Mediabollocks returns this week after over a month of slumber, having been awoken only momentarily by wonderfully overblown reports of storms lashing and bashing our beautiful isle. It probably was a case of “don’t shoot the messenger!” as after all, the Met Office seems terrified of neglecting to warn us of any forthcoming apocalypse. But there’s nothing our broadcast journalists like more than donning their Berghauses and heading for the nearest inundation. Find an old lady (or maybe a horse) in a rowing boat and you’ve got TV gold.
What finally raised mediaboy from his dreams is today’s Daily Express. The apology to the McCanns is interesting on so many levels. This is a very complex moral and philosophical subject as well as an issue of freedom of speech. If it is true that the Express and Star papers collectively published over 100 finger-pointing stories about Jerry and Kate then no one can claim this was a mistake. As one commentator pointed out this morning, this must have been a full blown conspiracy. You don’t mistakenly make the same mistake one hundred times. Surely someone was making a strategic decision to take this angle?
Has the Express group been alone in taking this line? There have been nasty insinuations from all corners of the media along with, it must be said, similar cynicism in bars, pubs and kitchens all over the country. What everyone seems to have forgotten is the concept, in English law at least, of innocent until proven guilty. So even though the parents remain suspects we should at least remember that we owe them the benefit of our support until proved otherwise. But that doesn’t sell newspapers or generate page views. Or at least it didn’t after a while. mediaboy doesn’t know when the tide turned, but turn it did and here we now are once again with the press covered in its own shit. Of course, ‘the public’ ate the same shit as voraciously as a hungry bear.
On the other hand, does this create any precedents for gagging the press? Perhaps this argument will be trotted out once the moral uproar has subsided so we should remember that figure of one hundred. It took what looks like a sustained campaign to force the McCanns to turn to the law. mediaboy fears that the press will remain free to print the occasional white lie or complete fabrication about any one of us whenever it pleases. Other innocent parties with less money and influence will have little or no redress time and time again. Let’s face it; well heeled parties with plenty of influence will have the same problems.
A line will not be drawn today. There won’t be a tidal wave of principled, sensitive, intelligent reporting. Today’s Daily Express has at least 4 pages on “The Warped World of Heather”. And no doubt we’ll lap it up.
Today mediaboy issues a plea for a collective decision to abandon the phrase "root and branch review" and recommends Ask The Parrot by Richard Stark along with Tracks of My Tears by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles.
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Chumps, chums and broken dads
Despite hours of wonderful sunshine and the lure of the great outdoors mediaboy nevertheless encountered one or two tonnes of mediabollocks in the last week: the outrage (trademark the tabloid press) expressed over Dr. Rowan Williams' comments on sharia law; Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode's weekly scuffle over film reviews; and coming up the rails at the last moment a depressing radio debate hosted by Phil Williams on the Victoria Derbyshire show on Radio 5 Live.
mediaboy has a fascination with leadership, especially within public life. The contrast between our previous and our current PMs is worth a book alone. Last week the leader of the Church of England demonstrated the kind of naivety unique to truly great public leaders. Dr. Rowan Williams http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/71 is no doubt intelligent and well meaning, whether or not you are a believer. What he does not appear to be, given the events of last week, is a shrewd political operator. mediaboy does not wish to dwell on what he may or may not have said. mediaboy merely wonders if he might have thought a little on how our headline hungry press would interpret his words. It's not Dr. Williams' fault that his lecture was (cliché alert) blown out of all proportion and that any debate he may have wanted to spark was drowned in a tabloid tide; mediaboy's bollocks-of-the-week award goes to any member of the press who (inadvertently my arse) managed to stir up more islamophobia. Could do better, Dr. W; give us a break, headline writers.
