Sunday 12th March
There is a strapline on 24 hour news running horizontally along the bottom, or sometimes even flashing ‘Breaking News’, as if some cataclysmic event had just occurred and the news editors hadn’t had time to compose a rational report or to blurt the incredible news direct into the newsreader’s earpiece, which is supposed to be of such significance that it simply cannot wait until a regular news bulletin. In fact the whole concept of twenty-four news is a bit of a nonsense. Now if they worked their way around the globe, and featured the news from New Zealand, Australia and Japan and so on around the clock it might make more sense. But our news is now almost exclusively about Britain, or to be more precise Westminster, and Washington in America. Europe is occasionally mentioned, but usually in connection with how it might affect us. Famine, War and Earthquakes flurry up on the news bulletins every so often, like flotsam washed ashore – curious objects from foreign parts for us to observe and tut-tut and thank Thatcher we don’t live in such ridiculous places.
And so much of this strap-line news is not even news, it is simply well-trailed stories fed regularly to the reporters basking in the carp-pool; a friendly hand from Government tosses sound-bites and previews of speeches and Parliamentary gossip well ahead of any real event. And so, we hear that Mrs. May will trigger Article 50, maybe as soon as Tuesday. This is assuming, and again it is pretty much a foregone conclusion, that she will get Parliamentary approval and the Lords will also tow the line. But is this really news. Even when she does trigger the darned thing it will be old news, as we have been told about it, ad infinitum, since the heady days following the referendum itself. But I suppose for some viewers each mention becomes an occasion itself, as if like Groundhog day she is constantly going to, expecting to, hoping to, planning to, and will one day, maybe Tuesday – actually trigger it. Which of course will be massive news; how incredible – she has actually done what she has told us she was going to do almost every day since last June. This is the nature of news today. It is trailed well in advance, media drip-fed, and the breaking news tantalizingly drip-dropped into our consciousness.
Oh well, it was inevitable from the early hours of Friday 24th June as I watched the Sunderland result, I knew it was over. That dream of co-operation and the blurring of Nationalism has gone. What will replace it – well now, that indeed may be news. But even here we may have two years of ‘Breaking News’ until the shape if the final deal is revealed. And as Noel says; ‘Deal or No Deal’ it will be presented as such a wonderful thing, and detractors will simply be undemocratic and going against the public will, and deal or no deal, we are going to make it work….hahaha