The Power and the Story: The Global Battle for News and Information
John Lloyd, Atlantic Books, £25.00
These days we all like to talk about fake news, post-truth politics and the role of social media in undermining the traditional model of journalism. John Lloyd’s book is timely then, offering a dense and informative global sitrep on the survival prospects of a news business that aspires to truth and objectivity.
From the start Lloyd does not hide his conviction that the survival of any liberal democracy depends in large part on solid journalism: indeed the 420 pages of The Power and the Story will only chime with those who share that view. Not surprisingly, his narrative makes for some grim reading as it charts a gradual shift from the muddled democracies which grew up after the fall of the Soviet Union to the populist autocrats we see across the globe today.
