Paul Lashmar

'A damning reminder that the ghosts of empire are not distant – they are living, breathing and, in some cases, still collecting rent' - The Observer 'Eloquently reminds us that history is never truly past' - The New Yorker 'A family story straight out of Game of Thrones' - Alex Renton, author While the British landed gentry profited from chattel slavery in the West Indies, the Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax family of Dorset pioneered it. This is the story of the British Empire and slavery told through one family’s grotesque history, and how its legacy is alive and well today.

While the British landed gentry were to profit from chattel slavery in the West Indies, the Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax family of Dorset pioneered it. Spanning 400 years and 18 generations, Drax of Drax Hall is a story that has never been told. It all started when James Drax, one of the first settlers in Barbados in 1627, effectively founded the British sugar industry. His descendants went on to write the book on how to run a slave plantation. For more than two hundred years, the family enslaved up to 330 people at any time and became enormously rich. Today, the bloodline is unbroken, and former Tory MP Richard Drax heads the family from his vast Charborough Estate in Dorset. With physical assets worth at least £150m—not to mention the 621-acre sugar plantation in Barbados, the Drax Hall Estate—he was the wealthiest landowner in the House of Commons. Unseated in 2024, he remains a hero amongst hard-right culture warriors for his refusal to make any reparations for his family's role in slavery. Drax of Drax Hall lifts the lid on the grotesque history of this family. Through enclosure at home and enslavement abroad, their exploits expose the ugly realities of colonialism and empire—the legacies of which we have yet to fully confront today.

Combining his expertise as a national security correspondent and research academic, Paul Lashmar reveals how and why the media became more critical in its reporting of the Secret State. He explores a series of major case studies including Snowden, WikiLeaks, Spycatcher, rendition and torture, and MI5's vetting of the BBC most of which he reported on as they happened. He discusses the issues that news coverage raises for democracy and gives you a deeper understanding of how intelligence and the media function, interact and fit into structures of power and knowledge.

Combining his expertise as a national security correspondent and research academic, Paul Lashmar reveals how and why the media became more critical in its reporting of the Secret State. He explores a series of major case studies including Snowden, WikiLeaks, Spycatcher, rendition and torture, and MI5's vetting of the BBC most of which he reported on as they happened. He discusses the issues that news coverage raises for democracy and gives you a deeper understanding of how intelligence and the media function, interact and fit into structures of power and knowledge.

"An essential guide for anyone hungry to learn how journalism should be practised today, and will be tomorrow. Hill and Lashmar encapsulate the transformative impact technology is having on journalism, but anchor those changes in the basic principles of reporting." - Paul Lewis, The Guardian "As the news business transforms, Online Journalism is a fantastic new resource for both students and lecturers. Informative, straightforward and easily digested, it’s a one-stop shop for the skills, knowledge, principles and mindset required for journalistic success in the digital age." - Mary Braid, Kingston University Online and social media have become indispensible tools for journalists, but you still have to know how to find and tell a great story. To be a journalist today, you must have not only the practical skills to work with new technologies, but also the understanding of how and why journalism has changed. Combining theory and practice, Online Journalism: The Essential Guide will take you through the classic skills of investigating, writing and reporting as you master the new environments of mobile, on-demand, social, participatory and entrepreneurial journalism. You will also develop must-have skills in app development for smartphones and tablets, as well as techniques in podcast, blog and news website production. What this book does for you: Tips and advice from leading industry experts in their own words QR codes throughout the book to take you straight to multimedia links A fully up-to-date companion website loaded with teaching resources, detailed careers advice and industry insightsExercises to help you hone your skillsTop five guided reading list for each topic, so you can take it further Perfect for students throughout a journalism course, this is your essential guide!

"An essential guide for anyone hungry to learn how journalism should be practised today, and will be tomorrow. Hill and Lashmar encapsulate the transformative impact technology is having on journalism, but anchor those changes in the basic principles of reporting." - Paul Lewis, The Guardian "As the news business transforms, Online Journalism is a fantastic new resource for both students and lecturers. Informative, straightforward and easily digested, it’s a one-stop shop for the skills, knowledge, principles and mindset required for journalistic success in the digital age." - Mary Braid, Kingston University Online and social media have become indispensible tools for journalists, but you still have to know how to find and tell a great story. To be a journalist today, you must have not only the practical skills to work with new technologies, but also the understanding of how and why journalism has changed. Combining theory and practice, Online Journalism: The Essential Guide will take you through the classic skills of investigating, writing and reporting as you master the new environments of mobile, on-demand, social, participatory and entrepreneurial journalism. You will also develop must-have skills in app development for smartphones and tablets, as well as techniques in podcast, blog and news website production. What this book does for you: Tips and advice from leading industry experts in their own words QR codes throughout the book to take you straight to multimedia links A fully up-to-date companion website loaded with teaching resources, detailed careers advice and industry insightsExercises to help you hone your skillsTop five guided reading list for each topic, so you can take it further Perfect for students throughout a journalism course, this is your essential guide!