The “brilliant and extraordinary” journalism coming out of the British media should be celebrated as an antidote to misinformation and news avoidance, the President of the Society of Editors has urged.
Speaking at the Society’s annual Future of News conference taking place in London on Tuesday 25 March 2025, Sarah Whitehead, President of the Society and Director of Newsgathering and Operations at Sky News said that the industry needed to do more to highlight the “amazing journalism” that it created as well as the impact stories and investigations have on society.
At a time when, the “old world order is being turned upside down and President Trump is siding with Putin over Zelensky, being critical of Europe and NATO” and “criticising the media from a lectern at the department of justice”, Whitehead said that the industry must respond by shouting about “how our stories and investigations change society for the better”.
She added: “We need to talk much, much more about the extraordinary work that we do, the stories we tell, the journalism that has led to a change in laws for the better, the scandals that journalism has unearthed, the corruption that journalism reveals and the journalism that demands an answer. Of course that’s what we do every day on our platforms, we publish great journalism but we need to talk about the very best of it so much more and over a longer period of time.”
Paying tribute to the work of broadcast, national and regional titles over the past 12 months as well as the bravery and risks that journalists take, Whitehead added that “a lack of trust” in the industry meant that “brilliant journalists” continue to be abused and attacks are happening both “on the battlefield” and “closer to home”.
She added: “We do need our audience to connect with us and it is sobering to realise that a lack of trust and the fact that journalists are currently unpopular means that our brilliant journalists are being abused and worse out doing their jobs. Journalists standing in the world has implications for the safety of our teams. That discussion comes in the form of horrific events involving journalists on the battlefield but it’s really close to home too.”
Calling for change, Whitehead said that by “shouting louder and more often about the amazing journalism we do” the industry’s work will speak for itself.
She concluded: “Big bold journalism will stand head and shoulders above misinformation and disinformation, it will challenge news avoidance. So we have to believe in the boldest and hardest stories and stick with it and when people really understand the impact that the work we do has on society then they can make their own minds up. Our journalism is our currency. And the journalism that the British media does is extraordinary and should be celebrated.”
Photo: Lucy Young
