Having listened to things get even sillier this week and it’s only Tuesday.
I think it’s time to open a complete can of worms for many media houses.
Every newsroom has an agenda like at how the great BBC has become muddled over TRUMP. Thank God every spin doctor has a client or two. And every microphone, it seems, now comes with a disclaimer.
People need to calm down over all of this podgate matter.
As Alan Partridge would say “It’s less Watergate and more Water Cooler-gate.”
The well planned outrage is a smart and very handy distraction from the government’s own mess-ups and a convenient way to change the subject from policies that actually matter.
As the great comic genius Mel Brooks might say:
“Tragedy is when I stub my toe. Comedy is when you get caught in a conflict of interest.”
We live in curious times where broadcasters often have more titles than a minor royal ( not sure if I can still use that line).
One minute they’re reading or reporting the news, the next they’re ghost-writing the press release, moderating a panel, or advising a minister on “narrative framing” (translation: spin).
So where do I begin and where do we look first? Conflicts of interest? Perhaps. Or just the modern art of hat-juggling or plate spinning a better example.
Ah yes I still remember one Sunday morning, sitting beside a fellow PR pro on a panel reviewing the papers. The topic? The Gardaí and security. The silence from my colleague on my left? Deafening.
Only later did I learn from a very reliable source minutes after the programme that said PR professional was advising both the Minister and the Garda Commissioner. That’s not conflict. That’s choreography.
You do start to wonder how many of today’s commentators could pass a “purity test.”
Who’s spinning? Who’s reporting? And who’s quietly billing both sides VAT inclusive?
As one might say:
“I have many masters,” said that PR person and broadcaster that morning and I invoice them all fairly… and regularly.”
