I have previously sung the praises of Channel 4 News and their daily Snowmail email bulletins. I’ve just discovered that they’re no longer alone, as good old Auntie offers up the Newsnight Newsletter.
Tag Archives: bbc
Poppies
Last night, the Evening Standard lead with the story that the powers that be at BBC World (whatever the hell that is) have asked presenters not to wear poppies. If ever there were a time I wished journalists plucked stories out of thin air, that time is now. Please, please be wrong about this, guys.
Remembrance day is reserved so that we may remember those who gave their lives in combat to maintain the quality of our lives. It’s a mark of respect. Poppy Day is half at the same time to raise the money necessary to support those who survived the atrocities of war—to show our respect and thanks for their efforts. So what’s the point of being respectful if we don’t learn anything from their actions? Apparently, we’re at war, so therefore we must cast away any reminder from history that war is futile. We must bury all memories. We must discard all respects. It’s like saying “thanks for getting shot as you jumped out of the trenches, but frankly you needn’t have bothered”.
Health
Reasons to be cheerful: The BBC report on the fact that memory loss starts in your twenties. Why does this make me cheerful? Erm, what was the question again?
I don’t take this particularly seriously, as I’ve come to take the BBC’s health coverage with a pinch of salt. At times, it would appear that they just can’t find enough news to fill their health section, so simply recycle some old news of dubious reliability. Their all-time favorite is the groundbreaking story about how alcohol is actually good for you. They like this story so much that they’ve run it again and again and again and again.