Lord of the Flies 2
An interesting treatment for a new reality show was emailed into our office today. I urge you to read the treatment. Can it be real THE SHOW: “The most nail biting, adrenaline soaked game show on earth” Ten kids aged between 11 and 14 are marooned on an exotic island thousands of miles from school,…
Outrage Factor
I noticed in today’s Guardian, Owen Gibson’s article about how adverts these days are attracting a record number of complaints. The advertising industry watchdog’s annual report is published today, and it lists stylised violence, same sex kisses and religious offence as some of the top ten most complained about adverts for last year. An advert…
Imaginary People
Delving into the lost history of publicists, I have found that there was a rather amusing trend which involved inventing individuals to stand up a story. In the 1950’s, publicists used this ploy to establish relationships or trysts with non existent folk. It seems rather strange that these individuals were never exposed as fakes, but…
Crime and The Media
This morning we heard that the mother of Madeleine McCann, the missing girl who was snatched from her parents’ holiday home in Portugal last Thursday, has made a desperate appeal to whoever is responsible not to hurt her daughter. The British public take it for granted that the Police use the media, but what they…
Scandal
The papers are really feasting on the disgrace of Lord Browne for lying to the High Court about where he met Jeff Chevalier. The real disgrace, in the eyes of the homophobic media, was not the perjury, but the fact that Browne had delved into ‘seedy’ gay websites and hitched up with an entrepreneurial rent…
The Truth and Nothing but the Truth
Students of Hollywood spin should perhaps study the influence and power of Hedda Hopper. Perhaps not as potent as Louella Parsons, she certainly made her mark during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Hedda, along with Louella Parsons raised the gossip column to an art form and had the power to make or break careers. Louis…
Air Care?
Does anybody really like Ryan Air? I had the misfortune of travelling to Dublin in one of their blue and yellow cigar tubes of the sky; it was a deeply depressing experience. Does no thrills mean rude? The staff were not unlike East German Stassi circa 1953. I hope that we will all be forced…
The Goat And The Vagina
Publicity stunts that cause indignation stretch back for hundreds of years, but this week media indignation continued to heap on Sony Play Station, in fact it has soared to Number one for a stunt to outrage all outrages. A row has been ignited over animal cruelty and the ethics of the computer industry by Sony’s…