Where journalists have greatness thrust upon them
After my comments about the importance of reading widely (and Allan Little's impassioned guidance on the same theme), Alan McGuinness asked me to recommend my favourite novels about journalists and journalism. You know about Scoop by Evelyn Waugh. I also recommend Towards the End of the Morning by Michael Frayn, The Quiet American by Graham Greene and Yellow Dog by Martin Amis. Of course, journalists should not restrict themselves to fiction about journalists.
The Republic of Georgia panicked on Saturday when the pro-government Imedi TV station reported that a Russian invasion force had crossed the border. It was fiction (though not remotely pure). Fear among the civilian population was mimicked by the conduct of Moscow based foreign correspondents who grabbed their laptops and made calls to their news desks before realising the story was a hoax. The Guardian tells the story well, complete with a useful backgrounder on previous news hoaxes.
Some of you may have followed the row between Bob Geldof and the BBC this week, following a radio documentary about the misuse of aid in the 1980s. This is obviously a controversial topic and the aid agencies have joined Geldof in attacking the BBC, as you can hear. on the latest episode of the Media Show. This is also a matter close to my heart since my PhD thesis was on the reporting of famines.
It was only a matter of time before somebody started some sort of rumour claiming to know the new identity of Jon Venables. Already Facebook has become home of speculation and now vicious texts have been going around the country stating his "new identity." The Sun newspaper was quick to jump to the protection of a man they believe to be innocent. While journalists and officals are kept from revealing the true identity, the general public are not afraid to attempt to reveal the deadly truth.
During his excellent session yesterday, Allan Little told the story of Jessica Lynch, the 19-year-old US Army Ordnance Clerk who was captured by Iraqi soldiers in 2003. Allan described how the truth about Private Lynch was spun into a fictional heroic fantasy by the Pentagon's top rotational surgeons. You can read the full version of Jessica's story here.
As diligent students of British politics understand, most votes under our first past the post system make no real difference to the result of a general election. The ones that count are those cast by swing voters in marginal constituencies. The Conservatives have been confident in their assertions that, despite a narrowing gap in nationwide opinion surveys, their lead among these defining voters in the marginals is big enough to make the crucial difference.
And big congratulations to Becci Hughes who filed copy on Mark Thompson's lecture to Journalism.co.uk. You can read Becci's account of the DG's defence of public service broadcasting, and the steps he is proposing to preserve it in the twenty-first century, here. Extra bonus points for getting a second byline crediting the Centre for Journalism and the University of Kent.
Very pleasing to read, inToday's Medway Messenger and at Kent Online, the 2009 Bob Friend Scholar helping to draw wide attention to Dan May's success in the 2010 competition.
The BBC is the neighbour at the end or your garden with a giant leylandii. He smiles at you and is a nice enough bloke. But the problem is his tree. It’s too big. It greedily sucks in nutrients from the soil and blocks out the sunlight. It’s an impressive tree by any standards, but it casts a massive shadow. And in that gloomy, publicly funded shade, other peoples’ plants struggle to get a foot hold. Some wilt and die. For years the community’s been talking about what should be done. Some people want the eylandii to be severely lopped.
