Young journalist Gavin Bevis is getting used to that "no comment" routine - but that doesn't mean he has to like it

"I'm sorry, I'm not really allowed to comment on that."

"Errrmm, I better talk to my managing director"

"I'm really the wrong person to ask..."

Dear oh dear, is nobody allowed to hold an opinion any more?

How many times lately have I been doing quite a straightforward piece, nothing too controversial, when my task has been made ten times harder by the general public's unwillingness to be quoted in black ink.

As reporters, we rely on the people we talk to giving us informative and useful soundbites to pad out our stories. Yet the number of individuals who will go on record as holding an opinion seems to be dwindling almost daily.

It's not as if we're asking them to comment on near-the-knuckle issues, is it? Maybe if it were a story about abortion or sexuality I'd be more understanding. But when you get people too frightened to congratulate their staff on improved performance (which happened to me recently, I might add) then you realise that something is seriously wrong.

Has corporate culture become so oppressive that employees aren't allowed to give their own viewpoint any more? It would seem so.

The two groups of people I have found to be the most cowardly recently have been vicars and teachers - particularly headmasters.

Most vicars I speak to these days seem almost too uncertain to admit they believe in God!

Members of the church have never been the most confortable with the press but these days they seem so weighed down by church politics and falling attendances that they need five minutes to think through what they are going to say before they will answer your question.

And if you speak to a teacher, you'll be met with a 'no comment' if you mention anything more controversial than untied shoelaces or chewing gum (and even that's dodgy ground!).

These two professions are by no means the only culprits. You will find fear of the press in every walk of life. Footballers have taken the lead from Alan Shearer in not saying anything interesting - at all - to reporters for fear of punishment from their managers or the FA.

Pop stars, once a fantastic source of outspoken and outrageous comments, now sit like plebs on Saturday morning kids' television saying how brilliant all the other pop stars are.

Wouldn't it be nice, just for once, to see the gay bloke out of Steps label Geri Halliwell 'a fat heffer' or Kylie Minogue describe B*witched as 'ugly ladyboys'.

I'm not saying that the whole of society should start slagging each other off. I just think that perhaps it's time we all stopped automatically following the company line and began standing up for our rights to hold our own views as individuals.

So next time a McDonalds' crew member refuses to comment on BSE, or an HMV assistant keeps quiet about her favourite records, make sure you tell them to start thinking for themselves.

Otherwise, we'll end up with a society afraid to say anything that the big multi-national conglomerates don't agree with.

And it's our job, as responsible journalists, to make sure that never happens….

© Gavin Bevis, September, 2000

Anything that really gets YOUR goat, or just pushes your buttons? Heaven or hell, tell us about it.
E-mail us now