I have now been a journalist for 40 years. The forces ranged against my profession have never been so powerful
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
George Monbiot chronicles his four-decade journalism career, beginning at the BBC’s Natural History Unit in 1985 where he pioneered investigative environmental reporting. His early work—exposing corporate malfeasance, corrupt customs officials, and Indonesia’s brutal transmigration programme—demonstrated journalism’s potential to challenge power structures. However, when BBC director general Alasdair Milne was forced to resign in 1987 following government pressure over controversial programmes like Secret Society, investigative journalism was effectively banned from the corporation.
Monbiot argues that the erosion of press freedom correlates directly with rising inequality and concentrated capital power. After the “great compression” period of post-war equality enabled diverse political discourse, the resurgence of billionaire wealth has systematically crushed dissenting voices in mainstream media. Despite failed attempts to publish in rightwing outlets like the Telegraph and Daily Mail, Monbiot finds hope in emerging citizen journalism networks like the Bristol Cable, openDemocracy, and local independent outlets that challenge corporate media monopolies.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Golden Age of Investigative Journalism
The 1980s BBC allowed journalists to penetrate criminal networks using undercover methods, breaking stories about oil spills and illegal wildlife trade.
Thatcher Government’s Media Purge
The 1987 forced resignation of Alasdair Milne ended investigative journalism at BBC, demonstrating how political power crushes uncomfortable reporting.
Information Deficit vs Power Deficit
Monbiot’s worldview shifted from believing exposure creates change to understanding that concentrated wealth controls narrative and suppresses truth.
Rightwing Media Censorship
Twenty of twenty-one commissioned Daily Mail articles were spiked, with the published piece having its regulatory solution replaced with “more research.”
Rise of Citizen Journalism
Independent outlets like Bristol Cable, openDemocracy, and Novara represent a grassroots revolt against billionaire-controlled mainstream propaganda.
The Great Compression’s Legacy
Post-war equality enabled diverse journalism, but resurging billionaire power now systematically crushes dissent through media ownership and government pressure.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Power’s Systematic Suppression of Truth
The article traces how concentrated capital systematically dismantles investigative journalism through ownership, political pressure, and editorial control. Monbiot demonstrates that the “wallet is mightier than the pen”—exposing how billionaire-controlled media functions as a single-issue lobby group protecting elite interests rather than serving democratic accountability.
Purpose
Warning About Democratic Erosion
Monbiot aims to expose the structural crisis in contemporary journalism while inspiring resistance through citizen media. He argues that without independent investigative reporting, democracy cannot function—making the rise of alternative outlets existentially important for accountability and social change.
Structure
Personal Narrative → Historical Analysis → Call to Action
The piece begins with vivid memoir from Monbiot’s early career successes, transitions to analyzing how the 1987 Milne firing marked journalism’s structural collapse, examines the economic forces driving media consolidation, and concludes with optimistic examples of emerging citizen journalism as resistance.
Tone
Reflective, Critical & Cautiously Hopeful
Monbiot balances bitter experience with measured optimism—his tone is disillusioned yet defiant, acknowledging journalism’s systematic corruption while refusing despair. The writing combines personal vulnerability with sharp political analysis and ends on a note of strategic hope for grassroots resistance.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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Made extremely angry; enraged to the point of taking action against the source of anger.
“The BBC’s investigations had infuriated the Thatcher government, particularly the Secret Society series.”
To confine or control people within restricted boundaries; to gather and contain, often forcibly.
“The policy involved moving hundreds of thousands of people to the country’s outer islands, to displace and corral local populations.”
Opposition to established policies or authority; the expression of disagreement with official views or decisions.
“The governments they support have sought to crush dissent.”
Involving or intending the deliberate destruction of a racial, ethnic, or cultural group.
“It was a brutal, ecocidal and, in West Papua, genocidal scheme.”
The existing state of affairs; the current condition or arrangement, especially in political or social contexts.
“The corporation had largely defended the status quo.”
The scope or range of authority, concern, or activity; the area within which something operates or has influence.
“Questions that fall within the purview of mainstream journalism.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to Monbiot, the BBC has always functioned primarily as an institution that challenges government authority and defends investigative journalism.
2What fundamental shift in Monbiot’s worldview occurred after Alasdair Milne’s forced resignation?
3Select the sentence that best illustrates Monbiot’s experience with editorial censorship at rightwing publications.
4Evaluate whether each statement about the “great compression” period is supported by the article.
The two world wars destroyed much of capital’s political power, enabling higher taxation of the wealthy.
The great compression period ended because of technological changes that made investigative journalism obsolete.
During this period, there was a widening spectrum of politics and opinion in media.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5What can be inferred about Monbiot’s view of citizen journalism based on the article’s conclusion?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Secret Society was a controversial BBC investigative series that exposed clandestine government decision-making processes. Combined with Panorama’s “Maggie’s Militant Tendency” programme alleging far-right views among senior Conservatives, these investigations so infuriated the Thatcher government that the BBC board forced director general Alasdair Milne to resign in January 1987, effectively ending the corporation’s brief era of confrontational investigative journalism.
The transmigration programme was a policy run by Indonesia’s Suharto dictatorship and funded by the World Bank, UK, and US governments. It involved forcibly relocating hundreds of thousands of people from densely populated areas to outer islands to displace and control local populations. Monbiot describes it as a brutal, ecocidal scheme that was genocidal in West Papua, representing the type of powerful investigation that became impossible after the BBC banned investigative journalism.
The great compression refers to the post-World War II period of radically reduced economic inequality. The two world wars had destroyed much of capital’s political power, enabling high taxation of the wealthy, creation of welfare states, and a wider spectrum of political discourse and media opinion. Monbiot argues that as billionaire wealth and power have resurged since this period, governments have systematically crushed dissent, narrowing the range of acceptable journalism and political discussion.
Readlite provides curated articles with comprehensive analysis including summaries, key points, vocabulary building, and practice questions across 9 different RC question types. Our Ultimate Reading Course offers 365 articles with 2,400+ questions to systematically improve your reading comprehension skills.
This is an Advanced-level article requiring sophisticated critical reading skills. It demands understanding of complex political-economic relationships, historical context spanning multiple decades, abstract concepts like media capture and structural power, and ability to follow extended argument development. The vocabulary includes specialized terms from journalism, political economy, and critical theory. Readers should be comfortable analyzing how institutions function, recognizing implicit arguments, and understanding systemic rather than individual causes.
After experiencing systematic censorship at rightwing publications like the Telegraph and Daily Mail, Monbiot considers The Guardian one of the “very few mainstream outlets, anywhere, in which you can freely criticise the real elite.” Unlike billionaire-owned media that functions as “a single-issue lobby group, whose purpose is to assert the rights of capital,” The Guardian’s ownership structure through the Scott Trust allows editorial independence from both corporate owners and advertisers, enabling journalists to challenge powerful interests without having their work spiked or rewritten.
The Ultimate Reading Course covers 9 RC question types: Multiple Choice, True/False, Multi-Statement T/F, Text Highlight, Fill in the Blanks, Matching, Sequencing, Error Spotting, and Short Answer. This comprehensive coverage prepares you for any reading comprehension format you might encounter.
