Westminster Insider

Inside the Lobby: Westminster's political journalists

May 27, 2022
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ANECDOTE

Walking The Burma Road

  • Andrew Marr recalls joining the lobby in 1984 and working along the Burma Road corridor.
  • He describes the shabby, mice-infested press gallery full of portraits and ghosts of past journalists.
INSIGHT

Secrecy Built The Lobby's Power

  • The lobby began as a secretive group with unattributable briefings that gave governments an advantage.
  • Breaking that secrecy in the Thatcher era forced more transparency in government briefings.
INSIGHT

Danger Of Anonymous Sourcing

  • Allan Rusbridger warns excessive unattributed quotes ask readers to take too much on trust.
  • He argues overreliance on anonymous sources and SPAD spoon-feeding weakens accountability.
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