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Episode details

Radio 4,06 Oct 2021,27 mins

Are the public interested in public interest news?

The Media Show

Available for over a year

A global investigation and the largest leak of offshore data in history has produced the Pandora Papers. Journalists around the world have had front-page splashes on alleged corruption and money-laundering. Meanwhile in the US, a whistle-blowing former Facebook employee has appeared before Congress, accusing the company of harming democracy. And a piece in The New York Times seems to have brought down a wunderkind news organisation. But how interested are the public in these public interest stories? Is there a trick to keeping stories of this size at the top of the bulletins? And can public interest journalism still have an impact on the world? Guests: Juliette Garside, Deputy Business Editor at The Guardian; Margot Gibbs, Investigative Reporter at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; Ben Smith, Media Columnist at The New York Times, Alexandra Suich Bass, Senior Columnist at The Economist. Studio engineer: Donald MacDonald Producer: Hannah Sander Presenter: Rajan Datar (Picture credit: Facebook whistle-blower Frances Haugen speaks to the US Congress. Getty Images)

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