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American journalism vs British journalism

Monday, 21st July 2008

FT columnist Gideon Rachman mulls over the differences:

A lot of American newspaper journalism strikes me as self-reverential, long-winded, over-edited and stuffy.
True enough. But then he adds this:
Later in my career, I found myself defending a British colleague in Thailand – who was being roundly criticised by some Americans for using quotes from the Bangkok Post, without attribution. I coldly informed my American colleagues that they were box-tickers, making a fuss about nothing. When the Americans left, my British colleague thanked me and then added casually: “Mind you, you might have struggled to find those quotes in the Bangkok Post.” He had made them up...

The Americans are...  more careful and take the idea of journalism as a civic duty much more seriously. Much as it pains me to say this, I fear the Americans are closer to being right than the British.

[Via Columbia Journalism Review]

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