Exhibit JC42 - The Leveson Inquiry

For Distribution to CPsHacks and Dons - Teaching at the London University Journalism School 1919-1939: Its origin,development and influence.The poet, W.H. Auden (1907-1974) ’always believed that a good writer,~4must first be a g ood reporter. The young Christopher Caudwell (1907-1937), who died in the Spanish Civil War, wrote that ’Journalism becomesthe characteristic product of the age. ’~Philip Elliott (1943-1983) has stated that ’journalism has become the preeminentform, both as a means of reaching an audience and as a means ofexpression. ’56Those who have used reporting as a stepping stone on the way towriting fiction and drama are legion, and include: James Barrie, ArnoldBennett, Philip Gibbs, Robert Harling, C.E. Montague, Henry Williamson,and Michael Frayn. Returning to Connolly, we find him donning his moremandarin manner when he writes: ’Nothing dates like a sense of actualitythan which there is nothing in journalism more valuable.., of the admirablejournalism that has appeared in the literary weeklies, how little bearsreprinting. ’~7Whoever the writer was he had to remember that ’he must conform tothe language which is understood by the greatest number of people, to the, 58vernacular. This statement succinctly leads us into consideration of thegreat change that came over the commercial press as it sought ever-largerreaderships. It was also expensive because: ’nurturing the public appetitefor perishable news was an expensive and resource-demanding hunger(for) the "true" stories told in newspapers (which) also provided informationessential to making one’s way in a complex world. ’~9To accommodate this hunger, newspapers had to become magazinesoffering wares normally found in a different kind of periodical. As early as1902 the Morning Leader had its ’magazine pages’. 8° This additionalelement in newspaper content owed much to Northcliffe’s interpretation -and extension - of news as ’talking points.., the topics people arediscussing.., and developing them, or stimulating a topic oneself. ’8~ This, ithas to be remembered, came after the first element of hard news, that ofsurprise.These topics ’people are discussing’ rarely matched the old journalism’sconception of importance - the ’journalism of opinion’ as it liked to regarditself. What these topics included was outlined by London University’s firstpart-time, journalism lecturer from 1925 to 1934, F. J. Mansfield: ’All thosethings that affect home life are in the Press. For the housewife: home andfashion notes, topical recipes, film and book notes, the finest fiction,advertisements that make her shopping range unlimited.., houses,furniture, insurance, the car, the wireless, clothes, tobacco.., where thefamily should spend the holidays, discover what it costs and fix it all in aflash. ’82 This quote amply illustrates the vast range of topics that camewithin the remit of the modern newspaper. What it could never be was dull.This description matches the content offered to his readers by one of thenovelists listed on the previous page: Arnold Bennett (1867-1931). Aformer assistant editor of Woman, Bennett could charge the LondonStandard £300 for printing his regular contributions. His successor on theStandard, J.B~ Priestley (1894-1984) writes: ’What such popular journalismdid do was to give him a thorough understanding and appreciation of thetopics, the situations, incidents, and characters that have the firmest hold]3MOD100051184