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After a 23 year career with the BBC, and 40 years in journalism, (when he was trained to use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon), our Editor, Welshman Phil Parry, has watched with growing concern the apparently plunging standards in news, and now comes more evidence of this as UK papers publish contradictory stories, which come from opposite ends of the news spectrum!
Earlier he has described how he was assisted in breaking into the South Wales Echo office car when he was a cub reporter, recalled his early career as a journalist, the importance of experience in the job, and made clear that the ‘calls’ to emergency services as well as court cases are central to any media operation.
He has also explored how poorly paid most journalism is when trainee reporters had to live in squalid flats, the vital role of expenses, and about one of his most important stories on the now-scrapped 53 year-old BBC Wales TV Current Affairs series, Week In Week Out (WIWO), which won an award even after it was axed, long after his career really took off.
Phil has explained too how crucial it is actually to speak to people, the virtue of speed as well as accuracy, why knowledge of ‘history’ is vital, how certain material was removed from TV Current Affairs programmes when secret cameras had to be used, and some of those he has interviewed.
He has disclosed as well why investigative journalism is needed now more than ever although others have different opinions, how the current coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdownis playing havoc with media schedules, and the importance of the hugely lower average age of some political leaders compared with when he started reporting.
Goodness knows what the average audience-member makes of it all!
Newspapers, broadcasters, and news websites publish COMPLETELY contradictory stories today, which only serve to confuse the public.
Interest rates are on course to be cut, or may be held steady, the economy is in bad shape, or it is in good shape, there will be financial pain for householders this year, or it is a time of joy, new technology will bring huge benefits to lives soon, or it is to be feared!
The state of the economy seems to attract vast numbers of contradictory stories.
Yesterday in The Sunday Times business section, we had (as an imaginary ordinary voter): “…this has been a terrible time for the economy”.
Yet other reports appear to suggest the UK economy is doing pretty well.
The list is endless.
Last week we had more glaring examples.
On its front page on Friday The Guardian declared: “Mortgage costs to rise by £19bn as deals end”, meaning, presumably, that families were about to be confronted with a BAD thing.
Yet on the same day The i screamed: “Mortgage hope for millions”, meaning, presumably, that families were about to be confronted with a GOOD thing!
The piece also stated that economists were now predicting house prices would continue increasing this year, which is contrary to what they were saying earlier and had been reported.
This too means, presumably that families (who own their homes at least), would be confronted with another GOOD thing!
What on earth is Mrs Jones in Rhyl meant to believe?!
I certainly don’t know…
The memories of Phil’s decades long award-winning career in journalism (when he always tried to be clear in what he was saying) as he was gripped by the rare and incurable neurological condition, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a major book ‘A GOOD STORY’. Order it now!
Publication of another book, however, was refused, because it was to have included names.
Tomorrow – why the extraordinary sacking of the leader of the Welsh independence organisation YesCymru (YC), highlights the fact that The Eye have shown how an unbelievable civil war has been underway in its ranks, and that the entire governing committee was forced to resign…
