Metropol

wells wrote:

Alexia wrote: Why is being Irish cool, and Welsh not?

Wales and Scotland just don't seem to have the same charm as Ireland.

I wouldn't agree with that. Millions of Americans visit Scotland, and NY has an annual parade celebrating Scots culture - lots of pipes and kilts - you know the kind of thing.

What Ireland has is over all others is that hundreds of thousands of its citizens crossed the water to live in the States, and for a country with such a (comparatively) short history, its a major latching point of heritage - something Brits can take for granted.

But charm? They don't have any more of that than anyone else.

wells wrote:

Alexia wrote: Why is being Irish cool, and Welsh not?

Wales and Scotland just don't seem to have the same charm as Ireland.

Charming!

Gavin Scott wrote:Chie has been removed from the board.

Anyway, why is it that American satirists (Jon Stewart) have a far better handle on their current affairs and are able to exploit it to its full comedic potential while we are stuck with shit like Mock the Week and 10 o'Clock live?

Sorry fo the late reply!

I don't know why satirical news is funnier in the US, but I suppose it has something to do with the absurd and theatrical nature of our political system. The policies and behavior of the right and far-right are prime material for satire, so much of the humor of John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and The Onion draw upon that. Another aspect that may help the American satirists is the almost entirely sensationalized state of our media, which routinely create meaningless controversies which are easy to lampoon. Save for the atrocious News of the World scandal and the occasional Kay Burley misstep, I get the perception that British media on a whole are more responsible than their American counterparts. This might be why British satirists appear to be less funny. They just have less to work with. Charlie Brooker is hilarious though, don't count him out!

It'd be interesting to get an American perspective on the who News International saga, specifically the "fit-and-proper" to hold a broadcast license stuff.

dosxuk wrote:It'd be interesting to get an American perspective on the who News International saga, specifically the "fit-and-proper" to hold a broadcast license stuff.

I've found the whole News International situation to be an incredibly interesting story. Murdoch and his empire wield far too much power. In New York alone he owns two over the air television stations, a radio station, The New York Post (a rag), and the Wall Street Journal. What News of the World, or perhaps more accurately, the whole of News International has done is deplorable, not only in the realm of "journalism", but the fact that bribes were used as a means to ensure these allegations have been covered up. Although this may be a dark era for the history of the British Newspaper, you should all be proud that The Guardian has, with the interests of the public in mind, stayed with this story from the beginning, enabling the truth to be revealed.

With regards to the fit-and-proper policy, I think it's fine. Ensuring that corporate interests do not supercede the interests of the public will ensure that the media will do their job correctly. I don't think it restricts the free press at all, if they're doing their job right. I only wish we had a similar policy here, because the Murdoch Empire, specifically through the means of Fox News, has been lowering the standard of journalism by branding itself as "fair and balanced", when it clearly isn't. Obviously all corporate media, whether it be NBC, ABC, CBS, or Fox, has specific biases, but the fact that Fox labels itself as being a legitimate source of news shows that Murdoch does not, and never will have the interests of the public in mine. Fox News has screwed around with the balance of discourse in our society, and the fact that the far-right controls a major news channel, peppering it with lies and deceit will mean that many will be unknowingly manipulated by political and corporate interests. The Fairness Doctrine, which once insured balanced, truthful reporting in our media was taken down by a puppet of Murdoch, none other than Roger Ailes himself. American news has never been the same, and I think only the "fit and proper" standard, or at the very least reestablishment of the fairness doctrine would fix the dire state of American media.

Change will be coming in the British Media, and that can only be a good thing. I can only hope that the Murdoch Empire, in both the UK, and the US, will crumble as a result.