So what's news?
Wednesday, 11. February 2009, 01:19:31
So Australia's on fire and the UK's under water. The fires have destroyed 700 homes and the UK government has authorized the destruction of 700 homes to build an airport extension. The fires have caused almost 200 deaths... OK, we had to get involved in two wars to match that.
Has anyone (UK based) noticed how all the news has to be related to us? I've just been watching a harrowing feature on the Victoria State fires and the probability that half of them were started deliberately, and at the end of it the newsreader came on to reassure us that to date, as far as they knew, no Britons were amongst the casualties.
I realise that some people may be concerned about friends or family over there, but the news isn't the place to reassure them, it sounds for all the world as though as long as we're all right Jack, nothing else really matters.
On the other hand I've just watched a CBS half hour news summary that didn't even mention the fires in Australia. Surely they're not galled because Australia's got bigger fires than they had? Then you get Sky and Fox News broadcasting all the news that won't anger Rupert Murdoch and Five News broadcasting news for women at 5pm and news for men at 7pm...
Thank goodness for the World Service on steam radio.
Has anyone (UK based) noticed how all the news has to be related to us? I've just been watching a harrowing feature on the Victoria State fires and the probability that half of them were started deliberately, and at the end of it the newsreader came on to reassure us that to date, as far as they knew, no Britons were amongst the casualties.
I realise that some people may be concerned about friends or family over there, but the news isn't the place to reassure them, it sounds for all the world as though as long as we're all right Jack, nothing else really matters.
On the other hand I've just watched a CBS half hour news summary that didn't even mention the fires in Australia. Surely they're not galled because Australia's got bigger fires than they had? Then you get Sky and Fox News broadcasting all the news that won't anger Rupert Murdoch and Five News broadcasting news for women at 5pm and news for men at 7pm...
Thank goodness for the World Service on steam radio.
WIDGETIZE