Michael Marshall - Bad News - Skeptics in the Pub

Bad News: How PR Came to Rule Modern Journalism
15th December 2011
The Head of Steam, Liverpool

."You can't believe everything you read in the papers."

Everyone knows this, but few people realise this truism extends far beyond the celebrity pages and gossip columns, and spills into 'real' news. Here, the near-invisible influence of PR companies is often pivotal in deciding what news gets told, and how it gets reported. By taking a brief look at the history of modern journalism, and using real examples taken from recent headlines, Michael Marshall will show why you really, really can't believe everything you read in the papers.

Michael Marshall is the co-founder and vice-president of the Merseyside Skeptics Society and appears on the "Skeptics with a K", "Righteous Indignation" and "Strange Quarks" podcasts. Besides organising national and international campaigns against homeopathy, he writes about the often-unsuspected role of PR in modern media. He was once called by Ben Goldacre 'a mighty nerd from Liverpool'. He was also once rather amusingly called a very rude word by self-proclaimed psychic Joe Power.

Hosts: The Head of Steam, Liverpool
http://www.theheadofsteam.co.uk/liverpool-location-and-about-us/
twitter: @HeadofSteamLiv

http://www.merseysideskeptics.org.uk
twitter: @merseyskeptics
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/merseyskeptics

MSS Members:

Mike Hall
Michael Marshall
Colin Harris
Andrew Johnston
Helen Wynne

Video Production - Mark & Heather Pentler

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• michael marshall
• public relations
• pr
• newspapers
• tabloid
• press
• churnalism
• journalism
• skeptics
• sceptics
• merseyside
• mersey skeptics
• liverpool
• pub
• skeptics in the pub

[RyelSteele]

Excellent talk!