Tony Blair's 'Media' Speech: The Prime Minister's Reuters Speech on Public Life

In: The political quarterly: PQ, Volume 78, Issue 4, p. 476-487

Abstract

This transcript of Tony Blair's 'media' speech reveals how harsh he feels the media coverage of his tenure as Prime Minister & of government as a whole has been, even as he says this speech is not a response to "the latest whacking from bits of the media," nor a "whine about how unfair it all is," nor "a complaint." While a free media is a vital part of a free society, another part of freedom is to be able to comment on the media, & that is what he is doing. Without placing blame, he contends that "the relationship between politics, public life, & the media is changing as a result of the changing context of communication in which we all operate . [& that] this change is seriously adverse to the way public life is conducted." It is time to debate the most important question of how the public can be most accurately informed, which is the joint responsibility of government in communicating with the media & the media communicating with the public. A question & answer session ensues between Reuters Editor in Chief David Schlesinger, Blair, & members of the audience. In closing, Blair quotes a leading foreign media magnate whom he had asked "What do you really think of British journalism?" The response was "At its best it's the best, & at its worst it's the worst," which Blair finds "probably reasonably accurate.". S. Stanton