Does education get the media it deserves?

In his inaugural lecture, Professor Mike Baker - who in 2000 was the BBC's Education Correspondent - examines the media's treatment of education. He asks whether the image of schools shown in the newspapers and on the broadcast media gives a fair impression of reality. Is it too positive, too negative or simply what the education profession deserves because of its suspicion and nervousness of dealing with the media? He questions whether journalists are out to do a 'demolition job' on schools or whether they achieve a proper balance between 'good news' and 'bad news'. The lecture also looks at the work of the 'spin doctors' and gives examples of media coverage, for example of The Ridings school, and suggests ways in which the education profession could do much more to present a better image of its work. Professor Baker looks at the ways in which the teaching profession has fallen into a defensive role in the public debate on education and suggests ways to improve teachers' contribution to the public policy debate. He urges the creation of a new State Schools Information Service to promote a better representation of schools in the media and invites universities to appoint a Professor for the Public Understanding of Education.