The question mark hanging over the very existence of newspapers raises the question: is there a future for the written word? BBC business editor Robert Peston is certain there is: in a recent lecture, he says that the blog is at the very heart of his work, enabling him to ‘share information — some of it hugely important, some of it less so — with a big and interested audience’. He sees this as critical to democracy. Ancient Greeks would be wary of his conclusion.
In a play by Euripides, the priggish young man Hippolytus learns from a do-gooding nurse that his stepmother Phaedra is wasting away out of lust for him. Appalled, he roundly abuses all womankind and Phaedra, mortified at the revelation of the feelings she has honourably tried to keep hidden, commits suicide. Determined, however, to maintain her reputation and punish Hippolytus, she leaves a letter for her husband, claiming that he tried to rape her.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in