Another unique, well, weekly, hurricaine of hyperbole is Friday's film review on the Simon Mayo show on mediaboy's favourite white van man radio station, 5 Live. The Simon Mayo show is probably the station's prize asset outside of sport. And by sport mediaboy means football. Let's not pretend anything but lip service is paid to other sports. Mayo's magazine show is a cut above the competition and mediaboy salutes the presenter for providing occasional intellectual rigour where usually none resides. mediaboy is also a fan of Mark Kermode, or Dr. Mark Kermode, or 'the good doctor', or 'the venerable doctor' as he is known on 5 Live on Fridays. mediaboy even wants to know what Mr. Kermode thinks about all things cinematographic. What mediaboy does not want, however, is to hear ever again whether or not he has brought in Simon's coffee and whether he has paid for it himself. (Every week, every week!) mediaboy would also rather not listen to the manufactured conflict/banter between two otherwise talented broadcasters. You are better than that. You don't need to come over all blokey to keep your audience happy. Rise above the cliché and out of your comfort zones. This section of the show has become a stale and tired parody of itself with the odd golden nugget amongst the usual chummy crap. mediaboy tunes in to hear Mark Kermode's insightful views on the weekly releases alongside references to film history and does not want him to "name two films that include a turquoise sorbet" (a listener question) or sidetrack into conversation you might overhear in a bar. And move away from. Last Friday saw the release of at least four films that could grace a Top 10 Films of the Year and yet mediaboy's heart sank as the presenters obsessed, baited by the listeners, about the accent of the Daniel Day Lewis character and who it resembles. This was an opportunity for all concerned (presenters and listeners) to issue smug and obscure pronouncements. Canadian Prime Minister anyone? Mayo's dismissal of message boards (he could have spat out his opinion) sat ironically next to this ridiculous display of inane and irrelevant presenter/listener banter that ate into the time available to actually review the films. Shame really, as mediaboy still recommends the podcast or listening again via http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/index.shtml?refresh.
Still, but briefly, on 5 Live, mediaboy was dismayed to hear the usually dependable Phil Williams host a discussion on divorce settlements. Fair play to the producers of the Victoria Derbyshire show for coming up with a decent subject for debate. However, this was linked to the McCartney - Mills divorce case and was therefore another opportunity to bash Heather Mills. It also unleashed a torrent of anti-female sentiment from a large number of damaged or resentful husbands and fathers. What could have been interesting and entertaining was at least sad and at worst unpleasant. The debate was balanced with approxmately two female callers. Presumably this was representative of the audience.
This week mediaboy recommends All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy and Pulling on BBC 2.
mediaboy has a fascination with leadership, especially within public life. The contrast between our previous and our current PMs is worth a book alone. Last week the leader of the Church of England demonstrated the kind of naivety unique to truly great public leaders. Dr. Rowan Williams http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/71 is no doubt intelligent and well meaning, whether or not you are a believer. What he does not appear to be, given the events of last week, is a shrewd political operator. mediaboy does not wish to dwell on what he may or may not have said. mediaboy merely wonders if he might have thought a little on how our headline hungry press would interpret his words. It's not Dr. Williams' fault that his lecture was (cliché alert) blown out of all proportion and that any debate he may have wanted to spark was drowned in a tabloid tide; mediaboy's bollocks-of-the-week award goes to any member of the press who (inadvertently my arse) managed to stir up more islamophobia. Could do better, Dr. W; give us a break, headline writers.
Another unique, well, weekly, hurricaine of hyperbole is Friday's film review on the Simon Mayo show on mediaboy's favourite white van man radio station, 5 Live. The Simon Mayo show is probably the station's prize asset outside of sport. And by sport mediaboy means football. Let's not pretend anything but lip service is paid to other sports. Mayo's magazine show is a cut above the competition and mediaboy salutes the presenter for providing occasional intellectual rigour where usually none resides. mediaboy is also a fan of Mark Kermode, or Dr. Mark Kermode, or 'the good doctor', or 'the venerable doctor' as he is known on 5 Live on Fridays. mediaboy even wants to know what Mr. Kermode thinks about all things cinematographic. What mediaboy does not want, however, is to hear ever again whether or not he has brought in Simon's coffee and whether he has paid for it himself. (Every week, every week!) mediaboy would also rather not listen to the manufactured conflict/banter between two otherwise talented broadcasters. You are better than that. You don't need to come over all blokey to keep your audience happy. Rise above the cliché and out of your comfort zones. This section of the show has become a stale and tired parody of itself with the odd golden nugget amongst the usual chummy crap. mediaboy tunes in to hear Mark Kermode's insightful views on the weekly releases alongside references to film history and does not want him to "name two films that include a turquoise sorbet" (a listener question) or sidetrack into conversation you might overhear in a bar. And move away from. Last Friday saw the release of at least four films that could grace a Top 10 Films of the Year and yet mediaboy's heart sank as the presenters obsessed, baited by the listeners, about the accent of the Daniel Day Lewis character and who it resembles. This was an opportunity for all concerned (presenters and listeners) to issue smug and obscure pronouncements. Canadian Prime Minister anyone? Mayo's dismissal of message boards (he could have spat out his opinion) sat ironically next to this ridiculous display of inane and irrelevant presenter/listener banter that ate into the time available to actually review the films. Shame really, as mediaboy still recommends the podcast or listening again via http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/index.shtml?refresh.
