The PPA-sponsored session of The Debating Group tackled the motion “No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money” at the House of Commons on October 24.
The event, which was the biggest PPA-sponsored debate to-date, was based around a quote attributed to Samuel Johnson, author of Dictionary of the English Language.
Speaking in favour of the motion were David Hepworth, Editorial Director of Development Hell, publishers of The Word magazine, and Gill Hudson, UK Editor in Chief of Reader's Digest and the PPA’s current Editor of the Year.
Speaking against the motion were Phil Hilton, Editorial Director of ShortList Media and Patrick Hayes, a political commentator and reporter for spiked.
The debate was chaired by David Hanger, Publisher and Chief Executive of Prospect Magazine, EMMA Chairman and The Debating Group Chairman.
Proposing the motion, Hepworth provided a robust argument that touched upon blogs and news aggregators and the benefits of paying for writing.
Hilton was next to take to the floor, arguing that whereas journalists should be a moral centre, there had been a downturn in their public reputation because of paid journalism.
His contention was that it was the pressure to sell journalism – the hunger for bigger and bigger pay – that brings out the worst in journalists as a breed.
Seconding the motion, Hudson made the distinction that free content was comment and not journalism and that journalists should be paid as they were curators of quality content.
Finally, she contended that that a truly free press was one that was paid for.
Hayes concluded by querying the motivation behind why writers write and argued that it should be a desire to share ideas not money that was most important.
The debate was then opened to the room to vote and the motion was carried.
A full transcription of the debate can be read shortly on The Debating Group website.
