The End of Spin

A good article in today's Times Hurrah! They haven’t told me the news today by Tim Hames.

He writes that

Gordon Brown’s elevation to 10 Downing Street has brought a sudden end to a practice that the media frequently condemned but secretly relied on. The days of revealing in advance what ministers would say in the House of Commons appear to be over.

But will journalists adapt to this new regime? Well one example he notes

Hugo Rifkind, the noble diarist at The Times, had the shock of placing a call with the Prime Minister’s office last week and not only having them actually ringing back as promised but offering him a straight answer to a straight question. As the son of a politician himself, one can only imagine how bizarre, disturbing, perhaps humiliating, he found the entire experience.

And how will the today programme function without their early morning exclusives?