Nick Clegg called for an overhaul of the British media in a speech on Thursday. The media, he argued, was too powerful, not plural and in need of proper regulation. He also offered a mea culpa for the political classes’ failure to deal with the problem until now.
In recent decades the political class has consistently failed to stand up to the media. Seeking to curry favour with powerful media barons or prevent their own personal lives from being splashed across the front pages.
This is a far cry from the Nick Clegg that Jemima Kahn interviewed for the New Statesman in April. Back then, the “powerful media barons” weren’t that powerful, and governments largely ignored them.
The days where newspaper barons could basically click their fingers and governments would snap to attention have gone. Those days have just gone.
Likewise, Clegg seems to have changed his mind on the importance of traditional media. In Thursday’s speech, Clegg declares:
It is true that the media landscape is changing, but it simply is not the case that traditional media no longer matters.
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In the April interview, however, Clegg pegs “traditional media” – and the relationship between politicians and those who control it – as irrelevant. Take a look at the original transcript of the Khan interview.
Jemima Khan: Oh come on. There is a very close relationship between Murdoch, Cameron, Rebecca Wade. I think it’s a little disingenuous of you to say that.
Nick Clegg: No, I don’t think it is disingenuous. I think if you look at the way that people get their information these days, broadcast is more important and is more influential on people’s opinions; newspaper readership is declining. You’ve got this absolute explosion of access to information on the internet. It’s much more dissipated. In a sense, the old model of barons, newspapers, millions of people reading cover to cover, has gone. They know that themselves.
Khan presses Clegg on phone-hacking later on in the interview, and particularly the relationship between Rebekah Brooks and David Cameron. Here is the full transcript of this exchange:
Jemima Khan So you don’t think the closeness of the relationship between the government and the Murdochs is inappropriate?
Nick Clegg If you’ve got an issue with it, speak to Dave – I don’t hang out in Oxfordshire at dinner parties – it’s not my world. It’s never going to be my world.
Jemima Khan What do you think of the Oxfordshire dinner parties?
Nick Clegg I don’t know about Oxfordshire dinner parties
Jemima Khan Yes you do, what about that controversial dinner in the middle of this investigation- James Murdoch and Rebecca Wade and Cameron sat down to dinner together – what do you think about that – was it inappropriate?
Nick Clegg Well I’m assuming they weren’t sitting there talking about News international issues
Jemima Khan Doesn’t matter – if there was an investigation going on, about phone tapping and the BskyB take over.
Nick Clegg You’re putting me in a very awkward spot.
Jemima Khan I feel sorry for you – I think you can’t say certain things now. I remember being married to a politician – you constantly feel one thing and have to say another and it’s frustrating because I feel like I know what you really think but you can’t say it.
Nick Clegg Do I? Er, except that now I’m in government I’m more constrained in what I can say? Yes. There’s a lot more I can do. Do I think that a lot of the heat and speculation about the relationship between politicians and newspaper editors and proprietors is really what it’s like in reality? No I don’t actually. I really think things have changed. I really think this old sort of command and control view of newspaper barons has gone.
To read the full Clegg, click here.
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