Journalism is not art, it is not science; neither is journalism scholarship, although the accomplishments of journalists, purposeful and accessible, often outdo the investigations of scholars... Journalists are free to be amateurs, to be interested, to practise... the art of the scavenger".
Why is beauty less interesting to you than journalism?" Although I found the certainty of Jacob's exclusions odd, they had their resonance.
Today most essays are written as expository, informative journalism, although there are still essayists in the great tradition who think of themselves as artists.
It conducted a thorough investigation into many of the ills of modern journalism – although having worked with some of those who are depicted, I should say that it also showed how even verbatim quotations can be made to twist things subtly.
The most encouraging sign for journalism, although maybe an alarming one for business managers, is that we now see dozens of journalists, who were previously constrained to operating on their own sites, posting ever more material and links to places where their audiences might be.
Frank Keating, who has died at the age of 75, was a giant of sports journalism, although as a columnist and feature writer whose work habitually brought out the humanity and humour in a subject, he would have chortled self-mockingly at such a grandiose epitaph.
"It's a great initiative, and I support anything that encourages young people to think about journalism – although our industry is quite a depressing one at the moment and I don't envy youngsters coming into it," says Ware. "But the BBC, certainly, is awash with middle-class members of staff and an initiative that aims to inspire youngsters from more challenged backgrounds is a very welcome one".
Writing this piece I have the uneasy feeling that in British columnar journalism – although hopefully with less catastrophic consequences – rule one may be never to embark on a dispute with Neal Ascherson.
Some of this certainly constitutes independent journalism, although there's no easy way to know what's true on the internet.
I, too, went the "find-your-passion-at-60" route and turned from journalism (although I still do it) to rediscover art, which was my college major.
