The art of warfare

John Lloyd argues that the treatment of politics (and politicians) by the British media ­- both broadcasters and the press -­ has had the effect of coarsening political discourse. We have, he says, moved from cynicism to scepticism. He thinks that the degrading of politics is harmful to democracy and calls for a renewal of ‘civic journalism’ in order to cure the problem.Is his assessment of the media’s relationship with the political sphere correct, and - if so - is there any hope for his solution?

Watching a recent broadcast of BBC’s Newsnight it was easy to see why John Lloyd believes the media has moved from cynicism to scepticism and that development is harming political discourse. The guests, the assorted candidates for London mayor, were grilled by presenter Jeremy Paxman and he bellowed at them to answer the question, answer it more succinctly, more truthfully or just better. At the same time the candidates squirmed behind their podiums, dodged the difficult questions, recited their prepared lines and stayed on message but did not deliver any answers that might reveal flaws in their plans.

Similarly, during last week’s Question Time, when debate turned to the abolition of the 10p tax rate, Conservative MP Caroline Spelman was asked if a Tory government would re-instate the tax bracket. Ms Spelman used the time to helpfully outline the role of the opposition as the party to protect the interests of the country and oppose that which is wrong. David Dimbleby told her to stop dithering and pressed her for an answer on what the Conservatives would do. Ms Spelman floundered for a while, and then said she was confident they would defeat the bill so the question did not merit an answer, leaving the audience still mystified.

These two examples are not chosen because either is particularly dramatic but because they are recent, generic demonstrations of the kind of questioning and answering the electorate sees on almost a daily basis. This style of interviewing is the chicken-and-the-egg question of the political media. Which came first? The aggressive interviewing that forced politicians on to the defensive or the frustrating spin of the politicians that obliged interviewers to push harder?

In his book What the Media Are Doing to Our Politics Lloyd accuses interviewers like Paxman and John Humphrys of constantly and unconsciously tapping into the belief that "today's politicians and politics are a travesty of those who were with us in the good old days". In a later essay in Prospect magazine he argued that ‘spin’ was a reaction to a more aggressive media. However, in an inteview with MediaGuardian in 2005 Paxman rejected such criticism and said:"It seems to me that the way to remove people's cynicism is, when asked a straight question, to give a straight answer. The cure for cynicism is simply to engage honestly."

The then chairman of the BBC Micheal Grade had recently called for an end to automatic cynicism. He said the corporation should avoid "slipping into the knee-jerk cynicism that dismisses every statement from every politician as, by definition, a lie. Scepticism is a necessary and vital part of the journalist's toolkit. But when scepticism becomes cynicism it can close off thought and block the search for truth."Grade’s point is crucial, when the media immediately assume they are being deceived and manipulated they help nobody. Likewise when the press are deceived and manipulated by policians they become immediately suspicious in the future.

In his memoirs, Louis Heren, a former deputy editor of the Times, wrote that he always asked himself, “Why is this lying bastard lying to me?” Immediately assuming every political operative is about to lie to you is not conducive to a productive interview but nor is swallowing the party line. A healthy scepticism is the ideal that is slipping away.

In a feature about the balance between cynicism and scepticism published in the Times in December 2006 David Aaronovitch said that the public’s eagerness to believe the worst about politics and politicians means we now shy away from the truth. He said: “Yesterday I was listening to a radio discussion on political parties, featuring a Daily Mail sketch writer. He gave it out as fact that Commons whipping and party discipline was more severe than ever before. But as Philip Cowley, of Nottingham University, has proved, there have been more rebellions by MPs over the past half decade than at any time in parliamentary history. The truth is the exact reverse of the conventional wisdom. As any true sceptic should know.”

Our level of cynicism about today’s politicians means we will accept the worst about them even when the facts contradict it. Aaronovitch continued by saying that if he could he would give a press award to Martin Kettle of The Guardian: “There, he regularly has the nerve to suggest that this Government and this political system, while flawed, are fairly decent. You should see what he gets by way of response on his paper’s comment website! He’s a sycophant, he should be sacked, he wants a peerage, he’s being paid off by shadowy forces. The commenters are united in their intolerant certainty that they are the sceptics and that Kettle (who could — as some do — easily mount the bully pulpit and throw red meat to them) is the voice of smothering orthodoxy.”He argued that it is the dogmatic nature of cynicism that is most dangerous, a factor that does not apply to scepticism, which by its own nature cannot blindly pursue one ‘truth’.

However, while the treatment of politicians by the press has certainly damaged the political discourse, it would be unfair and naive to say the treatment is unwarranted. The obvious example of Alastair Campbell’s aggressive attempt to control the news agenda and punish the journalists who gave unfavourable coverage set a hostile precedent that remains today. While a tension is beneficial, an active hostility is not.

Lloyd’s call for a renewal of ‘civic journalism’ maybe seen as idealistic but it is not an ideal. As he said in an article on opendemocracy.net in 2005, the media is “among the greatest powers of contemporary democratic societies” and that must be preserved. The media should be powerful or its purpose becomes defunct. The notion that “the media are now no longer functioning as an inquiring check on the excesses of the political class, instead they have become an alternative establishment, one supremely dedicated to a theatrical distrust of individual politicians and a furious and calculated indifference to the real-life intricacies of world policy-making” is overdramatic and scare-mongering.

