I met some BBC reporters at the weekend. One was covering the election and was thoroughly tired of the whole thing. "Its so stage-managed" he complained, "The only time we get to talk to the Prime Minister is when it looks like we're about to publish a whinge about him" I gather this is a more polite way of saying "when it looks like we're about to call him a c***"
He went on to give an example of the daily press-meeting
Press Liason: "Today the Prime Minister will be going to Birmingham..."
Chorus of reporters: "...where he'll be met by a crowd of Government supporters!"
Press Liason: "...where he'll be met by... Hold on a sec - how did you know that?"
Chorus of reporters: "Because thats what he does EVERY DAY!"
It probably explains why, on this election day, the flagship BBC national news programme ('Today', on Radio 4. Not 'NewsBeat' on Radio 1 - the presenters there can't say the word 'election' without putting on a fake chinese accent for comedy effect) chose not to lead on the race to govern the remnants of the British Empire.
Instead, the lead story on the most listened-to UK current affairs programme on the day of the UK election was the serious issue of foam cushions in European motorhomes being imported into the UK not meeting UK safety standards and thus presenting a serious fire hazard.
I kid you not.
I love the BBC.
