A modest proposal for 2019: scrap the parliamentary lobby

A modest proposal for 2019: scrap the parliamentary lobby | James Ball

Westminster is full of brilliant journalists but the shadowy briefing system that guides them should be more transparent

It’s traditional at the end of the year to look back on what’s happened and what we’ve done – and what we might do differently next year. For those of us in politics or the media, after a year as frenetic and divisive as 2018 this becomes a serious duty.

So here is a proposal for how we might do better in 2019: let’s scrap the lobby system of political journalism entirely. This is not – despite what Twitter commentators might think – because lobby journalists are biased, untalented, or lazy. Far from it: some of the most talented, ambitious and diligent reporters in the UK work from the lobby, and it’s the home to journalists used to netting page one, or the top of the bulletin.

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from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2BFWW51

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