Oh to be a hack now that news is here!
A rare 24 hours. It’s been a rollercoaster news moment.
We all know that there are days when very little happens and, as journalists, we have to work overtime to distinguish one day’s events from another. But last night a cascade of happenings toppled into one another.
Even at the sporting level, there was the backdrop of England scrabbling through to the next round of the World Cup. Then the world’s longest grand slam tennis match in history – currently 59 all in the 5th set at Wimbledon.
But the big stuff centred on President Obama carpeting the top allied general in Afghanistan – General Stanley McChrystal. He sacked him as we know – He came out to say so at 17 minutes before we were on air at 7.00pm. Afghan policy in crisis…but exactly why?
But we were already wrestling with the accident on the sea-bed 5,000 feet down in the Gulf of Mexico. Could it get worse? Word was that the cap tapping some of the gushing oil had been taken off following some sort of collision with an unmanned underwater vehicle (the cap has since been reinstalled). And then came word that two workers at the disaster had lost their lives but mysteriously had done so in circumstances unrelated to it.
In three hours our ‘lead’ veered from England’s football victory to BP’s catastrophe, to McChrystal’s sacking.
Yet battling for air was the budget fall-out. The strong hint from Chancellor George Osborne’s statement earlier in the day that further cuts in the benefits bill were in the pipeline (sorry to use that word).
It’s at these moments that news and purveying it become an intoxicating mix of retrieval, analysis, and waiting for yet another shoe to drop.
This very morning it did. I wake up this morning to find that Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (who so recently appeared to be the country’s long term leadership hope) had been distasted after only three years in the job as Australia’s prime minister – to be replaced by the first Aussie woman to hold the office, Welsh-born Julia Gillard. The country’s massive multinational mining companies are in the frame having opposed Rudd’s effort to tax their ‘excess profits’ to fund Australia’s budget.
Yet another news challenge – as we see one multinational corporation tamed in the Gulf of Mexico, and others half a world away seeing their nemesis disposed of by the Australian Labor Party.
Want to know why we love the job? What a challenge! What a privilege!
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- The horrible possibility of good news
- Hack on a cold tin roof
- All the BBC news that's fit to embed…
- China left out of iron ore price talks
There are 35 comments on this post
Your privilige is our privilige…and we are grateful you are in the job!
My first boss used to say (rather too often, if I’m honest) “things that are urgent are seldom important”. We all love the immediacy of the latest breaking story, but it’s also good to see a running story given equal weight, and followed through to its conclusion.
It’s great to see you are being kept on your Toes Jon! It seems no amount of changing news stories make you falter. Clearly your time & wisdom is expressed in conducting a very impressive job. Krishnan is pretty good too I must say.
Don’t forget to come on Twitter as the breaking stories hit there first!
We could ‘blog’ about these stories til the cows come home!
For me, the sacking of McChrystal is the lead story leaving “the Afghan policy in crisis.”
Why?
Because a stupid President and his lap dog PM took us into an unpopular, unwinnable war with breathtakingly naive aims and no exit strategy. It has cost USA and UK more than 1300 lives so far and billions of Pounds/Dollars and is unpopular on both sides of the Atlantic.
God alone knows how many innocent Iraqis and Afghans have also been killed in the process.
We are trying to impose democracy on a tribal society that has no interest in it, no institutions set up to administer it and no idea of its implications.
There must also be some tribesmen who could spot the irony that Politicians of the Great Democracies of USA and UK have routinely ignored the majority view.
Perhaps Obama has taken the first real step on the road back to Democracy. Or has McChrystal revealed some bizarre political ambition?
Couldn’t agree more, Moonbeach. The “War on Terror” was fundamentally ill-conceived. I recall G. Bush Jr. weakly mentioning the appalling treatment of women in Afghanistan as one of the “reasons” for the invasion. That had never concerned him prior to 9/11. Those with power in Afghanistan, such as warlords, would never concede it to mere democracy; and they must be laughing up their sleeves at us. Furthermore, I have heard some UK Muslims declaring that democracy is contrary to the teachings of the Qu’ran.
Even if we do succeed in advancing their society, everything will fall apart once we’ve left and there will be a return to the status quo – because there are too many influential people there who have a vested interest in keeping the old ways.
Yes IMHO that war is unwinable – becuse US etc are trying to fight basically a guerilla war – and they are not set up to do this – so it will drag on . As for pulling out – no way . US is ” pulling out ” of Iraq – but leaving huge privatised armies to look after its interests – and now that some rich mineral deposits have been found in Afghaistan !!!!!!. Brings to mind Paul Krugers remark – when Gold had been discoverd in SA –” Damns – the British will be here in 12 months ”. He was right – and has it done the ordinary South frican any good ??— so the idea that this everlasting war will stop – No . The US is now engaged under Obama in more countries than when Bush was in Office . Sorry – things are getting worse – not better . One thing I dont undersatnd is if the BP thing was due to corners being savagely cut – why stop others drilling – surely they will have learned a lesson and employ correct saftey methods ?.
