“A great journalist puts into words the things people feel. They seek truth & speak truth & are never seduced by the gilded strumpet of power”
Emerson Warner

Poppy Harlow gives a masterclass in how to interview someone who doesn’t want to answer questions
Here’s another masterclass, this time by @TovaOBrien
“Good journalists know balanced reporting is not as simple as providing both sides of the story. You have to squash falsehoods.” @TovaOBrien
#COVID19 #coronavirus #Corona https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/24/tova-obrien-my-feral-interview-with-covid-19-denier-jami-lee-ross
My 'feral' interview with Covid-19 denier Jami-Lee Ross didn't go as he planned | Tova O'Brien

Good journalists know balanced reporting is not as simple as providing both sides of the story. You have to squash falsehoods

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/24/tova-obrien-my-feral-interview-with-covid-19-denier-jami-lee-ross
As someone who’s media-trained hundreds of people including govt ministers (not this govt!), it’s clear the Cabinet have received extensive training on how NOT to answer questions

If cornered, it seems they have been told to go on the offensive...or lie! https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1307604774284603394?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1307604774284603394
Whilst most journalists - & viewers - can tell when a politician is trying to side step a question (it’s called “bridging”), few are willing to properly call them out

Is this due to the more hostile landscape the govt has created for critical journalists?
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1310186364583972868?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1310186364583972868
In March, @Telegraph ran a piece by Bobby Friedman warning: “Those questioning the govt’s #coronavirus strategy are not only wrong, they’re a danger to the rest of us.”

Its intent seemed to be to shut down scrutiny of govt decisions

It is part of a deeply disturbing trend.
At times of national crisis, it’s vital that false or misleading information isn't disseminated

But not scrutinizing govt strategy could mean important, life-saving information might go unreported

It meant that big stories (like these👇) went unreported
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1271715583978090497?s=21 https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1271715583978090497
“Good” journalists & outlets have been rewarded with exclusives & access whilst “bad” ones like @Channel4News & @piersmorgn have been blacklisted

But the BIG shift came with the #Cummings scandal

The govt was pushing the “time to move on” line but the media wasn’t playing ball.
Two days after #DominicCumming’s Rose Garden performance which the govt hoped would draw a line under the scandal, @maitlis opened @BBCNewsnight with a monologue that sparked an intensification of a crackdown by No.10 on everyday journalists & journalism.
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1265412894092648454?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1265412894092648454
The next day, the BBC issued an unusual apology

@maitlis tweeted - then deleted - this👇

@AdamBienkov commented:
"It says a lot about the political culture in the UK that the only person who has faced any consequences for Cummings' action is a journalist who pointed them out."
The shrinking space for journalism isn’t something journalists write - or even tweet - about, for obvious reasons.

@joncoopertweets notes: “Some journalists are sitting on explosive information that should come out in real time.”

It reminds me of 2003.
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1298883731697131520?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1298883731697131520
Getting the facts is hard

Data not published
Decisions not explained
Questions ignored
Minutes withheld
Contracts not revealed

If asked about failings, ministers side-step answers or go on the offensive

Scrutiny is framed as “divisive” or “unpatriotic”.
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1311971344402219008?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1311971344402219008
“I think what the British people REALLY care about is...” is a favourite defection by the PM

When asked about the govt’s catastrophic #COVID19 response, @MattHancock told @piersmorgan that he was “misjudging the public mood”

No.10 then blacklisted @GMB.
The reason it’s become so difficult to obtain information is that the UK’s #COVID19 response is controlled by the secretive #JointBiosecurityCentre

The #JBC hasn’t released any minutes

Not in 6 months

There’s no transparency, accountability or scrutiny.
https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1316166161067921409?s=21 https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1316166161067921409
The journalist's job should be to "make the lies obvious"

But journalists work for media companies & owners of media companies often have different priorities

I've seen it in apartheid South Africa, Egypt, Turkey, Hungary, Morocco, Myanmar Cameroon etc https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1141068275155161089?s=20
Wow! https://twitter.com/pressgazette/status/1321787828066570242?s=21 https://twitter.com/pressgazette/status/1321787828066570242
“We asked the govt if they’d put any minister up for interview about on tomorrow’s @GMB & they declined. This will be the 188th consecutive day they’ve boycotted our show.” @piersmorgan

They’re also boycotting @Channel4News, @BBCNewsnight
@jonsnowC4 https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1322945463943921670?s=21 https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1322945463943921670
You can follow @StefSimanowitz.
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