As my tweets this morning show, the shocking state of journalism in the UK is a big part of why we’re in such a mess. The public simply don’t get the facts, the evidence or any sensible analysis with which to understand events or the choices they need to make
In some cases it is pure bias - the tabloids, far-right blogs funded by foreign sources - but in others it’s simply incompetence, and getting carried away by ‘the game’ of journalism, rather than the profession of reporting
Journalists bounce around hoping they’re first to be the beneficiary of a ‘leak’ from a number 10 ‘source’ so they can be seen as important and at the centre of things. They get caught up in the gossip of personality battles. Shocking opinions become news instead of actual events
They can’t pause to reflect, analyse, discern patterns, understand connections. And certainly don’t spend time investigating anything more deeply than what they’re told by ‘sources’ on each side. They’re like sports commentators rather than journalists. And we’re all worse for it
