My Trade: A Short History of British Journalism - Hardcover

How do you decide what is a 'story' and what isn't? What does a newspaper editor actually do all day? How do hacks get their scoops? How do the TV stations choose their news bulletins? How do you persuade people to say those awful, embarassing things? Who earns what? How do journalists manage to look in the shaving mirror after the way they sometimes behave? The purpose of this insider's account is to provide, an answer to all these questions and more. Andrew Marr's brilliant, and brilliantly funny, book is a guide to those of us who read newspapers, or who listen to and watch news bulletins but want to know more. Andrew Marr tells the story of modern journalism through his own experience. This is an extremely readable and utterly unique modern social history of British journalism, with all its odd glamour, smashed hopes and future possibility.

Andrew Marr was born in Glasgow. He graduated from Cambridge University and has enjoyed a long career in political journalism, working for the Scotsman, the Independent, the Economist, the Express, and the Observer before being appointed as the BBC's political editor in May 2000. Andrew's broadcasting includes series on contemporary thinkers for BBC 2 and Radio 4, and political documentaries for Channel 4 and BBC Panorama. He was named Columnist of the Year in the What The Papers Say awards of 1995 and Columnist of the Year in the British Press Awards of the same year. He was named Journalist of the Year in the Creative Freedom Awards 2000 and received the Journalist Award in the Channel 4 Political Awards of 2001. Andrew was named as the best individual contributor on television at the Voice Of The Listener And Viewer's Awards 2002.