I’ve been having this on-going conversation with my dad — old news man that he is — about the galactic reset going on in the print news media. This morning, mom forwarded me this link to an op-ed from Daniel Hannan in the Telegraph. It’s an interesting read, illustrating in particular that we are not alone, and that UK media are just as strapped as we are when it comes to covering all the stories that really need covering.
Twenty-four hours ago, I made a three-minute speech in the European Parliament, aimed at Gordon Brown. I tipped off the BBC and some of the newspaper correspondents but, unsurprisingly, they ignored me: I am, after all, simply a backbench MEP. When I woke up this morning, my phone was clogged with texts, my email inbox with messages. Overnight, the YouTube clip of my remarks had attracted over 36,000 hits. By today, it was the most watched video in Britain.
How did it happen, in the absence of any media coverage? The answer is that political reporters no longer get to decide what’s news.