How the press has changed, and how it remains the same

As the Fleet Street old guard of the broadsheets and red tops fade into irrelevence, a new, faster and less deferential media is springing up to replace it

Paul Goodman

THE BRITISH PATHÉ FILM FROM 1954 SHOWS Prime Minister Harold Macmillan being interviewed as he leaves for abroad. Against a background of men in suits walking about, he sits down at a table, clutching a sheaf of papers, together with two journalists. The first says: “Well, Mr Macmillan, I understand that you are going to Paris to take part in a meeting of the council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.” This gives Macmillan the opportunity to say whatever he wants to say. He is then asked two questions, as follows: “What will be the subject of the agenda?” and “How do you think the discussions will go?” After he has answered the second question, one of the journalists says, “Thank you very much, sir.” In January, Sir Keir Starmer…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 2025

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