Alastair Campbell vs. the media
Peter Hoskin 10:29am
During his time at 10 Downing St, there were few better than Alastair Campbell at sparring with the press. But now the sparring's become a full-blooded assault. He writes a forceful piece in the Times on the media's involvement in Britney Spears' downfall:
"The question is whether there is any room within media judgements about what is news, and how to pursue it, that allows room for a basic humanity about the condition of the people who are the media commodities. You do not have to be a qualified psychiatrist to see that Spears has serious mental health issues. Does there ever come a point where a judgment forms that says, let's just leave her alone? Even as I pose the question, I can hear the weary sighs of hard news men and women wondering whether I have gone soft. I can imagine, too, the shrugs of all those with a vested interest in the Britney industry being maintained as a great soap opera that still sells her music, her videos and all the attendant paraphernalia.But being a hard-nosed journalist or businessman does not require you to suspend basic humanity. There were times when I felt Tony and Cherie Blair were moving in the media mind towards that Britney/Diana/Madeleine/Beckham group. Once or twice, I felt myself on the receiving end of a form of journalism utterly devoid of humanity."
All of which extrapolates on the "culture of negativity" theme which dominated Campbell's recent Cudlipp lecture.
Of course, Campbell's arguments may not be new, but - given that he's such a seasoned commentator - they certainly deserve attention. Besides, they also form part of a growing tidal swell against press methods. Nick Davies' new book - Flat Earth News - treads similiar ground, and it's the subject of an excellent review by Peter Oborne in the latest Spectator. As Oborne puts it, such potent critiques stand as a call for media "action and reform".
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Tom
February 1st, 2008 12:12pm Report this commentCampbell has no right to comment on this issue. He more than onyone is responsible for the woeful timidity of the British political media and his behviour in the Kelly affair is similar I would venture to that of the paparrazi with Spears.
Richard Jenkins
February 1st, 2008 12:20pm Report this commentJust two words for the loathsome Alastair Campbell in response to his self-pitying, self-serving piece - David Kelly.
James
February 1st, 2008 12:34pm Report this commentI await Campbell’s plea’s to treat retired Prime Ministers with a little more respect. “They were doing their best in what are difficult circumstances etc”. I am absolutely certain that Campbell is more responsible than most for the cyanicism of today’s media. A bit of mea culpa would go a long way to making the message less of a self serving distancing from media excesses.
Max Kaye
February 1st, 2008 12:58pm Report this comment'Live by the sword, die by the sword' springs to mind. I've ceased to be amazed by the cant and manipulation of this foul-mouthed cynical operator.
Mike Gee
February 1st, 2008 1:04pm Report this commentPot, kettle ?
Madasafish
February 1st, 2008 2:26pm Report this commentHe may be a seasoned commentator but he was a ruthless hard nosed foul mouthed man who treated eeveryone he opposed as dirt. Practise what you preach. As usual another hypocrite: don't do as I do etc. Nice for journalists to quote him as much.. Perhaps they will then explain why they follow the Princess Diana inquest?
Hugh
February 1st, 2008 2:40pm Report this commentI don't think Campbell's arguments are deserving of attention. They tend to be entirely self serving and tainted by eye-watering hypocrisy.
The Laughing Cavalier
February 1st, 2008 2:48pm Report this commentThis from the man who hounded Dr Kelly to his death. It's sickening.
Total Cynic
February 1st, 2008 3:09pm Report this commentWhy are you wasting space on Campbell? Is that what's he doing now, commenting on Britney Spears? And pretending to be a hard-nosed journalist? Total rubbish.
Malcolm Dunn
February 1st, 2008 3:11pm Report this commentI might have some sympathy for this argument if it hadn't come from Campbpell. After the David Kelly affair and the poor old lady who complained about her treatment from the NHS and was then branded racist by no.10 and the lies about the Queen Mothers funeral and the dodgy dossier etcetcetc Campbell is the last person who should talk about humanity.
Drusilla
February 1st, 2008 8:22pm Report this commentInteresting that in the general rush to get a boot into Alastair Campbell, none of these comments seems to address the actual point that Campbell - who, for that matter, knows a fair bit about mental health issues, as well as what it's like first to lead the tabloid media pack, and then to set the chase for it - is making. For what it's worth, I think he's absolutely right. There's certainly scope for a bit more 'basic humanity' in public life, the media included. Not least, constant exposure to callousness and cynicism in public life sets a bad model, particularly in these semi-secularised days where people still have to learn their morality from somewhere, for what people get up to in their private lives. So yes, what Campbell has written strikes me, not for the first time, both as right and important. But perhaps the rest of you only accept arguments from people who have never themselves made bad mistakes, and then had to deal with the consequences?
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