Re soccer – I was not heartbroken to see France disappear considering how they got there in the first place – blatant cheating against ROI team .
Ah, another adrenaline junkie I see
As previously comment went off screen without the highlighted text which displays submitted. Interesting to note if this reapppears as before.
Is there a bit of hanky panky going on or is it just a technical error.?
The fact that you love your job is the key to why people admire you so much, I think. If you dragged yourself unwillingly to work every day, making the most of every break, trying to stay away… then that would shine through in your daily reporting.
But instead you arrive at work on your bike, full of oat porridge and good intention – ready to get to grips with the world around you whilst having fun with your colleagues.
And, as ‘akamrburns’ writes: “Your privilege is our privilege.”
By the way, Jon, whatever else happens, don’t let the Coalition use all these events to ‘bury bad news’. The more people look into the budget, the worse it gets and the Lib Dems must be close to prosecution by the Advertising Standards Auhthority.
Oh to be a banker – causing the chaos and then hardly called to account. We should be treating the bankers like President Obama is treating BP – you created it, you pay for it to be cleaned up.
Afghanistan is ALL about OIL as was/is Iraq. I wonder what the real reason for McChrystal’s dismissal is?
We will probably never know.
Gulf of Mexico? More OIL of course and the people responsible should go to prison for a long time. Important security measures will then not be overlooked in the interest of PROFIT.
Let’s hope that Ms Gillard has the planet’s future on her agenda as Australia is a very important nation.
England? They scarped by but played a lot better.
Longest grand-slam tennis match in history? It was fantastic to watch!
adzmundo The Venus Project,ZM & CND
There was also the arrest of drug baron Christopher ‘Dudas’ Coke thrown into the mix yesterday. What a day for news eh?
Jon, As Moonbeach pointed the big story is the situation with Afghanistan.
Here we are in an un-winable war that we can’t afford to lose. Now it appears that the aim of the Afghanistan operation is to stop the insurgency spreading further into Pakistan, or so we’re told.
This could be Obama’s Vietnam.
Not so sure – Petraeus’ role in Iraq was to declare victory and expedite withdrawal. Obama may be counting on him to deliver the Afghanistan “pull down” on the agreed plan (starting in 12 months) regardless of any difficulties on the ground. This could actually be the beginning of the end.
“This could actually be the beginning of the end.”
That’s the killer line Paul. It invites a question mark. The end of what ? I think Obama would like nothing more than to cut and run, but only when he thinks the Pakistan borders are tamed, and no threat to Islamabad.
That seems to have settled that one ,
Basically Obama is saying , sorry you are not going to make a fool of me, whether you are one of the best or not . I want another in.
The gulf crisis is the most saddening aspect of the news. Those poor tar ridden pelicans really upset me as no one appears to be rectifying the problem for the birds.
The tennis match is history in the making and those two lads both deserve a win. It is a pity one of them has to lose.
Oh! to be young and fit and go for 8 hours or more. John Mc Enroe was right when he commented that these atheletes are fitter than a lot of football players.
Full marks to Saltaire and Paul Begley: follow the responsibility line to make the bankers pay and go to trial for the immense suffering they have and are causing [not even an ASBO they've got so far] and keep the IMPORTANT stories in the news to exert pressure till something is finally resolved. Why don’t we ever return to Gaza, Haiti, Bhopal when they are not “breaking news” or “celebrating” an anniversary? They are still breaking hearts and lives. Unless we don’t keep hammering on these, the culprits of ones and the awaiting crooks of others only need to sit it out for a few days and wait for the arrival of the latest football or tennis results. I have nothing against football or tennis, I hurry to add, but everytime I see easy, happy, irrelevant news smillingly read immediately after some dreadful news, something inside me breaks. Cannot help it.
Hear, hear! And what about a piece on all the devastating oil spills in Nigeria – hundreds, I’ve read. How many lives, how much of the environment, ruined because of the unquenchable thirst for oil?
Paul Begley said it all.Todays news is tomorrows history.Just look at the Haitian disaster,where is it now , forgotten by you hacks in the interest of so called news happenings.
Sport , here today gone tomorrow unless there is a guiness book record .A bit like my worls cup dream team.
Where would you be without these evolving events job??? Worse still , where would we poor bloggers be,with nothing new to discuss/argue about
Lucky you, Jon, to be doing a job you love and to be well rewarded for it – in more ways than one, I suspect. Too bad so many have to settle for any job that will pay the bills – but this isn’t sour grapes, just a reflection on the way things are.
