20 Things That Would Make the News Better

'A brilliant A-to-Z for the modern newsroom.' - Jeremy Vine 'A must-read.' - Julie Etchingham 'Highly recommended reading.' - Justin Webb *** We are at a defining point in the history of news. Following a surge of fake news, clickbait and conspiracy theories, the 2020s have ushered in a welter of existential threats for public service broadcasting. So, where do we go from here? Former Today editor and head of BBC television news Roger Mosey thinks public service broadcasters must buck the trends and in this incisive book he offers twenty core ways in which the news can save itself by getting smarter, sharper, more diverse, more nuanced and less exposed to pummelling by politicians. Mosey sees two possible futures: one in which the incitements of populist demagogues and the passions of social media are ever dominant - or one where we fight hard to retain media that has an interest in the public good and preserves truth, fairness and evidence-based judgements. From one of British broadcasting's most experienced voices comes the definitive exploration of Britain's news output and what must change if we are to avoid a future of uninspiring news, uninformed decision-making and accountability-dodging politicians.

Roger Mosey's extraordinary career in broadcasting has encompassed jobs such as editor of Today on BBC Radio 4, controller of BBC Radio 5 Live, head of BBC television news and director of the Corporation's London 2012 Olympic Games coverage. He is now master of Selwyn College, Cambridge. He is the author of Getting Out Alive: News, Sport and Politics at the BBC (Biteback, 2015).