Tue, 19 March 2024

Internet: what happened to us – or our readers?

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(es) Vienna/ London July 22, 2021  

Veteran Fleet Street journalist, broadcaster, and historian of modern London, Kevin d’Arcy, has asked AEJ members for any useful input for his study of the profound changes in the European media landscape in the last decades. Please oblige him with your insights and memories: his email is: [email protected]. Here are notes from the late AEJ member Jonathan Fryer on Kevin’s books and career.

Historian of the present

from Kevin d’Arcy (AEJ UK Section)

Journalists’ monopoly on delivering news ended long ago. Everyone is a journalist now, with the rapid growth in the use of the Internet to exchange information. The definition of news has changed too, and some would say the process of delivering news is in a state of chaos – especially for traditional journalists.

Some business models are suffering badly, while the reliability of truth and accuracy is practically invisible. The effect on journalists is very visible, but the effect on the public – on our audiences – is perhaps more significant. The definition of the public realm, of belonging to a specific community, has become almost impossible to define. 

I am at work on a study of the profound changes in the UK public and media. Some may remember my BBC Radio Four book, The Voice of the Brain of Britain. I would welcome input from every Section, with the hope of adding some clarity in Europe at a very uncertain and confusing time. Many thanks in advance!

 

 

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