Celebrity political gossip

A lot of political journalism, and even reporting on policy issues, is dominated by the search for the “secret sauce”, as Martin puts it: the insider who knows What’s Really Going On. Background interviews with top officials are regarded as gold, and the desire to get those interviews often induces reporters to spin on demand.

But such inside scoops are rarely — I won’t say never, but rarely — worth a thing. My experience has been that careful analysis of publicly available information almost always trumps the insider approach.

 Paul Krugman, in the New York Times

Nick Robinson, I'm looking at you. A timely reminder that most of us could go without news for weeks without missing much, precisely because the high-pressure hose of 'insider' political gossip, rumour and spin tends to flush real facts and considered reflection out of your head.

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