Something Stinks

Watching Newsnight last night from Athens and I wondered just how many folk were on the hotel balcony with Evan Davies. ..Ive noted of late that reporters and anchormen alike are now trooping off to the best hotel close to the site of the news. That is as long as its the nearest Holiday Inn, Hyatt or Continental Hotel to the "story" in order to get the loyalty points. Yesterday the Anchorman for Newsnight was in Athens and the BBC was in Tunisia.. I do not mean the reporter for the Middle East was in Tunisia, I mean just about the entire news desk was in Tunisia and Newsnight was presented from a hotel in Athens. We are now frequently getting entire programs presented from the nearest five star hotel balcony to the event, which is nice for the presenter.

Once upon a time intrepid reporters wondered off with a camera man and sound engineer to gather and find the news and roughed it. Not now.. Now the entire bloody news office troop off to get some air miles to whatever they deem to be the news from the nearest resort or hotel. Why? Most of the action has already been sent to the London, New York etc Office by twitter, skype or mobile phone! One hardly needs a reporter to do anything these days, so how are they getting away with it. Most of the time you could sit on your PC and just watch the "feeds" and if you want balance and not what the big four deem to be news then I suggest you do that. Other wise you get what they want to present and will never know the half of what goes on over this sad wee planet.

I never cease to laugh at some reporter standing on a balcony with the remains of his/her club sandwich still evident on the chest interviewing some poor sod or other fresh from the carnage often a long way down the road or even adjacent country. Sometimes there the only danger they are in is fear of collapse of the structure when they get four or five figures having a argument about this or that. Athens a week ago was  good example, it nearly lost the south side of the Olympic Hotel when Evan Davies of Newsnight had five angry Greeks arguing about Grexit and probably the bill for the taheni.

Another view of  the news on the rampage "from a five star hotel near to the story" and getting a tan was the recent Tunis tragedy where the news teams stayed in the same hotel as the tragedy and could report from the very spot or the sun lounge at any rate.  Its nothing new of course. The site of a dismal reporter stood outside 10 Downing Street or the Foreign Office for the simple reason that they wanted you to think they were at the heart of the story, when actually they knew less than you did is an everyday site on the news. But the backdrop looked good and makes you think "he has his fingers on the pulse". Pure bullshit of course. "We now go over live to our reporter outside the white house" means just that. The prat is outside the white house... Not in it!

I think in these days of health and safety and hijack the intrepid reporter with his note book and pen are probably over and so we should get used to News by way of Trip Advisor and now back to the studio bar!