Labour's softly-softly approach gives the press and lobbyists loads of time to undermine the government's confidence in its policies. Take a leaf from Trump's book - throw in dozens of policy proposals at the same time. There isn't enough time or headline space to kill them all off.
Luckily, there's a simple answer to that - don't formulate shit policies. They've had years to come up with real answers - appeasing media barons by imitating the Tories is electoral suicide.
Thanks so much for writing the this article, I had been feeling really blindsided/confused by all the Rachel Reeves speculation and general "THIS GOVERNMENT ON BRINK OF COLLAPSE" tone of reporting there'd been since a month after the election, this really helped explain a lot, really appreciated it!
So glad you wrote this. I thought I was losing my mind the week of all the ridiculous Reeves speculation. There's the obvious reasons a Labour government gets bad press but I think you're right to suggest the lobby are also struggling to deal with a stable majority in the modern news environment.
UK politics has been chaos for a decade. Most of the current lobby are people who prospered in that news environment. Many of them are continuing to follow the paradigms that served them over the last decade. Yet the story now is different.
Yes, that's a very good point. As @samfr.bsky.social points out, they're also duty bound to deliver more and more content than ever before. How else do they retain relevance in the 24hr online media world they now operate in?
One thing about the BBC is the need for endless “content” on newer podcast and clippable podcast format. They’re required to chat in a way that doesn’t give well to deep analysis but does to palace intrigue.
Excellent piece -
"If you want a scandal covered or to get insider tidbits on a juicy internal row, then the UK lobby is the envy of the world. If you want a sober analysis of welfare policy, it is not."
Sad to see BBC political reporting follow this style.
More than ever, we need clear facts.
Where does the Reeves piece in the Sun announcing yet another crackdown on welfare “fraudsters” fit in this?
Aren’t they quite happy to throw red meat to the lobby when it suits? And therefore don’t they deserve everything they get in return?
As I'm sure we've discussed before, part of the problem here is that the journalism profession in the UK (including the BBC) is structured so that being a Westminster gossip reporter is essentially the top job.
Kuenssberg and Peston are both syptoms of this problem, yes, along with a range of other high profile names you will find on a list of lobby journalists. In a better world there might be one small "Westminster Gossip" column in a publication otherwise dedicated to informing its readers.
The fact that the BBC promoted this kind of "journalism" fatally damaged their coverage of Brexit, to the extent it arguably influenced the outcome in Leave's favour.
A related issue is that doing absolutely terrible gossip journalism about politics and asking moronic questions like the Agincourt one (hell, even working for Guido Fawkes) seem to in no way affect your respectability as a member of the profession. There are no consequences for being terrible.
I think if the rest of the profession won't do it for them, then the PM's spokesman has to start viewing their role as including vicious mockery of anybody asking questions like that.
Excellent piece, Sam. These lobby hallucinations have become incredibly common. I have wondered whether the second approach could also include, effectively, starving them of these stories. If the economy and general feeling improves and the Lobby has nothing, you force them to change.
Very sensible - I would add the way in which figures have become celebrities in their own right Peston, Laura K, Beth Rigby etc where getting to ask the lead/pooled question is more important than the issue.
It was bad enough during Brexit, when all reporters were interested in was the latest Tory Party gossip. Some exceptions, like the FT, did a good job, but mostly had to look to international outlets like RTE and CNN for any real reporting.
Ignoring the Fascist normalising MSM and the one demographic white male supremacist multi zillionaire anti social media broligarths didn’t work for Biden
No matter how much he achieved it was all buried under toxic Neo Nazi propaganda and lie repetition
There's no easy way out of this is there? To survive and thrive today means you must have the eyeballs, attention and engagement of readers and viewers in numbers. But what and how we engage with news and social media is changing fast. Facts and sober analysis no longer a priority.
Several of the daily newspapers have no interest in real journalism anymore regardless of what Labour might say. The Telegraph is no longer a serious publication, it’s full of lies and propaganda. Most of the others aren’t any better.
Sadly they’re all laundered through the BBC these days. I would very much like to see my money going to what the BBC was before Johnson got at it and then leave the tabloids to rot.
Great piece Sam. Given the fracturing of media landscape I think centre/left needs to consider creating their own version of GBNews. The dire state of BBC News is a big concern, esp as election research showed what news awareness disengaged voters had was still influenced by the BBc due to its reach
Every time they try and drown him out with their pre scripted amplification of Farages Musk sponsored Neo Nazi lies false equivalences and downright dangerous rhetoric
As does every single Labour Lib Dem and Green MP whenever they get an opportunity
Agree all they can do is ignore, but I think you underplay the risks.
Negative lobby pieces lead to even more spurious comment pieces where fact-checking/accuracy is all but non-existent. These often inflammatory pieces then get recycled on social media and the hyper-partisan outlets.
They lost their minds when Labour won the election. They have brought nothing but hysterics and gossip since. They are delusional if they think the public still considers them journalists.
Comments
"If you want a scandal covered or to get insider tidbits on a juicy internal row, then the UK lobby is the envy of the world. If you want a sober analysis of welfare policy, it is not."
Sad to see BBC political reporting follow this style.
More than ever, we need clear facts.
Aren’t they quite happy to throw red meat to the lobby when it suits? And therefore don’t they deserve everything they get in return?
https://bsky.app/profile/adambienkov.bsky.social/post/3lgpwlahe522r
Can't wait until this gets reheated.
https://humanists.uk/2018/03/23/beyond-a-yolk-the-inevitable-annual-row-over-easter-eggs/
America was not so wise!
We should be following Donald Tusks lead and not Joe Bidens
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/donald-tusk-orban-proofs-polish-private-media/
No matter how much he achieved it was all buried under toxic Neo Nazi propaganda and lie repetition
Just as it was in Germany in the 1930s
Keep sharing this work by Byline Times then?
An absolutely genuine question put to Keir Starmer's spokesman at the morning lobby briefing just now
Most seem too lazy and happily ill informed.
Gotcha journalism and "opinions" over fact to create controversy its all rather pathetic.
#Disinformation is a widespread problem and needs dealing with URGENTLY.
Please sign and share
We need some people scurrying around just causing trouble. But with the balance skewed so far that way, how do we get the policy back?
What role is there for journalists to be honest in their role in this? Could a savvy politician challenge them in a positive way?
Every time they try and drown him out with their pre scripted amplification of Farages Musk sponsored Neo Nazi lies false equivalences and downright dangerous rhetoric
As does every single Labour Lib Dem and Green MP whenever they get an opportunity
Negative lobby pieces lead to even more spurious comment pieces where fact-checking/accuracy is all but non-existent. These often inflammatory pieces then get recycled on social media and the hyper-partisan outlets.