A Very Short Reading Group discussion

A fine discussion was had last night. While serving reasonably well as a road map to some of the key points affecting journalism it was felt that the book was a little on the “western-centric” side, with only passing mention of other journalistic cultures. Another criticism was that someone of Hargreaves experience might have delivered something with more “bite” or personal insight, and that an outsider may actually have delivered a more potent view of journalism. Nevertheless, the issues raised did engage the group.

A key point was whether the ideals of a free press can ever be achievable when faced with the pressures of either the state, shareholder influence or the need to generate revenue. Noble aims may always end up compromised. However, the revolution in information that has overtaken traditional journalistic models was seen as ultimately positive, allowing facts to be gathered from a range of sources and conventional views tested. If people are prepared to put in the effort, of course.

And a slight diversion from the rights and wrongs of the Iraq War to the merits or otherwise of the redevelopment of Stockton High Street showed that journalism, whether international, national or local, remains a vital part of a free society able to challenge decision makers at whatever level.

I think that Hargreaves struck a reasonable balance between western-centric journalism and that from other parts of the world, given that he was writing from the position of a western journalist, and hence we were treated to the views of an insider. The western press does have a disproportionate influence on the rest of the world, if only because of colonial history. I always feel very uneasy when we see photos and newsreels of demonstrations all around the world, about how many of the banners and placards are in English and not the protesters' mother tongue. There was also the point that at the time of writing (in 2014) of the top 10 grossing media organisations in the world, 8 were U.S. and 2 were European, although he did say that the Chinese media was rapidly catching up. This Very Short Introduction is one of those that ages very quickly. The second edition was in 2014, and the size and influence of the Chinese and Indian media could well be moving up this league table. We are probably due a 3rd edition soon.
The dilemma over private, state or market funding was well covered, although there is not a field of human endeavour where market influence risks putting the profit cart before the horse.
An issue that has become of considerably more importance in the years since the book was published, is that of the dumbing down of the press. The decrease in the size of TV report “soundbites” from 42 seconds in 1970 to 8 seconds in 2000, was mentioned , but even 42 seconds is not time for a sophisticated or complex argument to be put across. I have frequently seen things that I have worked on hopelessly over-simplified to the point of parody, in the press.
We live in very complicated times. Technology and society are increasing in complexity almost exponentially. Even if you want to stay informed, and be able to follow the deluge of arguments being put on a vast number of issues, there is simply not enough time in your life. We are trying to drink from a firehose.
But who are the experts that we can rely on to guide us through the torrent of information? Some sections of the media and politics play on this by maintaining that telling us we shouldn't listen to “experts” and trust our own instincts.
The human brain is a very energy-hungry piece of kit. Rational thought is slow, and hard work. The brain has evolved to set up quick and dirty short cut circuits wherever possible, to allow us to react to things quickly and move on. We are instinctively drawn to heuristics, rules-of-thumb and stereotypes when formulating opinions, so we can quickly move onto things that are more important/enjoyable. It is obvious how this tendency to accept the simplest arguments at face value can be exploited, and in a world of Trump and Brexit, how has journalism been manipulated to this end.
At the risk of being shouted down as elitist, how can democracy work if the public is not, or doesn't want to be informed. This gave Plato sleepless nights over 2000 yrs ago.
This VSI has served it's purpose well, and opened a lot of avenues of thought that are worth exploring in more detail, if only there was more time!

Interesting comments Nigel. And indeed – if only there was more time! There’s a distinct irony in a population ill-informed because of too little information transforming into one that remains ill-informed because of too much. Unpicking the myriad arguments and counter arguments as presented by the various media outlets can feel like a Sisyphean task at times. The book did serve its purpose as a useful primer to these issues.