TV News - Wednesday 2nd May

Last night I witnessed something particularly disturbing on the TV news. It all started on the BBC when a fairly large feature was devoted to the Manchester United Game. All the goals were shown and a couple of interviews. If we turn to ITV, they showed a feature (ignored by the BBC) on a legal dispute by OK and Hello magazine.

The editor of one of these magazines said that they were covering what the public wanted, weddings and babies. ITV gave three examples of future "celebrity" wedding that are coming up namely, Steve Gerrard, Gary Neville, John Terry. (pls excuse any spelling errors). They are all footballers.

They then moved on to their coverage of the Man Utd game. Their "at the game" reporter was filmed outside the stadium. The report was filmed with a backdrop of two floodlit large multi story flat just to the right of the reporter as you look. The report then used the following phrases - "Milan cruised through" "Man Utd were haunted by a familiar ghost" "starved of" and the use of the word "sparked" as an verb.

Fair enough but then the newsreader said we would switch to our respective regional news and then back to ITN for "a haunting sound, the torpedo attack on the Argentinian ship Belgrano. When we came back, we were treated to a feature to commemorate 25 years on the attack, in the Falklands War. The original crew member who fired the missile was brought in to listen to the missile being set off and travelling through the water on a sonic recording which had never been heard before. This consisted of a sort of pop hiss pop sound and was illustrated by a computer graph on a laptop which the old crew member was sat at, listening. We also saw the original ITN feature from 25 years ago.

At first he seemed caught up in it all, the missile being launched and then he said thats it impacting and then the noise of the boilers exploding as the cold sea water hit them. He then said that there were no second chances and the submarine was seen returning with the Jolly Roger flying, to signify a kill. The old boy looked a bit disturbed at the end of it all, no doubt he was.

My point is this though. We see a feature on celebrity, specfically mentioning footballers. The football report uses words like cruised (missile?), sparked, and haunted. The backdrop could be two towers. The news reader again uses haunted in context to the link to Belgrano. We then see a reincarnation of a "victory".

Is this my over active imagination ?

Anyway, going back to the BBC, from start, more on 7/7, MI5, terrorists, clean skins blah blah. Then a feature on Israel, main quote at end "this has implications for the entire region", more fear of war. Then quite a large feature on the tragic helicopter crash. 4 gentlemen returning from football match, wreckage is largely intact but 4 bodies, very similar to crash involving Phillip Carter in 1996, 11 years ago, almost same place, both in helicopters, both returning from Chelsea games.

Then a bit about France and a remarkable feature about massive solar power farms in Spain. 600 huge mirrors on the ground all focus reflected light up on a tower, 40 storeys high which generates thermal energy. mmm Focus on a tower. Tower of light.

Then, Manchester shooting and the football as previously mentioned. Then a feature on life size human sculptures in London by Anthony Gormly. They are being placed all over London, up high on the edges of buildings. Mr Gormley has based the statues on his own body and is obviously proud of his manhood. I am not really sure what this was all about but is this art? Why are they all up high. Mr Gormly used the strange phrase "infect or subltly change.

Over to ITN, Fertilizer bombers, MI5, 1200 arrested on suspicion of terrorism since 9/11, 100 awaiting trial. The other 1100 ?. Moving on to local elections (today), features on the political leaders, Cameron pictured walking along road and swooping down on a discarded crispbag like an osprey takes a trout. Immaculate timing that crisp bag had. We then saw Cameron surrounded by young toffs, all dressed in pink and pastel blue and gathered round him. Almost like the mythical Pied Piper of Hamlyn who rid the town of rats. What a symbol.

ITN only had time for a bit on the local elections and then it was celebrity which was where I started.

Truly disturbing when taken as a whole.

Back tomorrow, cheers

ps in our local paper, it advises that a fleet of ufo's were seen over the Pentland hills. However, the army have taken responsibility, something to do with a new landing pad. I will try to find out more.

pps.A Mr Stuart Mitchell of Edinburgh has found a musical code in Rosslyn Chapel and has deciphered it.