In theory what Sir Henry French asks for is straightforward: the people in a democracy have a right to know, the government a duty to inform, and by implication the media a duty to deliver this information after proper scrutiny. In practice it is more complicated. Most writers on politics and the media in recent years have concentrated on how politicians, especially those in government, manipulate the media: few have written on how the media manipulate the politicians, virtually none on how a third party fits into this relationship, namely the £6.2 billion public relations industry. I suggest that this burgeoning industry with its range from reputation management to the growth of the celebrity, has redesigned the playing field with enormous consequences, not only for the national media but also for the regional newsgatherers who might consider themselves less susceptible.