How to Read the News - Episode 1
Why journalists rarely start at the beginning, instead leading with the latest development
Seriously... · BBC Radio 4
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Show Notes
When journalists tell stories, they rarely start at the beginning but instead with the latest development. Context comes towards the end. It’s called the ‘inverted pyramid’.
When scandal at the Confederation of British Industry hit the newspapers and boss Tony Danker was dismissed, he complained that articles didn’t state right at the start that he was not accused of the worst misconduct. If you didn’t make it much past the headlines, you might not realise that. We discover why journalists write stories ‘the wrong way up’, how that affects how we understand them, and how that might change with new technology.
‘How to Read the News’ - this series is all about giving you the tools to decode the news.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Charlotte McDonald Researchers: Beth Ashmead Latham, Kirsteen Knight Editors: China Collins, Emma Rippon