Occupational Hazards
Possibly the most fatuous and self-defeating rule in journalism is dog does not bite dog. If dog had bitten dog, perhaps the media would not have been in the turmoil it currently is. This self-imposed abstinence means that while the media believe they have a mandate to investigate and expose others, self-investigation is considered tantamount to treachery.
Those who have been reading me will know that for 30 years and more I have been emphasising one single point: journalists and politicians are natural adversaries. The former, broadly speaking, are in the business of truth, or getting as close to the “truth” as possible. The latter, broadly speaking, are in the business of obfuscation, half-truths, evasion, spin and, sometimes, lies. Since journalists are not Trappist monks, there is little reason for them to be aloof from or hostile...
