Desmond Wettern's account of forty years covering the Royal Navy for The Times includes an episode in which he explained a ship's capabilities to a minister before questioning him about it. The anecdote shows how a dedicated naval beat could accumulate technical and institutional knowledge that general reporting rarely sustains. Public accountability weakens when ministers and journalists lack the expertise to test official claims.
Notable Point · 11:34-12:26
When a naval reporter knew the fleet better than ministers
Desmond Wettern's career illustrates the depth once expected of specialist naval correspondents and the knowledge gap they could expose in government.