General Comments

It is amazing the way newspapers in England have their own distinctive voices - only in the Daily Mail might you see a headline like "Comet Filled With Asylum Seekers On Target To Hit Earth Causes House Price Meltdown"; only in the Daily Express could you read a story like "Baby P: If Diana Were Here This Would Never Have Happened", and only the Independent would tell you that "Eating GM Food Means You Rape Pandas". Newspapers all promote their own agendas and have a very specific readership that they aim for. This is obvious in the content - do you remember the advert The Sun did for 'page 3', where you saw pairs of melons, ...  Read the complete review

Journalists have always had a penchant for those strange but true stories, the kind that either cause you to laugh so much it hurts or simply to gaze and listen in stunned disbelief as the story unfolds....I guess it's because, most of us deep down (or not so deep down) feel a glow of superiority of the poor, hapless (or just plain unlucky) characters in these genuine newspaper reports. Some are tragic, some are tragic and funny, some just a downright case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Take note of the style of writing and the vocabulary used in the earlier journalistic examples. Compare it to 'journalism' today and see how dumbed/watered ...  Read the complete review

The Black Death, rats, dead orphans, sewage, the Luftwaffe; all have, at some point, swamped the streets of London with the feted aroma of death. All, however, have also been vanquished by the plucky little survivors of London Town thanks to innovations in medical science, the fire-starter of Pudding Lane, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Joseph Bazalgette and the Spitfire. Frankly, the place is indestructible. Even London's most recent plague has gone unceremoniously missing thanks to the hardiness of the average Londoner. The charity mugger (or chugger) was a highly prevalent creature that prowled the streets of London at the beginning of the twenty-first ...  Read the complete review

In this ambiguous category I though I would talk about child abuse-the medias child abuse of reporting these stories based on social class... The biggest news story since Diana's death for me is the disappearance of Madeline McCann. The tabloid and printed press reveled in it; two attractive and photogenic middle-class doctors having their child abducted in sunny Portugal meant not only an intriguing news story but an expenses paid holiday in the Med. At one point the news anchors were coming live from the Algarve, Fiona Bruce looking even sexier with her deep brown skin and see through top fluttering in the Med breeze. What a woman! The nation was ...  Read the complete review

Before TV and internet newspapers were very important in people's lives. This was the only way to find out news. Print media was king. Newspapers still are very important but the power of the newspaper columnists and editors is withering away. Obviously people want the latest news and this is provided by News Channels and internet sites. Newspapers have internet sites too. Some require registration some are free. When internet hit the world. People thought that is it for the newspapers. Who is going to buy them? This theory was wrong and people continue to purchase newspapers. All the newspapers have changed and offer more to the consumer. ...  Read the complete review