Still, but briefly, on 5 Live, mediaboy was dismayed to hear the usually dependable Phil Williams host a discussion on divorce settlements. Fair play to the producers of the Victoria Derbyshire show for coming up with a decent subject for debate. However, this was linked to the McCartney - Mills divorce case and was therefore another opportunity to bash Heather Mills. It also unleashed a torrent of anti-female sentiment from a large number of damaged or resentful husbands and fathers. What could have been interesting and entertaining was at least sad and at worst unpleasant. The debate was balanced with approxmately two female callers. Presumably this was representative of the audience.
This week mediaboy recommends All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy and Pulling on BBC 2.
Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Wading through a lake of cack
mediaboy finally returns exhausted from a week of mediabollocks. Plus ca change, mes amis, plus ca change. Who would have predicted more scandal chez Amy Winehouse, acres of clichéd coverage of the FA Cup and revelation upon revelation about sleazy Members of Parliament?
Amy Winehouse enjoys a party. She is a musician. She is young. She is rich. She needs to be careful about her friends. Shame on whoever it was sold that tape to mediaboy's favourite tabloid. Okay, they need to sell papers and all that, but please change the record and find something else to write about. mediaboy seriously doubts that these journalists have Amy's best interests at heart and sincerely hopes Amy doesn't read comics.
mediaboy loves and despairs of the BBC, probably not the most original attitude to take towards the envy of the free world. Originality is not, however, a concept likely to trouble the sports department at the BBC or even the news department when covering sport. Hype and cliché flooded our screens and airways (and let's face it, our press may have been guilty here too) during the coverage of the latest round of FA Cup matches. Congratulations to anyone who used the phrases "magic of the cup", "reports of the death of the FA Cup are very much premature", "humbled the mighty Liverpool", "this was their cup final" etcetera etcetera. Prizes in the next round for any journalist who manages to say something original. mediaboy is not, (he never does) holding his breath.
Naughty boys and girls. No, not the nations out-of-control youth (copyright Daily Mail), but our elected representatives in the big house on the Thames. These dedicated, selfless souls who give up their every minute to serve the people (yes, you, mediaboy, all of us, they work for all of us) need not abide by normal accepted working practices, or even it seems, dare mediaboy say it, the law. Not only can they make honest and genuine mistakes when it comes to accounting for donations without fear of legal redress, their spouses and offspring may also do so.
mediaboy dropped in on Steve Wright in the afternoon on Radio 2 recently. WTF? Apparently Mr. Wright just went away for a bit during the 90s and then resumed the same ole same old hoping no one would notice. He's dropped Mr. Angry and there's no camp hairdresser any more, but those Factoids smell suspiciously like the 1980s. Apparently the public wants want the public gets, or something like that.
On the plus side
mediaboy recommends a think piece (and the ensuing debate, or at least some of it) from Madeleine Bunting at http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2248006,00.html and regrets missing Alex James on Panorama. mediaboy also recommends A Change is Gonna Come, by Sam Cooke. Beauty, poetry and revolution rolled into a sweet, sweet song.
Amy Winehouse enjoys a party. She is a musician. She is young. She is rich. She needs to be careful about her friends. Shame on whoever it was sold that tape to mediaboy's favourite tabloid. Okay, they need to sell papers and all that, but please change the record and find something else to write about. mediaboy seriously doubts that these journalists have Amy's best interests at heart and sincerely hopes Amy doesn't read comics.
mediaboy loves and despairs of the BBC, probably not the most original attitude to take towards the envy of the free world. Originality is not, however, a concept likely to trouble the sports department at the BBC or even the news department when covering sport. Hype and cliché flooded our screens and airways (and let's face it, our press may have been guilty here too) during the coverage of the latest round of FA Cup matches. Congratulations to anyone who used the phrases "magic of the cup", "reports of the death of the FA Cup are very much premature", "humbled the mighty Liverpool", "this was their cup final" etcetera etcetera. Prizes in the next round for any journalist who manages to say something original. mediaboy is not, (he never does) holding his breath.
Naughty boys and girls. No, not the nations out-of-control youth (copyright Daily Mail), but our elected representatives in the big house on the Thames. These dedicated, selfless souls who give up their every minute to serve the people (yes, you, mediaboy, all of us, they work for all of us) need not abide by normal accepted working practices, or even it seems, dare mediaboy say it, the law. Not only can they make honest and genuine mistakes when it comes to accounting for donations without fear of legal redress, their spouses and offspring may also do so.
mediaboy dropped in on Steve Wright in the afternoon on Radio 2 recently. WTF? Apparently Mr. Wright just went away for a bit during the 90s and then resumed the same ole same old hoping no one would notice. He's dropped Mr. Angry and there's no camp hairdresser any more, but those Factoids smell suspiciously like the 1980s. Apparently the public wants want the public gets, or something like that.
