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About this quote

What does it mean?
Stoppard suggests junk journalism proves society recognizes that no one should dictate where responsible journalism starts.
In plain terms
Bad journalism shows we agree no one should control what counts as news.
What can you take from it?
Bad journalism can protect freedom by exposing the need for open standards.

Where it applies

  • media regulation
  • journalism ethics
  • public discourse

Putting it to work

  • defend free press
  • set ethical standards

Questions to consider

  • What protects free press?
  • Is bad news better than no news?

Another view

It frames low-quality work as inherently beneficial.

More from Tom Stoppard

  1. Milne: No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable. Ruth: I'm with you o…

    Permalink to quote #27
  2. I know the British press is very attached to the lobby system. It lets the journalists and the politicians feel proud of their traditional freedoms while givin…

    Permalink to quote #29
  3. The media. It sounds like a convention of spiritualists.

    Permalink to quote #26

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