How 'annoying'
No longer the news junkie I once was … I made my living off TV news for a number of years and was hooked on the stuff … I’m no longer compelled to spend hours ingesting, then digesting every horror on the planet, but I do like to keep myself somewhat informed on events, trends and whatever rash of silliness breaks out in the mass media.
When Kokonet … my ISP that is actually not two fuzzy nuts connected by a string to a bike Gilligan pedals, but might as well be … allows a reasonably stable Internet connection, I hit news pages and glean.
One site that pops in front of me regularly is the BBC. With less glitz than CNN, and less substance than the newspapers, it offers up the predigested easily and, once one twigs to the inherent bias, the information there can be a good jumping-in point. I lived in the UK long enough to be have some interest in the country’s politics, and the slant on news from the US can convey a broader picture than is possible from the homegrown variety of blather.
I just wish they’d stop with the perpetual equivocation.
So many headlines on the BBC webpage hedge bets by putting some portion in quotes … or inverted commas, as the Brits say.
Lady Gaga ‘collapses’ before gig
.
Okay … maybe "collapse" is too strong a word for a circumstance the Lady herself describes thusly: "An hour before the show I was feeling dizzy and having trouble breathing … "
So, why doesn't the BBC just use words that would not require the ambiguity of quotes? How about, "Lady Gaga Concert Canceled Due to Ill Health"?
‘Police cancel’ China gay pageant
Did they, or didn’t they? Was it the police, or just some guys that may have been police? If the police DID cancel, what’s wrong with saying that?
And …
‘Three killed’ by Pakistan drone
What the ‘fuck’ are the ‘quotes’ for in this ‘headline’?
Okay. Rant over.
A collection of my short stories:
I'm in this one, too ...
And I'm in here, as well ...
Paradise Preoccupied 