On air at 17GMT: What would you ask the tabloids?
| 14:09 UK time, Wednesday, 6 July 2011
This topic was discussed on World Have Your Say on 6 July, 2011. Listen to the programme.
The phone-hacking scandal is developing at a bewildering rate at the moment, and remains among the top stories in the world. Yesterday, the deputy PM said a public inquiry wasn't necessary, now today the PM tells us it is. That's a measure of how the seriousness of the matter is escalating.
Meanwhile, the not guilty verdict in the Casey Anthony case is proving by a long shot the biggest talking point in the States.
Ask those of you in America why so many people thought she was guilty, and many will answer, 'the media'. Some stories are inevitably very big, this though, you can certainly argue, was made into a huge story by the media. Was it responsible as it drove interest in the story? Did some media outlets run stories that had no place in teh public domain such was the desire to get the next scoop?
Tabloid journalism is tough to define, but in our definition we can include a passionate interest in the lives of celebrities, politicians and ordinary people in extraordinary situations, a flamboyant and entertaining style, and a tenacious approach to getting the story (one guest yesterday called it 'blagging').
These two stories in their different ways shine the spotlight very brightly on tabloid journalism and whether its means are justified by its stories.
We're inviting a range of tabloid journalists past and present to answer your questions about the nature of their work. Please post them here and I'll update this with their names and details as and when they get booked for the show.
It's worth adding that the area between the tabloid journalist and other journalists is a very grey one, and of course some of what I put in my definition earlier could certainly be applied outside of the tabloids.
