Also sprach David Schlesinger...
I spent this weekend at Davenport House, a lovely old Georgian country manor, nestled in the hills of Shropshire.
We (a group of German and British journalists) were there for the beginning of the George Weidenfeld Bursary programme, in which media organisations from the two nations exile some of their more restless charges to newsdesks abroad.
The two days spent in Shropshire were fairly leisurely, characterised by a free bar, roaring fire and the odd nervous-looking pheasant. There was a shoot on and we were warned to stick to the paths but unfortunately i don't think anyone warned the pheasants.
In between attempts to ignore the country folk's rabid desire for bloodsports, we managed the odd chat about the differences between the media in our two countries.
What stood out was that German papers employ a good deal more journalists. Matt Withers, our tabloid representative from Wales on Sunday, approached apoplexy at a 450-word article from Bild am Sonntag which somehow carried five bylines.
Presumably just being around when the editor is in a good mood is enough
for our friends in Central Europe.
I certainly hope so, as i've somehow landed the placement of my dreams at the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, where i'll be working for six weeks, rubbing shoulders with some of German journalism's big names. Daunting stuff.
But what better preparation than the following day's whirlwind schedule in London...
We had lunch at Incognico's on Shaftesbury Avenue, where we heard the lowdown on Labour from former government aide Patrick Diamond, who gave us very much the official line, occasionally going off the record only to say something fairly innocuous. But he spoke well and it was particularly valuable information for the Germans.
Then on to the House of Lords for what turned into a Q and A on the ongoing veil debate with Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian. I won't go into our discussion too much as i've harped on about Jack Straw on these pages before.
But it was good to have a seasoned commentator in the debate, and i was particularly interested in his suggestion that the media must shoulder a great deal of the responsibility for today's hostile climate, in that they purposefully seek out fanatical Muslims for coverage, misrepresenting the true proportion of such feelings in Muslim society.
This phenomenon, he suggested, while it may appear to engender a more open, honest debate, is in face a dangerous empowerment of minority views which are in fact far less threatening than the melodrama-keen media is wont to imply.
Sadly we didn't have enough time to go into that debate any further as it was on to the Lords Dining Room (all in a day's work old boy) for tea with Lord Weidenfeld. Then, after a quick taxi ride or two through a rapidly flooding London, we headed for the German ambassador's residence.
Despite a disappointing lack of James Bond-style heavies, and absolutely no Ferrero Rocher, the ambassador's reception was, indeed, in exquisite taste.
Alumni of the programme mingled, ate and drank in a sumptuous setting, and as we ate we were serenaded by a speech from David Schlesinger, Global Managing Editor of Reuters.
He's certainly articulate, with a stentorian tenor voice and a sense of drama in his phrasing. But i felt his speech on the 'End of Journalism' added little to a debate which is already going on in newsrooms around the world.
The conclusion seemed to be that the end of journalism is not nigh. But it might be. Depending on what happens.
However, he clearly has a brain the size of a planet (and beard to match), and perhaps he is wise not to bandy predictions about when really, none of us know in what state the digital revolution will leave our trade.
If this weekend is anything to go by, we've still got some years in us yet though, and i'll be heading to Munich in good spirits. Look out for my pieces from the Sueddeutsche Zeitung on these pages.
I spent this weekend at Davenport House, a lovely old Georgian country manor, nestled in the hills of Shropshire.
We (a group of German and British journalists) were there for the beginning of the George Weidenfeld Bursary programme, in which media organisations from the two nations exile some of their more restless charges to newsdesks abroad.
The two days spent in Shropshire were fairly leisurely, characterised by a free bar, roaring fire and the odd nervous-looking pheasant. There was a shoot on and we were warned to stick to the paths but unfortunately i don't think anyone warned the pheasants.
In between attempts to ignore the country folk's rabid desire for bloodsports, we managed the odd chat about the differences between the media in our two countries.
What stood out was that German papers employ a good deal more journalists. Matt Withers, our tabloid representative from Wales on Sunday, approached apoplexy at a 450-word article from Bild am Sonntag which somehow carried five bylines.
Presumably just being around when the editor is in a good mood is enough
for our friends in Central Europe.
I certainly hope so, as i've somehow landed the placement of my dreams at the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, where i'll be working for six weeks, rubbing shoulders with some of German journalism's big names. Daunting stuff.
But what better preparation than the following day's whirlwind schedule in London...
We had lunch at Incognico's on Shaftesbury Avenue, where we heard the lowdown on Labour from former government aide Patrick Diamond, who gave us very much the official line, occasionally going off the record only to say something fairly innocuous. But he spoke well and it was particularly valuable information for the Germans.
Then on to the House of Lords for what turned into a Q and A on the ongoing veil debate with Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian. I won't go into our discussion too much as i've harped on about Jack Straw on these pages before.
But it was good to have a seasoned commentator in the debate, and i was particularly interested in his suggestion that the media must shoulder a great deal of the responsibility for today's hostile climate, in that they purposefully seek out fanatical Muslims for coverage, misrepresenting the true proportion of such feelings in Muslim society.
This phenomenon, he suggested, while it may appear to engender a more open, honest debate, is in face a dangerous empowerment of minority views which are in fact far less threatening than the melodrama-keen media is wont to imply.
Sadly we didn't have enough time to go into that debate any further as it was on to the Lords Dining Room (all in a day's work old boy) for tea with Lord Weidenfeld. Then, after a quick taxi ride or two through a rapidly flooding London, we headed for the German ambassador's residence.
Despite a disappointing lack of James Bond-style heavies, and absolutely no Ferrero Rocher, the ambassador's reception was, indeed, in exquisite taste.
Alumni of the programme mingled, ate and drank in a sumptuous setting, and as we ate we were serenaded by a speech from David Schlesinger, Global Managing Editor of Reuters.
He's certainly articulate, with a stentorian tenor voice and a sense of drama in his phrasing. But i felt his speech on the 'End of Journalism' added little to a debate which is already going on in newsrooms around the world.
The conclusion seemed to be that the end of journalism is not nigh. But it might be. Depending on what happens.
However, he clearly has a brain the size of a planet (and beard to match), and perhaps he is wise not to bandy predictions about when really, none of us know in what state the digital revolution will leave our trade.
If this weekend is anything to go by, we've still got some years in us yet though, and i'll be heading to Munich in good spirits. Look out for my pieces from the Sueddeutsche Zeitung on these pages.
posted by Rob Davies at 4:18 PM
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