Pressing the point

Newspapers, like any other business, are driven by sales and revenue from advertising. Journalists who work on what was once called Fleet Street are under great pressure to come up with exclusive stories; big stories sell newspapers. The cut throat competition which exists between papers makes the stakes even higher. This appetite for exclusive stories is also driven by readers who want to know all the details about celebrities. This has led, as Lord Leveson said in his report yesterday to some “outrageous behaviour” by papers. But at the same time it should be said that British newspapers have also proved that they are a vital tool for British democracy. We have heard much about phone hacking and the dark side of the press but there is an even greater brighter side. It was British newspapers which exposed the outrageous expenses scandal by Members of Parliament, it is British newspapers who have named and shamed many inviduals who have later been sentenced and convicted. The British newspaper industry doesn´t need any more regulation. It is regulated by its readers, the great British public. If a newspaper no longer appeals then the readership will jump ship. It the readership is outraged it will do likewise. I would say that the British newspaper industry is one of the guardians of democracy. British newspapers are businesses and competition is stiff. But they are some of the best in the world and this shouldn´t be forgotten.