Nominate a journalist for the Churner Prize

Journalists are becoming “churnalists”. Denied the time, money and resources to do the job properly, many hacks now churn out stories from press releases without even bothering to check the facts or their sources.

But it’s not all their fault, as often their editor is demanding that they deliver too much right now on a budget which is just too small. Your press release might just arrive when they are desperate for some interesting information to fill a space.

This phenomenon of turning PR into journalism “churnalism” is worth celebrating, even if it is only to highlight the depths that journalism can sink to.

With this in mind, a new website has been created. This website will display examples of bad churnalism and The Churner Prize will be offered from time to time to the most deserving recipients. Note that this is a pun on The Turner Prize, which is the UK’s most presitigious annual fine art award.

They need your help. If you spot an example of churnalism, email them the details. Your anonymity is 100% guaranteed. If you’re a journalist on the churn, then confess; this will ease the soul.

www.churnerprize.co.uk