Fayke Newes

The 500 year history of the cruel war between those in power and news media. 'Fake news'. 'Psycho'. 'Enemy of the people'. The insults President Donald Trump and the American media hurl at each other are, in fact, nothing new. Over many centuries, journalists have accused governments of being 'horrible monsters', with 'guilty consciences', while reporters have been branded 'poisoners of the people' putting out 'false fables'. Ever since the invention of the printing press, those in positions of power have seen mass communication as a dangerous threat, usurping their ability to tell people what to think, and capable of stirring up discontent and even rebellion. In The Media vs the Mighty, historian and international journalist Derek J. Taylor tracks the story of what's been a long, bloody and messy war, and discovers that neither side has always had clean hands. He takes us from Henry VIII's reign when writers and printers were executed, to the later struggles for the right to a free press, and, nearer our own time, the media's battles with the governments of President Richard Nixon and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Taylor ends with the social media revolution, which has put mass communication in the hands of ordinary people, as well as those of a certain US president. AUTHOR: Derek J. Taylor studied law and history at Oxford, before joining ITN as an on-screen reporter. He reported five wars, and spent seven months in Iran during the Islamic revolution (a time and place portrayed in the film Argo). In his later career, he worked for the BBC, then The Associated Press of America as Chief Executive of their TV division, and now lives in the Cotswolds with his wife, Maggie. He is the author of Magna Carta in 20 Places (THP, 2015) and Who Do the English Think They Are? (THP, 2017). 50 b/w illustrations

“A revealing and sometimes alarming review of the age-old efforts by governments to muzzle the media.”

-- PETER SNOW

Derek J. Taylor is a best-selling history writer and former international TV news correspondent. He studied law and history at Oxford before joining Independent Television News of London. As an on-screen correspondent, he reported from Northern Ireland, Rome, South Africa and the United States, and reported on five wars in the Middle East. He is the author of Magna Carta: The Places that Shaped the Great Charter (The History Press, 2015), Who Do the English Think They Are? From the Anglo-Saxons to Brexit (The History Press, 2017) and Fayke Newes: The Media vs the Mighty, From Henry VIII to Donald Trump (The History Press, 2018).

'Fake news'. 'Dishonest press'. 'Racist'. 'Mentally unstable'.The insults President Donald Trump and the American news media hurl at each other are nothing new. In Tudor England, printed papers branded the monarch a 'horrible monster', and were in turn accused of publishing 'false fables'. Ever since the invention of the printing press, those in power have seen mass communication as a dangerous threat, usurping their ability to tell people what to think, and capable of stirring up discontent and even rebellion.In Fayke Newes, historian and international journalist Derek J. Taylor tracks this long and bloody fight between the press and those in power through the lives of the men and women who got caught up in the battle. On a journey through the centuries, we crisscross the Atlantic between Britain and America, during wars and in peacetime, and discover that neither governments nor journalists have always told the truth. And, in our own time, when social media has put mass communication in the hands of anyone with a smart-phone - from a certain US President, to any crook, liar or foreign enemy - Taylor asks: What hope for the rest of us who just want to know what's really going on?

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