August 20th, 2007 by Wendy McAuliffe
We are what we read…well at least that is the hypothesis for a forthcoming TV documentary in which the maker, Nick Angel, gives up all news sources except the Daily Mail.
All television, radio, print and online news sources are excluded from his media diet for 28 days. His only source of news is the middle market tabloid the Daily Mail.
According to today’s report in the MediaGuardian, Angel begins the documentary with the belief that the Mail’s main purpose is to “terrify its readers” and make the world seem like a more menacing place. If his judgement is right, it will be interesting to see what mental state he’s in at the end of the month-long experiment.
It will undoubtedly make good TV viewing, but in terms of worth, the impact of print journalism is no longer where the media industry is focusing. A month with only the blogosphere for news might have been a more relevant experiment for today.
The documentary will be aired on Wednesday evening on Current TV.



