Abstract
From the British Journalism Review of 10 years ago (vol. 17, issue no 1, 2006)
‘It may be regrettable that the public is more interested in personal lives than political policies, but it is the failure of those in the public eye to behave with some propriety, not the media coverage this attracts, that puts them on the skids.’
— BJR editorial
‘Over the next few years there will be more demands on people's time, an even more expansive media world, more emphasis on immediacy, and more reasons to give up the newspaper habit. There will, certainly, be continued circulation decline. But the evidence suggests that, just as cinema going declined until the 80s and then bottomed out and rose again, newspapers will find their plateau.’
— Professor Steven Barnett, of the University of Westminster
‘Whether it was to compensate for a perceived feminine weakness, or because they were modelling themselves on the worst of the men, or just because there resides in many women the capacity to turn into the Wicked Witch of the West, too many have adopted the hectoring style of The Weakest Link. They take delight in shooting down ideas rudely and impatiently, humiliating juniors in public and reducing inexperienced or vulnerable members of staff to tears.’
— Esther Rantzen, of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, on female media executives
‘If the tabs are really interested in serving the public interest, many of them should change the irresponsible and ill-informed way they handle issues such as immigration, asylum seekers and the European Union. But love them or loathe them, the tabloids have got gumption — an impudence and impertinence towards power.’
— James Geary, former Europe editor of Time magazine
