At a black tie dinner, Julie Etchingham, the ITN newsreader and a serious journalist in her own right, is the guest speaker. She is personable and has some good jokes. She talks about highlights of her career including commentating at the royal wedding and covering the Pope’s visit. Yet she strives to show that she is a down to earth Leicester girl, bright enough to go to Cambridge and committed to journalism since her teenage years working for love pounding the pavements for vox pop for local radio. Just occasionally, however, the mask slips and we glimpse that she is also (but not for us) a member of an establishment that relishes knowing things that ordinary folk can only guess at. It is arrogant though probably not malicious; and it is a reminder that the public weal is selectively populated with information and that those with an interest in restricting the flow of material include not only politicians, captains of industry and trade union leaders – but also those who like to portray themselves in the good corner such as journalists – who would have no trade if there were perfect knowledge.