How Free Is the Press
by Dorothy L. Sayers
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Dorothy L. Sayers offers a sharp critique of the modern newspaper industry. She agrees that without a free Press there can be no free people, and that in the technical sense, freedom from government censorship, the British Press is largely free. But she argues it is not truly free in a moral sense because it is controlled by two silent forces: the Advertisers, since a mass-circulation paper depends on advertising and dare not offend commercial interests, and the Proprietor, whose personal prejudices and ambitions dictate editorial policy. Sayers then exposes six deceptive methods by which journalists distort truth, sensational headlines and suppression of context, garbling, inaccurate reporting of facts, plain reversal of facts, random and gratuitous invention, and deliberate miracle-mongering, illustrating each from her own painful experiences. She concludes that such systematic misrepresentation breeds an all-pervading cynicism, warning that a public that tolerates lies in small matters will eventually lose the capacity to recognise truth in great world events.
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Dorothy L. Sayers, an educated essayist and writer, conducts a sharp, analytical critique of the modern newspaper industry. She begins by stating that without a free Press there can be no free people. While certain restrictions on the Press are necessary during times of war to protect national security, full freedom must be immediately and unconditionally restored once peace returns.
The technical meaning of press freedom
In a technical and restricted sense, 'freedom of the Press' means freedom from government censorship or political interference. In peaceful, democratic Britain the Press is largely free in this narrow, technical sense, it can freely criticize ministers, expose public scandals and voice political dissent.
The two silent controllers
However, Sayers argues that the Press is not truly free in a broader, moral sense because it is strictly controlled by two powerful, non-governmental forces. The first is the Advertisers (the financial factor): a popular daily needs a massive circulation to survive, and if it sells copies below the cost of production it will face bankruptcy unless it secures high-paying advertisements. Consequently, no widely-circulated newspaper dares to support any policy or report any truth that conflicts with the vested commercial interests of its major advertisers.
The second is the Proprietor (the personal factor): the editorial policy is heavily dictated by the personal prejudices, political ambitions and social interests of its wealthy owner or parent company. The Press magnate can easily use his media empire to run virulent personal campaigns, manufacture public opinion or secure government favors.
The six methods of press distortion
Sensational headlines & suppression of context
Out of Sayers' 8,000-word address at the Malvern Conference, reporters extracted a single sensational sentence about 'fornication' and splashed it across headlines as if it were her whole subject.
Garbling
Asked about her plans, she said she preferred writing plays but would write one only on a solid commission; the Press published it as 'Miss Sayers said she would write no more plays, except on commission'.
Inaccurate reporting of facts
A paper reported her flat was broken into on a day she was at Oxford; in reality the break-in was three days earlier, she was not at Oxford but at the King's Garden Party, the timeline was fabricated to make the story 'hot'.
Plain reversal of the facts
When a letter explained that her servant had drawn the curtains but they were defective, the paper reported that 'a servant had forgotten to draw the curtains', unjustly blaming the servant.
Random and gratuitous invention
A gossip column claimed her favorite hobbies were 'gardening and keeping cats', though she actually detested gardening, a complete invention.
Deliberate miracle-mongering
Papers reported she had delivered a 20,000-word speech in an hour and a quarter, a humanly impossible speed.
The danger of tolerated lies
Sayers concludes that these systematic misrepresentations cultivate an all-pervading atmosphere of cynicism and mistrust among readers, warning that a public that learns to tolerate lies in small matters will eventually lose the capacity to recognize truth in major global events.