The BBC’s Emily Maitlis has slammed the Government’s daily coronavirus press conferences as ‘frustrating’ because politicians keep trying to ‘pivot’ from questions.
The Newsnight host’s comments emerged as a poll found more than two thirds of people think journalists have not done a good job of holding Ministers to account.
Political reporters have been the main opposition for Ministers following Parliament shutting down for a month after voting through unprecedented lockdown measures.
The Labour Party have been completing a leadership election, while the Liberal Democrats still have no one in charge after Jo Swinson lost her seat last December.
And Maitlis complained that ‘patronising’ politicians are offering a ‘totally different response to the question’ when journalists ask them via videolink about policies.
BBC presenter Emily Maitlis has slammed the Government’s daily coronavirus press conferences as ‘frustrating’ and accused politicians of being ‘patronising’
A poll by Press Gazette asked: ‘Do you think journalists have done a good job of holding the Government to account during the daily UK Covid-19 press briefings?’
Out of 1,020 respondents to the survey on the industry journal’s website between April 14 and 21, some 302 or 30 per cent said ‘yes’, while 718 or 70 per cent said ‘no’.
The majority of respondents are likely to have been journalists or others who work in the news industry, which forms the predominant readership of Press Gazette.
Speaking about the press conferences, Maitlis told the Table Manners podcast: ‘We watch them, we try and make sense of them, they’re quite frustrating things.
‘I think the Skype era has been so brilliant in many ways for allowing us to creep into people’s homes, get guests we wouldn’t otherwise – the audience has been sort of more forgiving of that.
‘But the truth is, that unless you’re actually opposite somebody in the same room, able to catch their eye, understand their body language, you’re never going to do the same kind of interview.’
Political journalists gather for a press conference hosted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing Street in London on March 17 when reporters were still allowed to attend in person
Maitlis, who was speaking in the podcast first released on April 8, added: ‘Those briefings are really frustrating because now of course the journalists come through Skype, they get one question, they’re not allowed a follow-up.
‘One of most frustrating things is when, it’s not even like they say ‘we’ve increased it by X and you know that’s not true’, it’s something even more fundamental than that.
‘It’s, for example, when you say ‘why aren’t we doing as much testing’, ‘why haven’t we got our testing up to the numbers or the standards that you wanted to meet’ and they’ll pivot slightly and do this diversion.
‘They’ll say, ‘well let me tell you why testing is important’ and then this spiel comes out and you feel it’s so patronising, actually, is the word, because you feel like saying ‘I know why testing is important, I wouldn’t have asked about testing if I hadn’t realised it was important’.
‘It’s like somebody saying, it’s like if I said, you know, ‘why are the numbers of unemployed so high’ and you turned around and said ‘the reason it’s really important we have more people in work is because people have to earn a living and they also have to feel self-esteem’.
‘I know that, I know why testing is important, I know why unemployment is bad, don’t treat me as if you have to filibuster, almost, a totally different response to the question.’
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty host a digital news conference at Downing Street yesterday
She also cited an interview on Newsnight with Sweden’s state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who was talking about the country’s herd immunity strategy on April 1.
Maitlis said: ‘My colleague Gabriel Gatehouse was interviewing him, and he said: ‘How do you know this is going to work’? And the guy just said: ‘We don’t, it’s a massive plunge, it’s a plunge into the dark, we’ve done the research, we think this is what we need for our country at this time, but of course we don’t know – there is no guarantee.’
‘And actually if somebody says that to you, you’re a human being, I get this, nobody has come across Covid-19 before, nobody’s got the answer, nobody’s got the vaccine, we’re all in the dark, and we really want you to do the best.
‘I think that is the thing, fundamentally, we want – sounds really obviously just spelling it out – but we want the Government to succeed, we want this policy to succeed, we want lives to be saved.’
Reporters had initially attended the briefings in person at Downing Street in London, which have provided updates on the Government’s response to the pandemic.
But social distancing measures meant they have instead been forced to appear via video link since the country was put into lockdown on March 23.
The BBC has put up political editor Laura Kuenssberg or health editor Hugh Pym each day, while reporters at other outlets have applied to take part in a ballot.
