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"It is Thrown against me that I have a Castle": A portrait of newspaper coverage of the Central Southwark by-election, February 1940

Luckhurst, Tim (2012) "It is Thrown against me that I have a Castle": A portrait of newspaper coverage of the Central Southwark by-election, February 1940. Journalism Studies, 13 (1). pp. 107-123. ISSN 1469-9699. (doi:10.1080/1461670X.2011.571830) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:34499)

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Abstract

The nomination of an anti-war candidate in the Central Southwark by-election of February 1940 confronted Britain's newspapers with a dilemma. How should the press in a democracy fighting totalitarianism balance its obligation to hold power to account and its duty to the national interest? At this stage of the phony war, editors who knew that by-elections could stimulate national debate privileged the interests of the state. They conflated establishment and public interest and limited discussion to ideas represented in orthodox parliamentary opinion. Content analysis reveals newspapers engaged in self-censorship on behalf of a war that had not yet generated popular enthusiasm.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/1461670X.2011.571830
Uncontrolled keywords: by-elections; democracy; newspapers; phony war; reporting
Subjects: E History America
H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > Centre for Journalism
Depositing User: Tim Luckhurst
Date Deposited: 02 Jul 2013 12:47 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:11 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/34499 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Luckhurst, Tim.

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