Waugh mentioned that his main focus was "to expose the pretensions of foreign correspondents... to be heroes, statesmen, and diplomats." In his novel, he mocks the idea that journalism is driven by an unbiased pursuit of truth. Instead, journalists are primarily concerned with submitting stories that please their editors. Their goal is to outpace their competitors, which leads them to deceive each other. They engage in acts such as stealing rivals' cables and making up information to gain an advantage. For example, they all claim they plan to leave for Laku around "tennish" in the morning, while they are actually ready to depart at dawn. This false information serves as a strategy to outsmart their rivals.

Sir Jocelyn Hitchcock is especially skilled at outmaneuvering his competitors. In Jacksonburg, he keeps a low profile to spark rumors about his "disappearance." This tactic lends credibility to his fabricated story of interviewing a significant political figure in the fictional town of Laku. Sir Jocelyn’s deceit allows him not only to leave Ishmaelia, which he dislikes, but also to mislead other journalists. After submitting his story, he is free to move on to his next assignment in Europe.

This scenario highlights a point Waugh seeks to emphasize: the accuracy of a newspaper story is of secondary importance, much less significant than engaging readers and staying ahead of competitors. The famous American journalist Wenlock Jakes embodies this approach. He built part of his reputation by inventing stories. For example, he submitted an eyewitness account of the sinking of the Lusitania (a passenger ship sunk by the Germans off the coast of Ireland during World War I) four hours before it actually happened. Similarly, Sir Jocelyn Hitchcock managed to report daily updates on an earthquake in Messina without leaving his office in London. In Ishmaelia, Shumble mimics this behavior by inventing a story about a Russian spy in disguise. Ironically, Shumble accidentally gets close to the truth, although truth is not his main goal. There is indeed a Russian agent in Ishmaelia, but it is not the railway official Shumble points to.

The theme of the shrewd nature of journalism is highlighted through William's interactions with Corker. When William receives his first cable from the Beast, he mistakenly thinks it instructs him to stay in Aden. Corker, fully aware of this misunderstanding, chooses not to correct him. It's only when Corker realizes that he and William are not in competition—since the Beast is accepting stories from both Corker's Universal News agency and William—that he discloses the true meaning behind the cryptic cables they receive.

Corker's approach to journalism becomes apparent when his agency pressures him to report on Ishmaelia's response to a proposed international police force. He consults only one person, Mrs. Earl Russell Jackson, who runs the hotel where he's staying. Despite her misunderstanding of the question, Corker fabricates a story claiming that the women of Ishmaelia oppose an interventionist police force.

Once again, it is Corker who educates William about the intricacies of the newspaper business. After Shumble releases a fabricated story about a Russian spy, William proposes they acknowledge the mistake. Corker, however, argues that doing so would be "unprofessional." Newspapers rarely issue retractions because frequent denials could lead readers to question the trustworthiness of their articles. Furthermore, it would suggest that the journalists were careless. Instead, Corker emphasizes that all reporters must now find a Russian spy, whether genuine or not, to align their papers with the ongoing narrative (which, in truth, is not a story at all). This approach seems to ensure that the real facts remain obscured.