Mass meltdown was triggered by Downing Street last night – in the Westminster village at least – over upcoming changes to ‘lobby’ briefings. These are the twice daily secret briefings given to a select group of political journalists who call themselves ‘the lobby’. No10 is cutting down briefings to one per day, and on some days they’ll be replaced entirely by press conferences…
The lobby, angered by this move, has a justified point that this will limit space for the government to be questioned – and press conferences at which ministers can hand pick friendly outlets for questions is not the same. That said, it’s not like lobby briefings are transparent, given that they are, er, closed to the public and most journalists…
The truth is that the world has changed and government communications – and the lobby – has failed to keep up. There’s no argument for closed shop briefings in today’s world – in fact, the secrecy of the lobby actually undermines public confidence and makes journalists less trusted. Conversely, there’s also no argument for the government’s plan to only pick politically friendly ‘influencers’ or YouTubers because it suits Labour. There is a solution…
Guido today relaunches its old campaign which will be familiar to veteran co-conspirators. Bring the UK into line with comparable Western democracies and simply televise all government media briefings…
Whenever hacks defend the current system, their arguments tend to rest on claims of transparency and accountability: we can ask as many questions as we like – on any topic – and a government spokesman has to respond. There is no reason this would be undermined by sticking a camera in the room. Indeed, the President of the United States manages to take televised press pack questions even on Air Force One. All that changes is the public would be able to sniff out any spin or distortion for themselves. The hacks are no longer the gatekeepers of the news agenda…
It has worked in the US for years, and it would work here. If a government spokesman wants to spew out some guff, let the public see it in real time. Any hack who argues it is their job to synthesise the briefings for the benefit of their audience must think their readers or viewers are fools. Let’s just cut out the middleman. Nothing is stopping journalists from writing long-winded analyses after the (live) briefing is over, anyway. It is time to drag the whole thing, kicking and screaming, into the twenty-first century. A system of public, televised briefings, along with a normal pattern of ministerial press conferences and speeches with questions would restore some trust in spinners and hacks alike. In the meantime, while the lobby and the government shout at each other, the public are taking their attention elsewhere…
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