The News

I love watching the news. I mean BBC or Channel 4, of course, I'm not daft.
People used to remember where they were when major events happened; JFK's assassination, the Moon Landings, Elvis's death, etc. Indeed, I remember exactly where I was during every world-changing occurrence since Mrs Thatcher left Number 10: sitting watching the television news in the living room.
The international operation of bringing live pictures and immediate, reliable reportage from every conceivable corner of the planet is staggeringly impressive. To those with an enquiring mind, it's essential.
But something changed. It's difficult to pin down when it happened, but I've got two possibilities; (a) Diana's death, or (b) the production meeting when some smart-arse decided it would look good if the newsreaders were allowed to get up from behind their desks and walk around on-set or - worse - perch on the edge of the aforementioned desks. This was fucking fatal.
Between New Labour's first election victory and '9/11', the great newsreader shift occurred.
We had been accustomed to getting our fill of news from steady, dull, trustworthy men and women who sat still, and read out what the BBC's news editor considered to be facts. This was interspersed with film pieces that had been put together by the fearless roving reporters, which they described with their own succinct voice-overs.
And now what do we have? Showy, coiffured, Americanised toss-pots who seem to believe that they are more important than the stories they are relating. You never caught Angela Rippon having an opinion or Peter Sissons plastering his views over the screen. Don't get me wrong, they weren't passive, but they'd needle the Labour [shadow-]minister in interviews just as much as they would the Tory. Nowadays, after they've nigh-on accused the coalition cabinet member of crimes against humanity, they'll ask Ed Miliband what he had for breakfast.
I'm exaggerating, but I'm allowed to; I'm scrawling a blog, not reading the news.
It stands to reason that as soon as these 'journalists' were permitted to stand up, and jauntily promenade around the studio, the power went straight to their heads.
I don't want to know what you think, thanks, I just want to know what happened.
Aljezeera's on Freeview now, so pull your finger out, BBC, or you'll lose me.