Even before the Leveson Inquiry, the British press had become tame, objectivity ridiculed and a culture of conformism had set in. Joining volunteers on the sofa, Mick Hume author of There is No Such Thing As a Free Press… and we need one more than ever sets the scene.Investigative journalism is facing an ice age, he explains and the ‘buts’ to ‘I believe in press freedom’ are getting louder. Discussants raise their concerns, was the response to phone hacking over the top? Why can’t we say what we think anymore? What about privacy? Do the public know or care? Can we trust the press anyway? Hume’s answers are salutary and his recommendations to create our own media to challenge ideas rather than support regulation or whinge about Murdoch are more than worth taking on board.
