Transparent news
British broadcast journalism has been on the ropes for some time, with Blue Peter faking a phone-in, GMTV ripping off competition entrants, a trailer for a documentary misrepresenting the queen and more.
Trust is the key issue and broadcasters have lost touch with their audience. The many faked phone-ins result from a desire to perfect the product. Blue Peter’s fake winner helped ensured the show went on as intended, forgetting that many children had entered the competition in good faith.
In response head of news at Channel 5, David Kermode, has banned noddy shots, while new media guru Steve Bowbrick argues for a more complete deconstruction of news broadcasts.
But to deconstruct the medium in this way is akin to chasing the end of the rainbow; it takes the viewer no closer to the truth, whatever that may be. Viewers and listeners already know that news is edited and that the order of stories has been decided by an editorial team. Reminding them of this doesn’t illuminate the common sense or prejudice that informs these decisions.
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