ABSTRACT
Parkinson’s Law, I would argue, is more applicable to journalism than any other activity. Having time on one’s hands, to the average reporter, is a heavier burden than a six-digit mortgage and a five-figure overdraft. Ask an experienced campaigner to dash off 800 words in 20 minutes and he’ll be downing a pint after 19. Tell him he has a week to produce a considered 1,500-word analysis of the function of the wing-back and he’ll research for an hour or two, fret about it for six days, start writing deep into the seventh then request a minor extension on the grounds that he’s just about to unearth an absolutely invaluable nugget of information.
