Alistair Campbell’s Cudlipp lecture this week is the latest expression of the reformation movement in British journalism.

The movement has its Martin Luther in John Lloyd, its Calvin in Roy Greenslade, its Wycliffe in Tony ‘feral beasts’ Blair and its Zwingli in Alistair Campbell.

What we need now is a counter-reformation. We need an Erasmus, a Colet, an Ignatius and a Pope Paul III - in other words people who will clean things up from the inside while still retaining positions of power and influence.

Everyone agreed that things were pretty dire in the 16th century church and that corruption and abuse had to be dealt with, just as most of us agree there’s much to be purged in 21st century journalism.

However, I can’t help feeling that our media Lutherans are doomed to failure. Why?

First, none of them are actually running anything at the moment. It is easy to have high principles when you are not trying to entertain 6 million people a day and prevent them going off to watch TV or kick the dog.

Second, there’s nothing that kills journalism faster than a po-faced editor or publisher.

I emphatically do not mean that our media chiefs should be immoral or try any less hard to perform a worthwhile role in society.

But any reform that works will have to come from the inside. In other words it will have to come from the people who today and tomorrow and the next day, have the gifts to produce stories that entertain, entrance and educate millions of people.

That is a special gift. And I am pretty sure that neither Martin Luther nor John Lloyd would claim to have it.

Entry Filed under: Media