Nick Davies, the author of previously mentioned Flat Earth News has written a fascinating piece on whether we can trust the Independent Police Complaints Commission. It’s well worth a read… [link]

About 2 weeks ago I finished what was probably the most instructive thing I have ever done in journalism… reading Flat Earth News by Nick Davies.

This book had such a profound impact on me that I’d pretty much hung up my pen in despair and decided to go get a real job. It is one part shocking, two parts horrifying, three parts terrifying and four parts depressing.

In a bid to draw this despair from my system like poison from a wound I will now share with you some of the realism that shattered my naïve belief about journalism being a force for good:

1. Even really good journalists make mistakes occasionally

2. The number of journalists has shrunk as the media has expanded.

3. This has led to journalists being overworked

4. Overworked journalists are more likely to make mistakes

5. Other journalists don’t have time to check stories are correct before republishing

6. Once an error enters the system it goes largely unchallenged

7. Everyone just copies each other’s stories adding their own spin.

8.This has led to both information overload and not enough information – the media no longer sorts the wheat from the chaff.

9. Therefore everything you read / see / hear in the media could be wrong

10. The problem is systematic rather than a series of one offs

In conclusion: society, democracy, politics, consumers etc are all fucked. Without a functioning media it’s only a matter of time before corruption cripples the state.

This is about the point the book ends, which obviously is a bit of a downer as it really seems like there is no way out. Being written by a journalist rather than an academic means that there is only observation, no prescription. Normally I’d be “oh, very nice and objective blah blah blah” but when you criticize something this much its generally expected to provide a bit of a solution.

To me it seems, and I have to be careful here as I may want a job one day, that a lot of the problem lies with the media companies themselves. Their persistent cost-cutting has led to premium products being turned into something far less noble. But at the end of the day they are companies and profit seeking is what they do (you can tell I studied economics).

But how do they get away with it? Davies doesn’t say this but, and I have to be even more careful here as I don’t want to be lynched, it seems that the public are incapable of distinguishing reheated falsehoods from quality original reporting. Surprised? Me neither.

But how do we fix it seeing as the main way of educating the masses (once they’ve left school) is through the media? Could it be that capitalism and journalism are incompatible?

I’ve got a couple of thoughts, but I’ll save them for a later post all cliffhanger stylee.