Nick Davies has been a journalist since 1976 and works as a freelance for The Guardian, besides this he is also makes documenaries and has written 4 books. He received various awards for his investigative journalism work, including Journalist of the Year, Reporter of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year. Nick also lectures a masterclass on the techniques of investigative reporting. In November 2009 the University of Westminster made him an honorary fellow ‘for services to journalism’.
Nick's website : http://www.nickdavies.net
In this lecture Nick shares his views and insights from over 35 years of being a journalist. He talks about the conflict of interest between reporting the truth and a profit oriented agenda of the big corporations that own the newspaper. Nick criticizes several of the common practices of journalism and points out why objective reporting is impossible and that the praised "telling both sides of the story" in many cases leads not to the truth but to increased confusion.
An interesting and also entertaining lecture, not only for journalists but also for people who want to take a look at the press through the eyes of a life-long journalist. Recommended viewing !
Time stamps for this lecture :
0:00:10 Investigative reporting, speaking truth vs. commercial interests
0:02:30 3 golden rules of journalism, consuming news media, the usage of quotes
0:05:55 Consensus view of the world, rebellious journalists
0:07:15 The demand to always be objective, selective judgements, criteria of selection
0:12:35 Perspectives of reporting, pseudo objectivity
0:15:40 PR agencies, media manipulation through selecting a particular truth
0:21:30 Propagenda industry, inserting US government propaganda in Brishish news outlets
0:24:50 Fake activist groups funded by the PR industry
0:26:35 Example : Golf War propaganda
0:30:25 Example : US assault on Fallujah in November 2004
0:32:25 Logistical pressures, Ninja Turtle Syndrom
0:34:30 Example : Alleged sex affair of Prinz Charles
0:37:00 Moral panic & preordained angle of reporting
0:40:30 Cheap stories, increasingly less truthful reporting
0:43:20 The problem of "always giving both sides of the story"
0:47:10 Example : UN arms inspector Scott Ritter
0:49:40 Question on future business models for news reporting
0:53:50 Question on alternative bloggers versus mainstream media
This lecture was published by the Center for Investigative Journalism (http://www.tcij.org)
Additional information :
The documentary "Psywar - The real battlefield is your mind" takes a closer look at the usage of propaganda in the mainstream media. Several PR experts as well as psychologists are interviewed. The film is available in the Resource section.
