Yet Another Q Re Reshuffle, Sorry!

[bednobs]

How on earth do people (journalists) find out the content of meetings between say 2 people?
In the news today is how Hunt was offered another post but refused to move. It is very unedifying for both parties involved, so you would think that neither of them would report it

[Kidas]

Hi jno

That's a good point - and one that I deplore - the 24-hour rolling news thing. That encourages editors to fill dead time with meaningless waffle and at the same time forces journos to come up with stories before they are properly checked and dual-sourced.

But there are hot stories and slow-burners. You can have those conversations in the slower times. News and features, if you like. News is hot and time-critical. Feature-based can be a bit slower. Tough even that is getting more and more time-pressured.

As you quite rightly point out, the lack of resources mean that there is less and less time for good research. It's one of the reasons I quit that business.

Nevertheless, we can be sure that there are still a lot of gossipy, boozy lunches go on that we do not hear about.

[jno]

yes, I was thinking particularly of hot news, since the OP is about the reshuffle - which was supposed to be hot until it turned out to be a damp squib.

[Peter Pedant]

well Dorothy MacMillan's affair with Bob Boothby was well known but Harold Mac, Supermac, MacMillan didnt exactly ring up the papers and whisper down the hand-set:

Bobz around to bonk my wife again - and here am I on the corridor locked out and can hear them going at it like bunny rabbits....