Unreliable Sources: How the Twentieth Century was Reported [Paperback]

I enjoyed this book enormously, and I'm very grateful to John Simpson for researching such a fascinating and comprehensive history of journalism from the Boer War till the present. I bought it as a birthday present for my son-in-law who lectures in media studies, and as usual with presents that I buy, I read it first. I learnt a lot about the early years of the century - newspapers and the early years of radio - and was particularly interested when it came to events that I remember as a child and young adult; it filled in a lot of gaps. I have read several volumes of Simpson's autobiographies, and always find him easy to read - interesting, at times amusing, at times moving.

Journalism is one person's interpretation of events. The reporter may be open-minded and meticulous, but equally may be bigoted and lazy, just like the rest of us. Moreover, he or she may have to contend with pressure from newspaper proprietors and politicians to slant the news to suit their own agenda, or even to suppress it all together, as was the case during the abdication crisis. Only from the perspective of history can we tell which reports were accurate, which were not, and what was considered unsuitable for the public to know. This is the subject of John Simpson's book, which mines a rich source of stories to chart the fascinating history of journalism in 20th century Britain.

The book starts with the Boer War and concludes with the premiership of Tony Blair. Biased reporting and suppressed stories figure large in the narrative. Examples are the absence of reports on the deaths of Boer women and children in British concentration camps, but plenty about Boer nastiness; and in WWI, the failure to report the horrors of trench warfare, with many reporters content to accept whatever stories the military authorities gave them. But it was not all shameful. A few newspapers were more rational and the BBC always tried to maintain some sort of balance. Some critical reports also appeared, with effect. Reports in the Express on the behaviour of Nazi thugs in the streets, led that paper to support the plight of Germany's Jews before WWII. There were also remarkable, on-the-spot, reports, such as the first entry into the Nazi death camps and the aftermath of the atomic bomb attacks on Japan, of which journalists can rightly be proud.

The misreporting during WWI sowed the seeds for a widespread long-term distrust of the truthfulness of newspaper reports. The respect that journalists had for politicians also lessened. When the IRA troubles broke out in Ireland, more reports appeared that did not automatically accept the government's position, such as those on the brutal treatment meted out by the Black and Tans. An important turning point in the relations between the media and politicians was the fiasco of Suez, and even the BBC lost its traditional deference, attracting much criticism as a result. Things did not improve with the premiership of Harold Wilson, who had a suspicion of the media that bordered on paranoia. John Major was another Prime Minister who had poor relations with journalists, and indicative of the lack of press respect was the absurd and trivial revelation, but damaging at the time, that he tucked his shirt into his underpants!

Throughout the 20th century, newspaper proprietors have openly tried to influence govenment policy. Lord Northcliffe used his ownership of three newspapers that spanned the whole British class structure to strongly campaign for the Conservatives and against Home Rule; and the political views of proprietors were evident in support of appeasement of Hitler. Rupert Murdoch continued this tradition. His papers were strong supporters of both Margaret Thatcher, who allowed him to expand both his print and TV interests, contrary to the spirit of monopoly laws, and Tony Blair. But whereas Murdoch recognized Thatcher as a formidable person who could not be treated lightly, he showed no such deference to Blair. Although Blair went to great lengths to take Murdoch's views into consideration, Murdoch had no qualms about repeating their confidential conversations in his papers.

The Blair years were marked by the cynical manipulation of the media, a job performed by his `spin doctor', Alistair Campbell. A prime example of this, that contributed to the end of the Blair premiership, was the construction of the so-called `dodgy dossier' during the run up to the Iraq war. A low point was Campbell`s manic pursuit of the BBC after the allegation was made by one of their reporters that the dossier had been altered to justify the war.

John Simpson is not only a remarkable journalist, but also a fine writer. He covers a full spectrum of 20th century journalism in detail in this excellent book. It presents a clear narrative in a way that holds the reader's attention throughout and I strongly recommend it.

Another great book from John Simpson,written in his usual informative and and indepth style.A great read.