The State of Modern British Journalism
The State of Modern British Journalism
Nick Davies is a reporter for the Guardian newspaper who wrote a book expressing his concern at the current trends in newspaper reporting. He outlined these ideas in a book called Flat Earth News, and the recording gives you some of them. Can you answer the questions below?
1 What does Nick Davies consider should be the main activity of people in the business of journalism?
2 What two points does he make about present-day reporters?
3 What is the consequence of newspapers putting more emphasis on ‘columnists and opinions’, do you deduce?
4 What phrase is used to express the fact that newspapers have ‘changed and become more dependent on’ columnists and opinions?
5 What two tenets (=principles) does Nick Davies consider essential for reporters?
6 Where did Davies recruit his researchers from?
7 Is there anything that makes you think the Daily Mail is considered a less serious newspaper than the others mentioned?
8 How many UK news pieces did the team analyse?
9 What two sources of articles were checked?
10 a) What percentage of reports were discovered to be the result of what reporters had found out for themselves, and b) what percentage of key facts were checked?
11 The percentage of genuine reporting leaves a percentage which is poor journalism. What is the percentage, and what term did Nick Davies coin to mean ‘recycled journalism’?
12 What is the significance of the Press Assocation being allowed as a single source of confirmation for stories?
13 What phrase is used to mean that there are fewer and fewer reporters?
14 How many reporters were found to cover news for Cardiff, South Wales and the Welsh Assembly?
15 How many articles or stories is a reporter said to have to produce in a single day’s work (a shift)?
16 What is the significance of reporters managing to catch what people say accurately and leave what they say in speechmarks?
17 What is said about the size of present-day British newspapers?
18 Is the situation better elsewhere?
19 What two sets of facts are given to illustrate the cut in full-time staff made by the American broadcasting station CBS?
20 Who or what is the culprit for the state of the modern press?