke 79 Keith Somerville on Gerard Loughran 81 John Swain on David Finkel and Mark Urban 83 Bill Hagerty on Noel Whitcomb 86 Quotes of the Quarter 1 - 20 Quotes of the Quarter 2 - 52 Ten years ago - The way we were - 76 News: Honorary degree for Geoffrey Goodman - 32 Charles Wheeler Award - 68 Manuel Alvarado - 69 Lest we forget - 88 
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Editorial – Correcting historyThe relationship between those who make war and those who report it has never been easy. When it has been easy, what is produced is propaganda, not journalism. War is inevitably bloody, but politicians and armchair generals don't want the public at home to be exposed to the brutal details. That would not only affect recruitment but undermine confidence in a swift, one-sided victory.
The future is in the hands of journalistsThere is room for optimism in the newspaper industry, but how can journalism flourish in a market where nobody wants to pay for news? Media analyst Jim Chisholm thinks the news media's biggest problem lies in its customers' fickleness. He urges journalists to come to terms with this fact and try to engage with their audiences.
Blog: Why this brave man should no longer be allowed to report from the front lineFormer BBC reporter Michael Cole takes issue with the corporation for allowing the partially paralysed correspondent Frank Gardner to report from Afghanistan. Gardner, who is dependent on a wheelchair after being shot in Saudi Arabia in 2004, would have been incapable of protecting himself if the Taliban had attacked. Cole writes: “Gardner is clearly a very brave man. But it is crazy, beyond irresponsibility, for the BBC to put a man who is partially paralysed into the line of fire.”
Neutrality isn't the same as being fairWe may aspire to impartiality when reporting, even while admitting the impossibility of achieving it, but is it always good enough? John F. Burns, chief foreign correspondent of the New York Times and its London bureau chief, explains why a neutrality that masquerades as impartiality can sometimes – especially in the theatre of war – be too easily translated into a lack of empathy for the people involved. “A bloodless neutrality,” he writes, “can fall a long way short of being fair.”
BP: how U.S. media fed the fireDid America's politicians and journalists transform BP into “British Petroleum” following the Deepwater oil spill for reasons of political expediency or out of ignorance? Former British newspaper editor Martin Dunn, who has just resigned as editor-in-chief of the New York Daily News, discusses the controversy.
Editorial on top? Er, well...As newspapers struggle to secure ad revenue advertisers are calling the tune by designing ads that dominate pages to the detriment of editorial. Don Berry laments the trend and asks, possibly with tongue in cheek: why don't proprietors and chief executives unite to resist the ad agency bullies?
Catholicism's poisoned chaliceAs Pope Benedict XVI prepares to visit Britain in mid-September, Paul Donovan considers the impact of the Vatican's many PR disasters under his leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. He analyses the changes made by the church in Britain to its communications strategy since the child abuse scandal broke. Though it has adopted a more professional approach he believes the attempt to win the hearts and minds of the media could well prove to be a PR disaster.
A quantum leap for science writingIt is the Year of Science, and this has been greeted with more science programmes on TV and radio. But Quentin Cooper, who presents Radio 4's The Material World, looks beyond those positive signs to look at the continuing problems of the media's coverage of scientific matters. He argues that cutbacks both in media and science funding have contributed to the “still widespread perception that science is boring.” He points to examples of poor coverage – taking a side-swipe at the Daily Mail – and goes on to conclude that the “media hierarchy” should grant scientists, and the journalists who cover science, the time and space to go on covering a fascinating subject.
How reliable are journalists in exile?Beware journalists in exile, warns Terje S. Skjerdal, a lecturer in journalism in both Norway and Ethiopia. He argues that journalists in the West are too willing to believe accounts from fellow journalists who have fled from oppressive regimes. Uncritical coverage of their stories risk being counterproductive, he argues. Drawing on his knowledge of Ethiopian media fugitives, he points to the fact that many could not be trusted and some were not, strictly speaking, journalists at all. He writes: “Perhaps the problem arises when journalists leave their professional objectivity behind and become activists.” His central message: do the basics by checking your sources.
Life is a carnival, old chumsAlan Watkins, who died in May aged 77, wrote a brilliant memoir about his life as one of Britain's most readable political columnists, A Short Walk Down Fleet Street. In this extract from his book, he tells how he came to leave The Observer and of the vicissitudes of writing for the Independent on Sunday. His pen-portraits of David Montgomery and Rosie Boycott, along with asides about Donald Trelford, should not be missed.
History is the first casualty of war“The cliché (variously attributed) has it that the first casualty of war is the truth. Today it may be better to say that the first casualty is history.” That's the starting point for media academic Will Barton's polemic on the failure of journalists to explain the history and context of Afghanistan's relationship with the countries now fighting a war within its borders. He claims that a “profound ‘ahistoricalisation' of Britain's present Afghan adventurism is typical of much contemporary news reporting practice.”
Life's a puzzle all right – trust meStephen Maughan threw up a well-paid job to take a post-graduate journalism course. Now, having passed with flying colours, he finds himself as a freelance struggling to pay the bills. He even writes 4,000-word articles for nothing. His experiences in trying to get work are enough to make grown journalists weep.
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