What Are The Different Types Of Parliamentary Journalist?

Traditionally, there are two types of newspaper parliamentary journalist - the gallery reporter and the sketch reporter. The gallery reporter, the oldest type, has to provide factual and accurate accounts of Commons business. This type of reporting, a "once vigorous tradition of political journalism", died in 1993 and has given way to the sketch writers who deliver short, analytical, and often-humorous accounts of the day's proceedings. In addition, up until this time, The Times in particular was famous for its publishing of long extracts of parliamentary speeches. But this was put on the backburner as well because it was concluded that nobody read them except politicians themselves.

When Simon Hoggart (now a Commons sketch writer for The Guardian) started reporting from the Commons in 1973 The Times had a total of sixteen parliamentary correspondents whose job it was to provide digests of debates, statements, and question times. "Now they just have us, the sketch writers," he said.