Civic journalism is not the answer because it would create more ill-informed hysteria, as Aaronovitch demonstrates with his anecdote about Martin Kettle. Instead the media that already exists should assess how their attitude to politics is damaging discourse in this country and politicians should consider carefully if their equally hostile attitude to the press is just as much to blame.

Career doom

While I may be forging a reasonable path through the murky world of freelance journalism - my latest piece was in the Indy yesterday - Peter Wilby's doom and gloom on the front page of today's MediaGuardian has rather depressed me. It cannot be denied that most newsrooms I have set foot in have been rather heavy on the boys but I did not expect anyone to openly say that women will struggle to get ahead in journalism in this day and age.
However, Brown's plans to force employers to provide more flexible working hours for mothers is not the answer. All it will do is make women seem less employable and anyone will active ovaries will seem like a flight-risk. Additionally, co-workers will not want to work with women who have children because they will be obliged to work the anti-social hours that mothers don't have to. All this will lead to further hostility towards women with children and women 'at risk' of having children.
While women should by no means be punished for having children and forced to stay at home darning shocks, nor should childless workers be left to pick up their slack.

Election fever

Having spent the week harrassing poor homeowners who have taken in lodgers for a freelance piece I was writing I am now in the glam offices of the Press Association covering the local elections.
After a brief frenzy of excitement when our 'men on the ground' were ringing in constantly with fresh tales of Tory triumph and Labour losses we are now ha-humming staring at the phones for results of the London Assembly and the Mayor.
Not having a vote for the Mayoral election has been a bit of a sore spot with me this week and I looked longingly at the Islington polling station I strolled past yesterday afternoon.
Having bounded out of bed to vote early yesterday morning I have spent the the time since then bitterly resenting the lucky sods participating in the KenandBoris Show and haranguing my London friends who did not bother.
I'm not entirely sure why I'm such a voting junkie but you can't keep me away from a polling station with love or money. I think even if your predominant emotion is apathy it's important to make the symbolic gesture of voting because of the amount fought and sacrificed for the privilege. Maybe my sanctimonious lectures are the reason nobody wants me to talk about youth voting anymore. Hmmm.

One for the road

Despite being more keen on drinking than driving, I was entrusted with advising Independent readers about car breakdown cover this week. I would definitely classify myself as a top-flight expert now and hope many a motorist will call on me for assistance in the future.
While embracing my ambition to clarify all matters of transport, I also wrote about the new train price tariff which is gripping stuff.

Linking thinking

Carrying on the (dubious) theme of using this blog simply to link to my published stuff in a egotistical rampage, I'm whacking up some more work.
I spent a delightful few days playing with a lovely clever website that does all your bargain hunting for you on supermarket sites. I found this utterly genuis and wrote a rather effusive piece saying just that.
I also wrote some gripping stuff about how naughty easyjet is, how depressed the market is, how expensive Europe is, how lying drivers are, how cheap the iphone is and how uncomplacent Brown is, and other such heartening and motivational stuff.
I have been in Bristol for the past two days for an evangelical christian hen weekend. While the conservative christians were nothing but charming, the fun was extremely wholesome and there was even pottery painting on the agenda. Quite a long way from binge drinking and male strippers...

Concerned of Tunbridge Wells

In my new persona of angry letter writer I was pleased to see that other people from City had also written defensive letters to the Guardian about Peter Wilby's piece about social elitism in journalism. Josh Loeb, of Angry Young Man fame, and the head of the broadcast journalism, Lis Howell, also have letters published here.
Wilby's article today about Roger Alton's move to the Independent is interesting. There is definitely a lot of excitement in the office and I think Wilby's point that Alton would not have agreed to take over unless he had received assurances about the future is valid. I hear he will move to change the 'statement' front pages and will hopefully bring new life to the floundering title. The Indy certainly has a lot of potential and I would be sad to write it off just yet.
On a completely different note, I was excited to be reviewed on Headline Money today. The lovely Rosemary Gallagher, who took me under her wing at The Scotsman last summer, wrote this:
"As chill winds blow through the City, it's springtime for savers. This more uplifting piece, by Laura Harding, focuses on a positive feature of the credit crunch, namely, how banks and building societies are vying to attract savers with high-paying accounts. If you want to bag one of these accounts, move quickly as they won't be on for long, is the message from Harding."

More independent thought

More tasty treats in the Indie on Sunday today. Working in personal finance has made me slightly paranoid about my financial future and I stare at bank statements, pay slips and demands that I pay back my loans with increasing horror. Maybe I should take note of my own advice to save my way through the credit crunch or take out insurance in the event I get pregnant and think I might have twins (you thought I was kidding last week??) Anyway, the rest of my stuff is not quite so optimistic: the doom of Facebook, accusations of market abuse, the doom for first time buyers, fines for a failing communications firm and help with energy bills for poor households. Well the last one isn't doom but I was working a theme.
Far more fun is the city diary I compiled on Friday which is also in today's paper. I now live for business gossip and tittle-tattle...