A beautiful dead woman

I don’t often throw things at the radio when BBC journo Nick Robinson is on – but missiles were launched this morning (including a complaint via email) when he described a dead female refugee as ‘beautiful’. What?? Here’s what he said on the BBC’s flagship news programme: “The photograph of a beautiful young woman stares…

In the line of fire: advertising copy

Here's some amusement to take your mind off the fact that someone trousered a considerable amount of dosh (while admiring an eminent person’s new clothes) to come up with the word ‘refreshmentaste’:

Empty words, headless MPs and flowers

Lazy journalism really annoys me; especially when the story is a gift. Here’s a reporter on BBC Radio 4 talking about the death of 110-year-old Claude Choules, the last know veteran of the First World War:

…as others passed away, history closed in on him.

It did? In what way exactly?

Sweeping away class barriers?

Similarly, journalists visiting people who are described as ‘working class’ or living in a ‘working class area’ are usually very keen to point out how clean the proletariat manage to keep their homes. Goodness, I expect they even wash their hair sometimes too. And use cutlery.