I'm an avid consumer of the mass media, but that doesn't make me a fan. Over the years I've realised that when I'm reading or watching a news story about something I already know about -- which usually, but not always*, means economics or business -- the stories are generally full of factual errors and slipshod analysis. It would be dumb to assume that all of the bad reporters are on the business desk, so as a working assumption, I tend to take it as read that the rest of the stories are comparably flawed, even if I can't always spot the specific mistakes.
So it's scary to think that the power of the media, at the expense of elected politicians, seems to be increasing relentlessly. Rupert Murdoch may be at the forefront of this trend globally, but it's much more widespread than that. Rather than reading me wibbling on about it, please take a look at this excellent and wide-ranging analysis by John Lloyd, originally published in the FT, but here reproduced on Slate.
* I'm a know-it-all about music and travel as well.
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