Journalist bashing is unfair | Blaise Tapp

Has the news ever dominated our lives as much as it does right now?Of all the incredible things that have occurred during my 40-something years, no topical event has endured like the coverage of this all-encompassing pandemic.
Deputy Chief Scientific Officer Professor Dame Angela McLean, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, and Director of Health Improvement at Public Health England, Professor John Newton during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus (COVID-19).Deputy Chief Scientific Officer Professor Dame Angela McLean, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, and Director of Health Improvement at Public Health England, Professor John Newton during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus (COVID-19).
Deputy Chief Scientific Officer Professor Dame Angela McLean, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, and Director of Health Improvement at Public Health England, Professor John Newton during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus (COVID-19).

Even the most horrific of events such as the 9/11 and 7/7 terror attacks in America and London slipped from the top of the front pages eventually.

There were times, don’t forget, that the indefatigable coverage of Brexit was leapfrogged by unrelated events.

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For the first time in living memory, we have a news story that has had a significant impact on the lives of the vast majority of the world’s 7.6 billion population. This is more than a news item, this is real life, our lives.

As a result, almost overnight we have become a nation of armchair media experts. The 5pm Downing Street press briefing has become not-to-miss television.

Unfortunately for the journalists, these briefings have morphed into an X-Factor-esque talent show where the public are Simon Cowell and are not afraid to pass judgment on the performance of those asking the questions.

Every early evening social media channels convulse from the fallout of these Westminster briefings, with thousands effectively exclaiming ‘I could do better’.

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As somebody who has endured many press conferences, in my experience journalists don’t often learn a great deal from them – they usually receive the relevant facts beforehand.

It is rare that a press conference will provide reporters with anything other than a soundbite. When the general public sees this process up close, it can be misinterpreted as a lack of guile on the part of journalists.

This is partly why national journalists are getting such a raw deal at the moment – with one poll last week putting them bottom of a national trust table.

It is a tough time for the profession, with many print journalists taking pay cuts while they work twice as hard to bring you the latest news. Journalists have always received stick, but the fact they are getting it more than ever is hard to take, if not more than a little unfair.