Why the British Press is Brilliant

Abstract

The British press still stands out in its freedom, pluralism and aggressiveness - but is it a good press? Its job is to enlighten the public and to educate and entertain it. It is to inform the political process. It is to serve as an arena of deliberation. It is to hold to answer those who exercise power. The British press is not always a pretty sight, but it does its job. It comes from competition, from the absence of privacy legislation, from cautious self-regulation, and from a tradition and culture of critical independence. Any threat to the quality of the British print press does not come primarily from the nastiness of the tabloids, but if anything from a decline in the broadsheets.