Last week, in one of those autophagous moments that we in the media indulge in, it transpired that this last anonymous person was none other than the wicked Damian McBride, although we weren’t told that at the time. The creature McBride had busied himself – with the complicity of some journalists – in punishing the Chancellor for having been uneconomical with the actualité. No wonder that the former Blair aide, Matthew Taylor, was amused to receive calls from “Sunday journalists” asking to be told more about McBride’s unpleasantnesses. It was, he said, “a bit like someone saying: ”˜Me and my mates have for years been having a very intimate relationship with someone you might vaguely know – what was it like?’.”
All this is a symptom of the mutual catastrophe of trust, in which politicians and journalists are not trusted by the public, and the public is not trusted by politicians and journalists. The public want many things, the almost subliminal logic runs – reassurance, emotional connection, a satisfying narrative – but not the truth.
Read it all. Also, if you haven’t seen The Wire, you are really missing out..
Kendall, the critics here in the UK have raved about The Wire. I watched an episode and was largely baffled. Moreover, despite spending at least a month in the US each year for the last 20 years, large chunks of the dialogue/dialog were unintelligible. Is it the Baltimore accent or is that hearing aid just around the corner?