Politics today is inextricably bound to the media, indeed it is now a routine assumption that the media can determine election outcomes. Consequently, over the last twenty years, the conduct of politics has become increasingly driven by what might "play well" on television or in the press. Election campaigning, budgets, party platforms, and even the contents of legislative bills are dominated by media considerations.Westminster Tales explores how that relationship works in practice. What sort of deals are done between politicians and journalists? What tactics do politicians use to try and...

This book traces the history of television journalism in Britain from its austere roots in the BBC's post-war monopoly to the present-day plethora of 24 hour channels and celebrity presenters. It asks why a medium whose thirst for pictures, personalities and drama make it, some believe, intrinsically unsuitable for serious journalism should remain in the internet age the most influential purveyor of news.

Barnett compares the two very different trajectories of television journalism in Britain and the US arguing that from the outset a rigorous statutory and regulatory framework rooted...