There has been criticism from some quarters that journalists have repeated the same questions asked by others or failed to get a proper response on key issues.
Others have claimed reporters are obsessing over one issue or trying to establish who is responsible for decisions at a time when this is perceived by some to be unnecessary.
Among those criticising the briefings has been veteran BBC political broadcaster Andrew Neil, who has said they are ‘not working’ and include ‘ridiculous questions’.
He tweeted on April 15: ‘Too many ridiculous questions at the government press conference. Take the one which effectively asked – is the Government letting people in care homes die so it can prioritise saving younger people in hospitals?
‘First, the premise is absurd. Second, what kind of answer do you expect? ‘Absolutely, old bean. It’s our policy to kill old people so that the young can live. Have a badge.’
‘Really? Put aside the morality for a sec. Why would this government actively seek to kill those who vote for it? Madness.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a previous press conference on March 19
Journalists have been allowed to ask follow-up questions since April 2, and Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has said: ‘Robust scrutiny is to be welcomed; it is the duty of the media.’
Broadcasters such as the BBC have reported record audiences while websites have seen a surge in traffic since the start of the outbreak.
But there remains concern about the economic and social fall-out on journalists, including freelancers not covered by government rescue plans.
Nearly 250 local newspaper titles closed between 2005 and 2018, and the current crisis has seen more than 2,000 mainly non-editorial staff at some 500 newspapers temporarily laid off.
Some companies are predicting multimillion-pound losses in revenue, have cut salaries or asked staff to work fewer hours and take unpaid leave.
Others have announced mergers or warned they could close completely.
The BBC has put up political editor Laura Kuenssberg (left) or health editor Hugh Pym (right)
Media research firm Enders Analysis has predicted advertising sales in the British press could fall by £330million or 30 per cent this year, and circulation could be cut in two.
The editorial director of the Yorkshire Post, James Mitchinson, said his team had been working hard to provide accurate, reliable information on the outbreak.
But he warned that many titles could close without ‘immediate’ government support.
‘The measures we have taken to cut costs don’t make up for the reduction in ad revenue,’ he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Times.
‘We need grants and a change to the furlough scheme to pay journalists – key workers – to work, not down tools.’
Roy Greenslade, a former editor of the Daily Mirror and now media commentator for The Guardian, said the financial impact on companies and consumers could leave many organisations unable to recover when the lockdown ends.
Among those criticising the briefings has been veteran BBC political broadcaster Andrew Neil, who has said they are ‘not working’ and include ‘ridiculous questions’
Companies were likely to reassess their newsroom operations, print or online strategies and ultimately look at their bottom line, as they take a hit on the stock market, he said.
The period after the outbreak ‘will likely mark the final stage in newsprint’s long decline’, he predicted.
On Saturday, the Culture Secretary told Britain’s 100 biggest brands including Amazon, Sky and Tesco to allow their adverts to appear next to coronavirus news stories.
Oliver Dowden urged the firms in a letter to end ‘ad-blocking’ on online articles about the pandemic and ‘play their part’ in supporting the UK news industry.
Mr Dowden also urged people to continue buying newspapers – which he called the UK’s ‘fourth emergency service’ – as they suffer from a drop in advertising and sales.
He said the Press is ‘grappling with arguably the biggest existential crisis in its history’ with national, regional and local papers all under huge financial pressure.
Newsquest, one of the largest regional news publishers in the UK, has put a ‘significant number’ of its staff on furlough and warned others will face wage cuts.
In London, City AM halted its daily print edition for commuters and put the majority of its staff on furlough.
The London Evening Standard reduced its daily print run and will also furlough some staff and cut pay because of a fall in advertising revenue.
The Press Association, an agency which supplies copy to newspapers, has furloughed 44 of its sports and racing journalists.
Earlier this month, newspaper publishers warned in a letter that they face losing £50million during the lockdown because of advertising ‘blocklists’.
Tracy De Groose, executive chair of the trade body Newsworks, who wrote the letter on behalf of the industry, said it was vital that advertisers removed coronavirus from their blocklists.