Richard Lance Keeble







John Tulloch: On the importance of mischief-making

The writings of John Tulloch, former Head of the School of Journalism at the University of Lincoln, spanned a vast range of topics: the ethics of literary journalism, media history, Indian newspapers, the coverage of the 'war on terror', the film reviewing of George Orwell, ethics and the teaching of journalism and media studies, the 'witchifying' of Rebekah Brooks, the history of the links between hacks and cops - and so on. Serious topics, he approached them often idiosyncratically but always with tremendous literary flair and moral engagement. This paper, by a friend and colleague and so unapologetically affectionate, focuses on some of John's major preoccupations and his wonderfully original analyses. Moreover, there was a cheeky side to his personality and writings which this paper aims to highlight and celebrate.

Keywords: John Tulloch, mischief-making, journalism ethics, war coverage, journalism teaching


References

  1. Orwell, George (1931) A hanging, The Adelphi, August. Available online at http://www.online-literature.com/Orwell/888/
  2. Tulloch, John (1996) Universities challenged, 20/20: The National Magazine for Photography and Media Education, No. 4 pp 3-32
  3. Tulloch, John (2004) 'What moral universe are you from?' Everyday tragedies and the ethics of press intrusion into grief, Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics, Vol. 1, No. 3 pp 25-30
  4. Tulloch, John (2005) Journalism: The myth of trust, Media Education Journal, No. 36 pp 4-5
  5. Tulloch, John (2007a) Review of Journalists under fire: The psychological hazards of covering war, by Anthony Feinstein, Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics, Vol. 4, No. 3 pp 41-42
  6. Tulloch, John (2007b) Charles Dickens and the voices of journalism, Keeble, Richard and Wheeler, Sharon (eds) The journalistic imagination: Literary journalists from Defoe to Capote and Carter, London, Routledge pp 58-73
  7. Tulloch, John (2007c) Exploring legal black holes: Extraordinary rendition, investigative journalism and the moral imagination, Maltby, Sarah and Keeble, Richard (eds) Communicating War: Memory, Media and Military, Bury St Edmunds: Abramis pp 29-41
  8. Tulloch, John (2007d) Hunting ghost planes: An interview with journalist Stephen Grey, Journalism, Vol. 8, No. 5 pp 493-498
  9. Tulloch, John (2008) Picnics on Vesuvius: The media and the problem of trust, Mair, John and Keeble, Richard Lance (eds) Beyond trust: Hype and hope in the British media, Bury St Edmunds, Abramis pp 95-106
  10. Tulloch, John (2009) Review of The age of the warrior, by Robert Fisk, Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics, Vol. 6, No. 1 pp 54-56
  11. Tulloch, John (2011) Confronting evil: Literature and investigative journalism, Mair, John and Keeble, Richard Lance (eds) Investigative journalism: Dead or alive? Bury St Edmunds, Abramis pp 318-333
  12. Tulloch, John (2011) We are all dickheads now: Reflections on the future of journalism, Mair, John and Keeble, Richard Lance (eds) The internet and journalism today, Bury St Edmunds: Abramis pp 334-341
  13. Tulloch, John (2012a) 'The man believed to be a journalist, was arrested': Journalism, bribery and the detective police, Keeble, Richard Lance and Mair, John (eds) The phone hacking scandal: Journalism on trial, Abramis, Bury St Edmunds pp 308-320
  14. Tulloch, John (2012b) Introduction - Mind the gap: On the fuzzy boundaries between the literary and the journalistic, Keeble, Richard Lance and Tulloch, John (eds) Global literary journalism: Exploring the journalistic imagination, New York, Peter Lang pp 1-22
  15. Tulloch, John (2012c) Sceptic in the palace of dreams: Orwell as film reviewer, Keeble, Richard Lance (ed.) Orwell today, Bury St Edmunds, Abramis pp 79-101
  16. Tulloch, John (2012d) Journalism as a novel: The novel as journalism - The writing of Gordon Burn, Keeble, Richard Lance and Tulloch, John (eds) Global literary journalism: Exploring the journalistic imagination, New York, Peter Lang pp 39-56
  17. Tulloch, John (2013) 'A little bit of Salem': Rebekah Brooks, of News International, and the construction of a modern witch, Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics, Vol. 10, No. 1 pp 4-7
  18. Tulloch, John (2014) Journalism, imagination and the art of fact: The work of Geoffrey Moorhouse, Keeble, Richard Lance and Tulloch, John (eds) Global literary journalism: Exploring the journalistic imagination, Vol. 2, New York, Peter Lang pp 201-216

Note on the contributor

Richard Lance Keeble has written and edited 29 books on a range of topics including practical newspaper skills, media ethics, war reporting, investigative journalism, peace journalism, literary journalism. He is currently working on books about profiling, humour and journalism, George Orwell and the coverage of conflict since 1945. He is the chair of the Orwell Society, of his local male voice choir in Lincolnshire and on the committee of his local film club. Since 2003, he has been Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln and he won a National Teaching Fellowship in 2011.