Journalistic transgressions in the representation of Jeremy Corbyn: from watchdog to attackdog

摘要

This research critically assesses the press coverage of Jeremy Corbyn during hisudleadership bid and subsequent first months as the leader of the UK’s Labour party. A contentudanalysis (n=812) found that the British press offered a distorted and overly antagonistic viewudof the long-serving MP. Corbyn is often denied a voice and news organisations tended toudprize anti-Corbyn sources over favourable ones. Much of the coverage is decidedly scornfuludand ridicules the leader of the opposition. This analysis also tests a set of normativeudconceptions of the media in a democracy. In view of this, our research contends that theudBritish press acted more as an attackdog than a watchdog when it comes to the reporting ofudCorbyn. We conclude that the transgression from traditional monitorial practices to snarlingudattacks is unhealthy for democracy, and it furthermore raises serious ethical questions for UKudjournalism and its role in society.