Brexit is breaking journalism in the UK

When the politicians are just making it up as they go along, can you blame reporters for scrambling to keep up?

In his way the prime minister is grimly entertaining. The downside is the monotony (EPA)

One of the odder consequences of the many oddities of Brexit, which increasingly feels like an unending nightmare, is its effect on journalism.

On the one hand, like Donald Trump, it makes for great copy, as we say. The public never seems quite inured to the crises. Every defection, every lost vote, every scrap of speculation about resignations and early elections gives those of us in our rough old trade a boost – more sales of papers and mags, more traffic for the websites, more viewed for the rolling news.

Boris Johnson is especially good news, adding new layers of “human interest” to an already fascinating, shall we say, backstory. We’ve not had a prime minister, after all, going through a divorce, taking a girlfriend to stay with the Queen at Balmoral and adopting a jack russell simultaneously. His shambolic public appearances are compelling. We do not know what he is going to do next, and neither does he. It is grimly entertaining.