Annals of Journalism 7: A very promising little war
Charles Miller
edits this blog. Twitter: @chblm
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Lord Copper, the newspaper magnate in Evelyn Waugh's 1938 novel Scoop, is determined to make the most of what he calls "a very promising little war" in the obscure East African country of Ishmaelia.
Waugh (above, in 1961) ) has Lord Copper inadvertantly send his newpaper's country matters columnist, William Boot, to cover the conflict, but not before giving him an incisive briefing on what's expected of a war correspondent:
"What the British public wants first, last and all the time is News. Remember that the Patriots are in the right and are going to win. The Beast stands by them four-square. But they must win quickly. The British public has no interest in a war which drags on indecisively. A few sharp victories, some conspicuous acts of personal bravery on the Patriot side and a colourful entry into the capital. That is The Beast policy for the war... Goodbye Mr Boot, and the best of luck. We shall expect the first victory about the middle of July."
It's left to Boot to work out which side are the Patriots and which the Traitors, and how to engineer Lord Copper's July victory.
Today's journalist reader can't fail to be impressed by the lavish expenses offered by the Beast. Boot has so much equipment to take to Africa that an extra plane to Paris has to be chartered from the airfield in Croydon. Boot positively leaks cash on his travels, on the advice of the newspaper's Foreign Editor.
What would Lord Copper have made of the current conflict in Ivory Coast (below)? It may not be as hard as it was in Ishmaelia to work out which side are Patriots and which Traitors - since the UN pronounced on the result of last November's elections - and it looks like the "colourful entry into the capital" has been achieved ahead of the Beast's July deadline. But, like Boot, many readers of today's Beasts may have needed an atlas to find the exact location of the conflict.
Previous editions of this Annals of Journalism series:
6: Speak clearly into the meat safe
