Is anyone else slightly disturbed by the way the conflict in Gaza has transformed into some weird post-modern tale about the plight of journalists in the Middle East.

I'd almost forgotten that there were thousands dead and even more homeless in the streets of Gaza because I found myself so worried about poor old Jonathon Rugman, Channel Four’s Middle East correspondent, forced to survive on scraps of information provided by the Journalistic Aid Agency, Reuters.

Who cares that Israel’s media restictions meant the BBC and Channel Four weren’t allowed to convey the real human interest stories, John Snow’s Unseen Gaza presented a tale of journalistic woe was enough to make even the most hardened OFCOM regulator weep and showed us the true cost of Israel’s actions.

Mr favourite part was the interview with Jeremy Bowen.
I can’t remember exactly how it started but I’m pretty sure the voiceover began:
‘This is Jeremy. He’s been living in a hotel on the streets of Jerusalem for two weeks now.’

As poor Jez complained of Reuter’s unwillingness to really dig around looking for a sob story, he told of what he would have done with the story, covered by the American news agency, of a father saying goodbye to his dying son.

‘I would have followed the man, found out his name, and the effect the death has had on his family.’ At this point viewers with HD would have been able to see the smallest drop of drool emerging from Jeremy’s mouth, and the words ‘Pure Gold’ dancing around his voice box.

The situation seems to have reached the peak of its ridiculousness with the revelation that the BBC,in an attempt to stay impartial, has decided not to screen an appeal for support from the Disasters Emergency Committee.

This was highlighted by an insightful comment from Tony in Windsor: ‘In deciding not to broadcast this appeal the BBC may have, unwittingly, given the appeal much greater publicity.’

So there we have it: the public is now only being made aware of the plight of human beings, when they are mentioned incidentally as part of a discussion about journalistic integrity. Marvellous!

Apparently the BBC have had enough with sending their reporters on ridiculous errends to report on bizarre quasi news stories, and have instead left it to a camera man and a young boy to tell the world about this admirable chicken laying an egg the size of a very small ostrich egg.

Seems they could have at least added some music to the eggsellent little item (he he!).

Or even brought back some of their Gaza reporters, at least this camera man was actually allowed into the School!

Yeah but could Obama defend the world from an Alien horde?

I read on the guardian.co.uk site that the guy who had a key part in writing Obama's inauguration speech is a 27 year old speech writing prodigy. Apparently John Favreau researched for months, not only Obama's speech patterns, but 'interviewed historians and speech writers, studied periods of crisis, and listened to past inaugural orations.'

But I have evidence that in typical 20 something style, Fav put off writing the thing until the last minute, and at the last minute, went to a modern classic for some inspiration.




Hmmmmm