Peter Worthington has had an amazing life. And his obituary, which he wrote himself, certainly has an arresting opening line.
The Guardian is launching a fascinating, and some might say reckless, experiment online. It is opening its news lists and editorial conferences to its readers, and inviting them to have a say on what are the most important issues of the day and how they should be covered. The Guardian openly admits this could lead to stories being stolen by rival titles. It is also aware of potential legal pitfalls, as much of what is said in a news conference would be unprintable for a cocktail of reasons. It may only be a short-lived project.
But as a tool for understanding how news is chosen and developed by a real newsdesk, this should be unmissable for students of journalism.
