ABSTRACT
To answer the second question first: a reasonable claim can be made for journalism as the pre-eminent cultural form of our era, occupying more resources in its production and distribution, and routinely consumed by more people in most countries than any of the many other ways in which we experience the world through mass media. We love our movies and our music, of course; are addicted to our TV soaps and our game shows, perhaps; have reverence and respect for our literature and visual art. But journalism matters more than them all, if only because it is the end product of a major industry employing hundreds of thousands of people, and daily supplying hundreds of millions – billions, across the globe – with information about every conceivable aspect of the world around them. Journalism, in all its varieties, is the constant background and accompaniment to everyday life.
