British Journalsim
The head of the BBC World Service recently said that British journalism operates in a ‘moral vacuum’ and publishes stories that are simply false or great stretches of the truth. That strikes me as true, but what is interesting is that he complains about the need for a stronger press watchdog. This seems somewhat ironic, as Britain has some of the toughest libel laws in the world (). Why haven’t the laws changed press behavior? Most likely because the awards have never been so large as to force real changes and instead are seen as a cost of business. That being said, ultimately there is an aceptance of the status quo. The newspapers will change if the editors and, more importantly, the readers no longer lap up such stories.