Are the public interested in public interest news?
How an investigation like the Pandora Papers aims for impact
The Media Show · BBC Radio 4
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Show Notes
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)