On the plus side
mediaboy recommends a think piece (and the ensuing debate, or at least some of it) from Madeleine Bunting at http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2248006,00.html and regrets missing Alex James on Panorama. mediaboy also recommends A Change is Gonna Come, by Sam Cooke. Beauty, poetry and revolution rolled into a sweet, sweet song.
Monday, 21 January 2008
In the beginning...
Welcome to Mediabollocks, mediaboy’s Canute-style attempt to highlight the dross and the droll, the bad and the ugly, the sheer extraordinary bollocks that infests much of our beloved fourth estate and wider media. mediaboy has a voracious appetite for news and information and consumes vast amounts of unhealthy slop served up by journalists, broadcasters, reporters and even TV chefs. No more! mediaboy hereby outlines a five point plan, manifesto, call it what you will, to let those precious pen pushers, keyboard tappers, microphone-holding arbiters of taste and guardians of truth know that it’s time to sharpen those pencils, pull up those socks and raise the bar a little:
1) mediaboy will wage war against poor journalistic standards wherever they occur: in print; online; through the radio; or on the gogglebox.
2) The end is nigh for the cliché. mediaboy wants it stamped out. For good.
3) More imagination, less lazy writing and reporting. People, exercise your brains.
4) Say no to political bollocks. And to poor reporting of political bollocks. And to inappropriate arse kissing and back stabbing. Ditto sports bollocks and its hype and many bandwagons.
5) Celebrity does not equal achievement and does not merit little attention.
Last week was a bad week for mediabollocks. mediaboy was overwhelmed by the hype surrounding THE RETURN OF NEWS AT TEN, THE RETURN OF THE MESSIAH, sorry, KEVIN KEEGAN, THE DEATH OF VERA DUCKWORTH, COOK ALONG WITH GORDON RAMSAY and on a more serious note some of the interviewing of Kenny Richey. ITV went mental on the News at Ten, letting us know just how much we loved and missed old Sir Trevor and his big bongs. mediaboy doesn’t know what he expected, but he didn’t expect, after all that shouting and breast beating, an ‘exclusive’ interview with a doctor who may, or may not, have been the love of DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES’ life. Christ, after all that, News at Ten is the Daily Express. The headlines, the hype, the sheer exuberance of the whole media world at the return of Kevin Keegan were something wonderful to behold. mediaboy has a longstanding love of KK going back to his days as a Liverpool player, but mediaboy is completely atheistic with regard to KK’s messianic qualities. And guess what? Who gives a monkey’s? mediaboy would not care to comment on the irony of the North East of England barely existing to our beloved metropolitan media until a suitably hype-able story occurs in an otherwise slow week. mediaboy would also not care to comment on the inevitability of the result of KK’s first game. Back on TV, ITV also went big on Liz Dawn’s fatal retirement from mediaboy’s favourite TV institution. Indeed, mediaboy takes no issue with Vera’s exit; wonderfully cringe worthy as it was. Turn instead to the review of said programme in the following day’s Guardian, where the actor playing poor old Vera’s husband was not afforded any editorial glance (Bill Tarbey anyone?) and an old song known and loved by many of our grandparents was hilariously referred to as I Will Take You Home Eileen. No doubt the editors were out of the office, dancing away at a leaving party to Come on Kathleen. On the same night, the death of Channel 4 as a broadcaster to be taken seriously was brought closer by Gordon Ramsay’s live cookathon. mediaboy is puzzled and does not understand what is so impressive about swearing within 20 seconds of opening the show. No matter, the potty mouthed chef kept it up for the whole hour, reaching new depths in an appalling and outrageously offensive exchange with the charming Max Beesley. This part of the show was recorded. How the programme makers justified leaving this in we will never know. Well done C4, bravo! The release of Kenny Ritchie was an occasion to celebrate this week and plenty of news organisations produced some (finally!) top quality reporting dealing with this horrendous story. Have no fear, dear reader, as Radio 5 Live dragged us all back down with a particularly crass interview with Mr Ritchie when he was repeatedly probed on what it was like to be within an hour of execution despite Mr Ritchie’s stating more than once that he knew he was not within an hour of death because his appeal was in process. No point letting the banal truth stand in the way of a much more dramatic image. Imagine that - an interviewer not listening to his or her interviewee.
mediaboy signs off with four words that illustrate why this will not be a solitary dispatch and why standards may not be heading in the right direction any time soon: Piers Morgan on Sandbanks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)