Chris Bowlby: Regulators have never truly tamed the power of the press

Chris Bowlby is a presenter on BBC radio, specialising in history

After the phone hacking scandal and closure of the News of the World earlier this year, there has been much talk of a new era in journalism, and in relations between journalists, politicians and police.

The debate prompted by the scandal was remarkably intense and has claimed some prominent scalps, as well as setting in motion official enquiries into the workings of the media. But for historians of the popular press in Britain, like Dr Adrian Bingham of the University of Sheffield, this cycle of scandal followed by attempts at official regulation has a curiously familiar feel. Fear and loathing of the popular press among the elite in particular goes back at least as far as the foundation of the late News of the World in 1843.

The creators of this and other similar newspapers were consciously attempting, explains Dr Bingham, to “reach a market”. This contrasted deliberately with the traditional idea of journalism embracing politics, business and thoughtful commentary. Railways provided new means of mass distribution; more extensive education created thousands of potential new readers, eager for what new newspaper owners called ‘human interest’....