COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW – 01/11/2019
Jon Allsop
BRITAIN WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY. Depending on which newspaper you read, that would have meant moving into a bright, unshackled future, or a desperate economic hellscape. The words “October 31” rang through the country’s media for months, accompanied by dire warnings from right-wing politicians that if the deed wasn’t done by then, there would be civil unrest; Boris Johnson, the prime minister, said that he’d rather be “dead in a ditch” than keep Britain in the EU a day past Halloween. But the departure date is now set for January 31 (or sooner, if politicians can pass an exit deal before then); in the interim, Britain will have an election, on December 12, to try and break the impasse. That means six weeks of relentless campaign coverage. Some outlets, fatigued by now, are desperately trying to focus elsewhere.