London Fog

News less promising

As a student of media and journalism, the last piece of news I want to hear is about the decline of the media industry, and how difficult it is to get a job worthwhile after graduation. Charlie Brooker - the one name in the British media I still moderately respect, has drawn this prospect for me and thousands like me across the country:



While sceptics may not find the arguments particularly compelling, the hearsay within the industry spells doom for journalists and foresees some form of revolutionary change in the world of media very shortly.

Just yesterday the BBC World Service in a short radio documentary made it clear that the public, it seems, is no longer interested in impartiality. Almost two months ago, the National Union of Journalists celebrated its 100th birthday with a series of demonstrations and rallies in the wake of an obvious crisis in the media industry. The BBC and ITV job cuts have long left the headlines, but the effects of the cuts have already manifested in many ways not always appealing.

The Union people are divided over the future of free press. The more pragmatic have moved on to the Web, while the more orthodox have labelled the Web 2.0 'rubbish' . Futuristic videos started appearing, predicting an ultimate meltdown of media companies and online search engines, rendering traditional journalism of news gathering redundant.

Dark times are upon us. Especially upon the students of journalism and media.

Basing my decision on what really matters: the cull of Bendi Buses

The London mayoral elections are not until next May, but the race is already on. Ken Livingston and Boris Johnson have been throwing feces at each other for months now. The latest feces throwing contest evolves around London transport system.

The Bendi Buses

In a brief interview with Nick Ferrari on LBC radio (12 Dec) Boris ridiculed Ken's favouritism of the bendi-buses and accused the bendi buses of exacerbating the congestion problem in central London. Johnson promised to cut their numbers, before eventually phasing them out altogether.

However, the Bendi buses provide easy access to all those who may require extra space and lower platforms. It's not just wheelchair users, but also those with luggage (and there's plenty of people who go to work with suitcases) and those with bikes. It also provides an alternative to double-deckers that many find sickening.

The Wind of Change

According to London Elects , the last election in 2004 had a staggering turnout of 37%. Poorly drawn and even more poorly articulated policies might be the problem. Lack of choice and alternative may be another problem.

This time around, many want to close the chapter on the reign of Ken, but for all the wrong reasons. It is rather irritating to hear so many people speak of change when they clearly recognise that there is nothing to change to.

The hope remains that it's just talks. Like with general elections during Tory’s years of glory, many spoke of voting for Labour, but when barricaded in that little booth of anonymity, still voted Tory. That is likely to be the case in the upcoming mayoral elections.

If change means being governed by an eccentric clown, it would be more reasonable to run for the top job yourself. All you need is to have 10 friends in each borough of London and a £10,000 deposit. Applications are still open. Click here to apply

Merry Christmas and Stop Ruining the Planet

There's much to be said about Christmas - a festive holiday that now begins in October and, for most people, ends in January with a grand pile-up of credit card bills. Restaurants, bars, clubs and even pubs had started advertising their ‘exclusive’ and ‘ultimate’ Christmas plans even before I started shopping for a Halloween pumpkin. So, there is very little to be said when after such grandiose run-up you emerge on Christmas day without any gifts for your loved ones. And that's the high time to get philosophical.

If you start by pondering aloud, in an as-a-matter-of-fact manner, “why, oh, why do I have to buy?”, any reasonable person would just give up trying and make a mental note not to get you anything worth more than 2 quid for next Christmas.

If, however, they manage to miss the sarcasm in a haze of holiday hype and courteously listen in on your deep and meaningful monologue, then you can bring in the religion card. Caught in the spirit of ho-ho-ho, even Muslims and Sikhs go on spending sprees and set up emergency Christmas funds. But if you take a step back from that ever-so-charming spirit and go back to the roots of the holiday… most of us aren’t even Christian! We just like the sales, and the ribbons, and tearing up layers of wrapping only to discover your boyfriend doesn’t know you all that well after all.

And most importantly, a philosophical thought worth a PhD thesis is whether all this consumerism is in accord with the Green idea that is so en vogue these days. "Think of all the polar bears that are drowning because of the global warming! Think of the tonnes of excess packaging produced specifically for this environmentally hostile holiday!" - you could say, and pray they be reasonable.

Perhaps, as an ultimate gesture of desperation, to save the planet and to make poverty history, you could buy each one of your friends a copy of the Big Issue: a quality read for them, a big sincere ‘thank you’ for you, and a hot meal for the homeless.

It takes that little for a Christmas to be truly merry.