The opening seminar of semester 1 was focused around the book Tabloid Nation written by Winchester University's journalism lecturer Chris Horrie. I lead the seminar with my seminar paper which discussed the high and low points of the Daily Mirror newspaper and how events throughout the 20th century such as the two world wars and the General Election of 1945 determined the newspaper's future. Following on from the seminar paper the group discussed how the book is related to the film, Citizen Kane which we watched after the previous lecture. We concluded that the film had similarities to that of Tabloid Nation, as the central character Citizen Kane (who was modelled on the real life American journalist William Randolph Hearst) ended up living his final years alone and died an unhappy man who had all the wealth in the world. In the book by Horrie, Harry Guy Bartholomew who took over the Daily Mirror was fired from the newspaper and ended up dying of alcohol related problems in a small country cottage in Norfolk. From this information, I personally concluded that the journalists do not always have a happy legacy and can be remembered for the wrong reasons.
With regards to Tabloid Nation, I felt that it was a very enjoyable read and parts one and two gave a through and detailed insight into the successes and failures of the industry during the 20th century. I will read the other books that Horrie has written about the journalism industry as if they are as good as Tabloid Nation then I am positive I will enjoy them just as much.
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