As a quasi-follow up to this post I made yesterday, here’s an enjoyable reflection on the differences between the U.K. and American presses, from a British journalist who has worked in both countries.
My first encounter with the very different culture of US journalism came when I was working as a freelance in Washington about 20 years ago. Every now and then, I would wander into the Chicago Tribune offices next door – but I could see that something about me was upsetting their bureau chief. Eventually, he approached and said: “Would you mind wearing a tie when you come into the bureau?”
… Certainly, after a while in Washington I began to develop a grudging respect for my neighbours at the Tribune. I admired the fact that their investigative team would work for months on a single article. On the British paper I then worked for, an “investigation” was something we started on Tuesday and published on Sunday.
Read the whole thing in the Financial Times.
Clint Hendler is the managing editor of Mother Jones, and a former deputy editor of CJR.