Abstract
From the British Journalism Review of 10 years ago (vol. 25, issue no 2, 2014)
‘Sir Alan Moses will surely want to record some early victories, but he and Ipso must judge which matters breach codes; which hurt innocent people but are justified in the gathering of news and which demonstrate that habit of British editors to pick targets and write offensively. The new, self-regulating body must come down only on the first.’
– BJR editorial
‘ [Ian] Katz [new editor of Newsnight] also persuaded the show’s second presenter, Kirsty Wark, to celebrate Halloween with a dance routine to the rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The editor has not made comparable demands of [Jeremy] Paxman. The great interrogator’s departure makes that one challenge Katz need not confront.’
– Tim Luckhurst, then-professor of journalism at the University of Kent
‘The death knock has changed somewhat since the arrival of social media. There is now no shortage of people, both well known and unknown, prepared to tweet their usually banal thoughts on the death of anyone famous and how “very sad” it all is… For reporters stuck to desks or computers, this tempting cocktail of narcissism and necrophilia from the Twitterati now provides acres of handy copy without the bother of having to stand on any draughty doorstep.’
– Duncan Campbell, freelance writer and crime correspondent, on doorstepping
‘I still believe that good journalism does not need to cost more than bad journalism, given that the profligacy of the tabloid newsroom leaves little trace except for its odour. Perhaps I’m too sentimentally attached to that golden age, however, I do believe that the most generous gift enjoyed by Insight [Sunday Times investigative team] was not lavish funding (there was none) but the time allowed to be free of the tyranny of the news cycle.’
– Clive Irving, Insight founder member, co-founder Conde Nast Traveler