We are richer by far in having a varied media as part of the life of the community. Sometimes, I suppose, those in authority must doubt this. Certainly the new government will come to doubt it. Beset by huge problems and by the daily anxieties of state, they will often look upon a vigorous and searching media as a vexation they could well do without. But should such a thought ever cross the mind it should be instantly dismissed. Quite apart from being an essential part of a functioning democracy, a strong media in fact helps those in authority seek out error and identify misconceived policies.
Certainly those who govern, indeed those who run anything from corporation to cricket club, must be big enough to accept that anti-establishment sentiments are meat and drink to any red-blooded journalist.
It is deep in all of us to be critical of those who are in control and we love to hear such criticism expressed as strikingly and amusingly and as fully as possible. Richard Hooker, the 16th Century English theologian, said all that needs to be said on that score when he wrote:
“He that goeth about to persuade a multitude that they are not so well governed as they
