My Trade: A Short History of British Journalism

On the global media stage, the British journalist is arguably more celebrated, and more reviled, than any other actor. Admired for tenacity and conviction, he or she is just as often held in contempt for devious opportunism and sensationalism. No media subject seems to generate more persistent controversy than the media itself. So what is modern British journalism? And how did it become what it is today? In My Trade, Andrew Marr answers these questions and more. How do you decide what is a 'story' and what isn't? How do hacks get their scoops? How do TV stations choose their news bulletins? What really goes on in the Westminster snakepit? What does a newspaper editor actually do all day? And how do journalists manage to look at themselves in the mirror after the way they sometimes behave? Blending candid memoir with sharp and authoritative historical narrative, My Trade is an often hilarious insider's account that finally explains what makes British journalism so distinctive, and so inspiring and infuriating in turn. Andrew Marr has written a book for anyone who reads newspapers, or listens to and watches news bulletins, and wants to know more about where it all comes from and what it really means. -- from dust jacket.