It is generally a poor media relations strategy to criticize the news media. In this case, England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair doesn’t have much to lose. On one hand, he’s on his way out. On the other hand, his criticism raises valid points.

Some choice nuggets that bear repeating:

• “I am going to say something that few people in public life will say, but most know is absolutely true: a vast aspect of our jobs today—outside of the really major decisions, as big as anything else—is coping with the media, its sheer scale, weight and constant hyperactivity.
• “At points, it literally overwhelms. Talk to senior people in virtually any walk of life today—business, military, public services, sport, even charities and voluntary organisations and they will tell you the same. People don’t speak about it because, in the main, they are afraid to.
• “But it is true, nonetheless, and those who have been around long enough, will also say it has changed significantly in the past years.
• “…And, believe it or not, most politicians come into public life with a desire to serve and by and large, try to do the right thing not the wrong thing.
• “So I introduced: first, lobby briefings on the record; then published the minutes; then gave monthly press conferences; then Freedom of Information; then became the first Prime Minister to go to the Select Committee’s Chairman’s session; and so on. None of it to any avail, not because these things aren’t right, but because they don’t deal with the central issue: how politics is reported.
• “The sooner we recognise this, the better because we can then debate a sensible way forward. The reality is that as a result of the changing context in which 21st Century communications operates, the media are facing a hugely more intense form of competition than anything they have ever experienced before.
• “Watergate was a great piece of journalism but there is a PhD thesis all on its own to examine the consequences for journalism of standing one conspiracy up. What creates cynicism is not mistakes; it is allegations of misconduct.
• “So—for example—there will often be as much interpretation of what a politician is saying as there is coverage of them actually saying it. In the interpretation, what matters is not what they mean; but what they could be taken to mean.
• “This leads to the incredibly frustrating pastime of expending a large amount of energy rebutting claims about the significance of things said, that bears little or no relation to what was intended.
• “At present, we are all being dragged down by the way media and public life interact. Trust in journalists is not much above that in politicians. There is a market in providing serious, balanced news. There is a desire for impartiality.
• “Talk to any public service leader—especially in the NHS or the field of law and order—and they will tell you not that they mind the criticism, but they become totally demoralised by the completely unbalanced nature of it.”

Blair makes valid points. Those who work in government recognize the constraints within which they work—limited budgets, complex organizations—and most do the best they can. Systemically, it can be argued that government is inefficient, dysfunctional and oppressive—in many cases it is, just as are most complex human systems, including news conglomerates—but that doesn’t inherently mean that members of large systems are prone to corruption (some of the most upstanding people I know are government administrators), as too many reporters seem to assume. In other words, the daily business of government likely does not match the scandal-prone version of reality the news media too often portrays.

Predictably, members of the news media had shrill reactions to Blair’s critique, most appearing to ignore his points. The irony is of course that the news media can learn from its public relations brethren in this regard—how to take the high road in the face of criticism, as well as to acknowledge the many truths our critics hand us—and vow to improve in those areas.

Wisely, NPR reacts with constructive discussion, a formula that appears to work well for this outlet.