Almost everyone reads the newspaper, browses the Internet, listens to the radio or watches TV. Journalism has an indelible effect on our worldview--from the fight against global terrorism to the American presidential elections, celebrity scandal to the latest environmental coups. Hargreaves uses his unique position within the media to examine how we get this information and the many practical, political and professional decisions that the journalist has to make, as part of the process of delivering that information to us. Is journalism the 'first draft of history' or a dumbing-down of our culture and a glorification of the trivial and intrusive? In this intriguing book Ian Hargreaves argues that the core principles of 'freedom of the press' and the necessity of exposing the truth are as vital today as they ever were.