We Can Take That as an Admission of Guilt
Several bloggers have pointed to the speech by Tony Blair about the changing media. Some have also pointed to the editorial by Simon Kelner of the Independent, a paper singled out as a metaphor for the problems he was describing. those problems included the mashing of news and commentary into one article without telling the reader.
In the response, Mr. Kelner ends his editorial with the following. It sounds to me like an admission that that is in fact what they do. He just doesn’t see it as causing any problems:
Simon Kelner: Would you be saying this, Mr Blair, if we supported your war in Iraq? - Independent Online Edition > Commentators
Of course, news is still the backbone of our offering, but we feel our readers today want more: a diverse range of commentary, colourful debate, provocative front pages and, yes, the views behind the news. It is difficult to imagine what kind of newspaper Mr Blair envisages in his platonic heaven, but it’s probably safe to say that this isn’t it.
