Astonishing, how frequently a BBC news broadcast can contain the words "could have" and "could be". Initiatives could have adverse consequences; just about anything could be damaging. I remember a few years back, a debate about cutting news budgets - the downside would be more journalists interviewing each other; fewer stories researched in depth. The cuts happened; now the journalist on the spot is interviewed about whatever's happening; new research says anything could have, could be, et cetera. Cheaper to report on "could" rather than to investigate what's actually going on.
But it's self-defeating. When there isn't any actual news, the non-news most likely to get on air is the negative. Things "could" go wrong works better than a report saying that everything's fine. Human nature, right?
So the government cuts the state broadcaster's news budget and the result is an increase in the number of gloomy reports effectively undermining the government. Priceless. Government as black comedy.
The picture is the cover of a book published in 2006. Still available on Kindle or as a print-on-demand (POD) hardback from the publisher, Harriman House (HH). Or if you're really in the mood, I have a stack of them here. Retrieved from the warehouse when HH decided to go POD and thereby save storage costs. Bought them for free plus p&p. So maybe I'll sell them off cheap with the value-add of an autograph (get over yourself, William) or I'll do what I was thinking of doing anyway, and write a sequel to include rather more on e-media, social media, et cetera, than seemed necessary in 2006.
Not that I've got that many, but boxes of books (I have my own allocation of other past titles here as well) can make very effective desk/table supports, or even very well insulated partition walls. Perhaps I should get creative about this.
And perhaps I should be practical. I'll set up an online second-hand bookstore. Maybe that would be a first, ha ha? Per
But it's self-defeating. When there isn't any actual news, the non-news most likely to get on air is the negative. Things "could" go wrong works better than a report saying that everything's fine. Human nature, right?
So the government cuts the state broadcaster's news budget and the result is an increase in the number of gloomy reports effectively undermining the government. Priceless. Government as black comedy.
The picture is the cover of a book published in 2006. Still available on Kindle or as a print-on-demand (POD) hardback from the publisher, Harriman House (HH). Or if you're really in the mood, I have a stack of them here. Retrieved from the warehouse when HH decided to go POD and thereby save storage costs. Bought them for free plus p&p. So maybe I'll sell them off cheap with the value-add of an autograph (get over yourself, William) or I'll do what I was thinking of doing anyway, and write a sequel to include rather more on e-media, social media, et cetera, than seemed necessary in 2006.
Not that I've got that many, but boxes of books (I have my own allocation of other past titles here as well) can make very effective desk/table supports, or even very well insulated partition walls. Perhaps I should get creative about this.
And perhaps I should be practical. I'll set up an online second-hand bookstore. Maybe that would be a first, ha ha? Per
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