Articles of Faith: The Story of British Intellectual Journalism - Hardcover

Berry, Neil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1904130089 ISBN 13: 9781904130086

Publisher: The Waywiser Press, 2003

Synopsis

Neil Berry's Articles of Faith is a selective study of British intellectual journals and their editors, among them the pioneering Edinburgh Review as edited by Francis Jeffrey at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the New Statesman as edited by Kingsley Martin during the middle of the twentieth century, and the London Review of Books as edited by Karl Miller in the 1980s, The book argues that the 'higher journalism' did much to prepare the way for the civic-minded Britain that emerged after the Second World War and that its exponents were unofficial civil servants with a mission to enlighten society. In a postscript, Berry considers the embattled position of such journalism in today's commercialised media culture, with its fixation on celebrities and gossip and its unremitting hostility to serious discussion. This updated and expanded edition of Articles of Faith includes an afterword that discusses the furious controversy precipitated by the London Review of Books when, in 2006, it published a massive polemic by the political scientists John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt on the subject of America's so-called 'Israel Lobby'. Berry argues that the furore caused by this article re-affirmed the value of intellectual journalism, demonstrating char, on occasion, at least, it can still have a powerful impact on mainstream public debate.

About this title

Synopsis

Restless Ringmasters is a study of major British intellectual periodicals and those who conducted them, high-minded editors whose mission was to make the world a more civilised place. Focusing on such influential figures as Francis Jeffrey (editor of the Edinburgh Review from 1802 till 1829), James Knowles (editor of the Nineteenth Century from 1877 till 1907) and Kingsley Martin (editor of the New Statesman from 1931 till 1960), Neil Berry depicts the great exponents of the "higher journalism" as opinionated creatures of the British empire. But he argues that, for all their professional superciliousness, they were in many ways admirable public servants who did much to prepare the way for the civic-minded Britain that emerged after the Second World War. Restless Ringmasters closes with an anatomy of the career of Karl Miller, successively literary editor of the Spectator and the New Statesman, editor of the Listener and founding editor of the London Review of Books.

Berry portrays this Scottish literary impresario as the zealous heir of the Edinburgh reviewers of the nineteenth century, an upholder of old-style high-mindedness in an age when that quality has ceased to be a conspicuous feature of British public life. In an afterword, the author ponders the fate of residual "higher journalism" in the face of a commercialised media culture fixated on soundbites and celebrities.

About the Author

Born in Liverpool in 1952, Neil Berry has been a freelance journalist since 1980. He has contributed to many publications, including the Times Literary Supplement, the London Review of Books, the New Statesman, the Guardian, the Independent and the Hampstead and Highgate Express. He also writes a regular column for the Middle East English language newspaper, Arab News.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Waywiser Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1904130089
• ISBN 13: 9781904130086
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224