For Fox' Sake!

I'm so behind with writing. It's been a busy few weeks and I'm not going to explain why on a public blog, except to say things are good. And considering I started to write this as a kind of therapy, that's a strong positive.

Went on a course with work that also helped put my head in a better place than real therapy managed to - all about negotiating skills. It's supposed to help get the best results possible in business, but really it was about trying to spot yourself being a cynical prick all the time - and it really helped me with a lot of my cynicism.

Not all of it, mind. I still don't trust the Daily Mail to tell the truth, especially after it tried (and failed) to stoke up more anti-BBC feeling by presenting the events of a radio show as a national scandal. 'Another day in the gutter for the BBC', the headline cries, as the paper describes how the shy, rarely-seen John Barrowman exposed himself to a pair of excitable DJs on live... er, radio.

Although the programme was on Radio 1, pictures were also relayed to online listeners via a webcam, the paper alleges.

Except, the pictures weren't relayed to a the webcam - the webcam was already covered up by the responsible producer.

But 'BBC Producer behaves responsibly in wake of Ross / Brand' affair' isn't the right kind of headline for a reactionary, knee-jerk, scapegoating rag like the Mail.


Still, Barrowman apologised anyway and no-one really cares. Meanwhile, the Mail's fake horror at someone using the euphemism 'fruit and nuts' was accompanied by zoom-ins of women's cleavage, stories condemning women for being too slutty, not slutty enough, too hairy or for just having womanly hips. Swear to God the day it first broke, the Barrowman story was alongside a zoom-in on Mel B's crotch. I split my rice krispies all over the place in horror!

But then, I only saw that link because someone sent it to me. It's not like I'd look at the Hate Mail for any other reason, because its job in society is to make us feel scared and insecure. All the better circumstances for advertisers and big business to keep us in our place and ensure we're vulnerably enough to believe their lies and buy their products, which we don't need.

If you wish to complain about the inaccuracies in the Mail's 'news' story, you can do so by filling out their feedback form or e-mailing direct to: feedback@dailymail.co.uk

Along similar lines, a recent front-page news item on Yahoo presented the horrific story of a woman who was attacked by a fox. But in these days where technologists believe they have no need for editorial people, because they can 'automate' news feeds and advertising based on keywords, this is the way their sensitive news story was presented:



Perhaps significantly, there's no immediately visible area on the Yahoo site for complaints.