SevenQuestions: Giles Turnbull, UK tech reporter

7q16.htmþÛô 8"ÛôBDÿÏŽÅ\XÅa´ÄÈÌïÐÛô ÅãTEXTGoMkÿÿÿÿH¸8¸8µ@ SevenQuestions: Giles Turnbull, UK tech reporter

Seven Questions

Giles Turnbull is technology editor with the UK-based Press Association. He has a swell Web site full of useful links for newsies of many nationalities; stop in and ask him how that hole in his chest is doing. 24 August 1998

1 Why is there so much fascination with Bill Clinton in the British tabs? Back to the 7Q index

There's still the "Hey, this is the most powerful man in the world" attitude here. Big stories about presidents always get good coverage here, but otherwise the UK public knows nothing about American politics. The president *is* the U.S. political system, as far as UK news services are concerned - the public just haven't heard of anyone else. Plus, obviously, a sex scandal is too good to miss.

2 What's one thing about Tony Blair that you suspect most Americans don't know, but should?

Blair has changed the Labour party more than anyone could have guessed, but he is still greatly mistrusted by many party members and by a growing number of ordinary people.

Yes, he has a huge majority in the House of Commons, and yes, he is very popular compared to John Major and Margaret Thatcher - but his government has not kept all its pre-election promises, and people are starting to wonder if he's the nice guy he seemed to be. There are big splits in the Cabinet which Blair is struggling to hide -- but succeeding because the control he has over the media is scary.

Also, he pretends to understand Y2K but actually has very little concept of what he's letting himself in for. I think it could seriously damage his government.

3 Share an anecdote about the travails of covering the royal family.

I don't really have an anecdote as such - one of my colleagues was the first to break the story of Diana's death, and he wasn't even in Paris.

He has dined out on that story ever since, and probably will do for the rest of this life -- it won Scoop of the Year award. Most UK newspapers have made me sick with their shameless exploitation of Diana. Even worse is that readers lap it up -- slap her picture on the front page and watch the circulation figures soar. Sickening, really.

4 Where's the strangest place you've gone in pursuit of a story?

The Web, of course. Full of nutters. I hear there's a list of them at newsies.com ;)

5 Tell us about some special place that you'd guard with your life to protect from American tourists.

I've nothing against American tourists. Tourists are all annoying, wherever they are from. I'd say my home town, Folkestone, the closest you can get to France without leaving England. It sucks. Really. Don't go there.

6 Say an American newsie thinks he can ply the trade in England. What's the main thing he needs to survive in the British press?

UK journos tend to think that American news articles are too long, so a tight writing style is essential. News desks here insist on short, snappy stories, and lots of 'em.

Also, wave goodbye to the Net. It's amazing how out-of-date newsrooms are. Most journalists here do not have direct access to e-mail or the Web. They don't understand it and don't care about it. The concept of researching a story using computers is completely alien to them.

I've heard a lot about the American system of having independent fact-checkers on newspapers (have I got that right?). There's rarely any such thing over here, and an American Journo in London might be shocked at how lax that side of things can be. (Editor's note: Most major U.S. magazines have fact checkers but I've never heard of a newspaper that had any -- tm.)

7 Are there any differences in how British journalists cover technology, compared to their American counterparts?

Not really -- a lot of our technology news is from America anyway. We find ourselves a day behind you a lot of the time. There tends to be more technical detail in U.S. stories -- I think we tend to aim a bit lower, assume the readers are dumber -- or leave details out completely, if there isn't the space.

Back to SQ index
Copyright 1998, Thomas L. Mangan >Back to new SevenQuestions
main page

}SCLTemplateModule:€7q16.htmitor Documentsething neTEXTGoMkßß±ëYÞÜLive CyberStudioÿÿð€(°ˆ˜˜ˆ¬Ô*” íñ oƒ¨ ;È @ @‘ @ÒÀ@¢p@‚OÀø„€¿„€€„€ÿÿ


Giles Turnbull is technology editor with the UK-based Press Association. He has a swell Web site full of useful links for newsies of many nationalities; stop in and ask him how that hole in his chest is doing.		24 August 1998
1	Why is there so much fascination with Bill Clinton in the British tabs?	Back to the 7Q index
	There's still the "Hey, this is the most powerful man in the world" attitude here. Big stories about presidents always get good coverage here, but otherwise the UK public knows nothing about American politics. The president is the U.S. political system, as far as UK news services are concerned - the public just haven't heard of anyone else. Plus, obviously, a sex scandal is too good to miss.
2	What's one thing about Tony Blair that you suspect most Americans don't know, but should?
	Blair has changed the Labour party more than anyone could have guessed, but he is still greatly mistrusted by many party members and by a growing number of ordinary people. Yes, he has a huge majority in the House of Commons, and yes, he is very popular compared to John Major and Margaret Thatcher - but his government has not kept all its pre-election promises, and people are starting to wonder if he's the nice guy he seemed to be. There are big splits in the Cabinet which Blair is struggling to hide -- but succeeding because the control he has over the media is scary. Also, he pretends to understand Y2K but actually has very little concept of what he's letting himself in for. I think it could seriously damage his government.
3	Share an anecdote about the travails of covering the royal family.
	I don't really have an anecdote as such - one of my colleagues was the first to break the story of Diana's death, and he wasn't even in Paris. He has dined out on that story ever since, and probably will do for the rest of this life -- it won Scoop of the Year award. Most UK newspapers have made me sick with their shameless exploitation of Diana. Even worse is that readers lap it up -- slap her picture on the front page and watch the circulation figures soar. Sickening, really.
4	Where's the strangest place you've gone in pursuit of a story?
	The Web, of course. Full of nutters. I hear there's a list of them at newsies.com ;)
5	Tell us about some special place that you'd guard with your life to protect from American tourists.
	I've nothing against American tourists. Tourists are all annoying, wherever they are from. I'd say my home town, Folkestone, the closest you can get to France without leaving England. It sucks. Really. Don't go there.
6	Say an American newsie thinks he can ply the trade in England. What's the main thing he needs to survive in the British press?
	UK journos tend to think that American news articles are too long, so a tight writing style is essential. News desks here insist on short, snappy stories, and lots of 'em. Also, wave goodbye to the Net. It's amazing how out-of-date newsrooms are. Most journalists here do not have direct access to e-mail or the Web. They don't understand it and don't care about it. The concept of researching a story using computers is completely alien to them. I've heard a lot about the American system of having independent fact-checkers on newspapers (have I got that right?). There's rarely any such thing over here, and an American Journo in London might be shocked at how lax that side of things can be. (Editor's note: Most major U.S. magazines have fact checkers but I've never heard of a newspaper that had any -- tm.)
7	Are there any differences in how British journalists cover technology, compared to their American counterparts?
	Not really -- a lot of our technology news is from America anyway. We find ourselves a day behind you a lot of the time. There tends to be more technical detail in U.S. stories -- I think we tend to aim a bit lower, assume the readers are dumber -- or leave details out completely, if there isn't the space.
Back to SQ index Copyright 1998, Thomas L. Mangan		>Back to new SevenQuestions main page