Thanks for everything you do ( except that awful ” interview” with Mandelson & Clarke a few months ago, it still makes me shudder), and long may you all continue.
So now we see the ‘fairer’ society in action. Public sector workers pay frozen no matter how important their job or how well they have done. Meanwhile Network Rail executives get £2m bonuses. What exactly have they done to earn those? Is our railway system so much better that they deserve to pocket all that cash while a surgeon who saves people’s lives will see his standard of living drop over the next two years?
And what about those people running the privatised water companies in the NW? Winter floods, summer droughts. Give ‘em a bonus.
This coiuntry’s priorities are completely out of synch. There is absolutely no balance in rates of pay and rewards in terms of the value of the jobs done. And barely a politician with the guts to say so.
I really enjoy your posts… Have we always had bad people in power? I know so many decent, incorruptible and brave people… and not one of them is a politician. We need people with real vision, impeccable honesty and plenty of guts
Obviosly Sam – waht is happening and will continue to happen is a less fair society . Its the sheer arrogance of it that takes the breath away. Now according to BBC news this morning –age at which pensions are payable is to rise[ in some years time ] – and the govt . is looking into ways of getting people to work into their 70s – also the Govt is to consult Public sector as to how more cuts can be implemented – can u believe them for arrogance . Will they question the bankers about their bonuses ??. . This is just the re-introduction of Slavery – use one for as long as possible while u are alive – then hopefully u die quick and not take up money that the Rich need . It was even worse here in ROI – Public sector workers had pay cuts of from 10% – 25%. Its the same old story – HIT The Weak -. they can do little to get back at us . This whole thing is heading at some future date – may be many years – to a French Revolution type scenario.
Response to Maverde: I don’t think that people generally (even those at the top!) are more “bad” than they used to be. We are, I would say, much more detached from one another, much less connected, and much,much more subject to remote control. This makes it much easier to believe convenient things, until they blow up in our faces. Add to this the constant pressure to do things quickly (“because the markets won’t wait”, or whatever) and we end up bearing the consequences of a lot of decisions being imposed based on the gut reactions of those in charge, rather than informed judgement.
However, I do think that there’s a sort of moral corrosion involved in bringing the “market” and its values into areas where it doesn’t belong. I don’t think, for example, that care for the elderly or children should be transformed into some service that we might choose to buy or not, depending on the price. In my opinions, that cheapens all of us.
In our house, Jon, we are wondering if General McChrystal didn’t instigate his dismissal to get away from the mess he has made. It is worrying to see reported in the Guardian that Britain has slavishly followed McChrystal’s line.
Another “major story” today is the deaths of four more soldiers in, we are supposed to believe a “road accident”, where there was no collision. Am I alone in thinking it unlikely that NONE of these men could have scrambled out, even if in water?
What is it going to take for the government to reverse the policies in Afghanistan and get these poor young men away from slaughter? Where is the democratic principle in all this?
“Another “major story” today is the deaths of four more soldiers in…”
That’s a pretty dispiriting and unpleasant way of describing the deaths of our troops Tanya. You may not like the fact that they are in Afghanistan, or agree with the reasons why. But I don’t think their deaths need to be treated with quite so much disdain. It is a big story to many of us.
And if its conspiracy theories you’re after then…
I’m astonished at Richard of Nottingham’s comments about my treating the deaths of soldiers with disdain. I feel despair, not disdain, and I don’t know which of my words implied disdain. The use of the word “story” was simply to carry on Jon’s original point that there were many news stories. I think that the death of any soldier should be the first item on any news bulletin, but it rarely is. As to what I feel about Afghanistan, I think I am speaking for many British people when I say that we should not be there; we are hearing more these days about the deaths of civilians, the lack of common purpose between various factions and the stresses on soldiers and their families. Many of us believe that terrorism is worse because of our occupation of Afghanistan, and that to bring the soldiers home would lessen the danger here. You don’t have to swallow all the propaganda from the UK and USA governments, you know.
Well said Tanya.
Tanya i agree with the sentiments of this blog .I am sure many of us believe we should not be in Afghanistan.Yet another terrible deed by Blair, but at the same time i agree with Richard about your previous blog,the suggestion that the British deaths were a conspiracy , was disdainful about our troops , our government and the reporting of troop fatalities
Tanya: things get lost in translation, that’s all. Neither of you seemed to understand what the other was getting at.
The latest on Afghan….. is that a 5 year staged withdrawal is planned leaving A’s own miltary/ security in control .. mmm
Jon’s right: it’s been info-max for journos. How do you choose?
Well, for starters, people should stop referring to the Oz PM as Welsh. I am, she ain’t. It’s like calling Lloyd George a Mancunian (he was born there, dontcha know?). Or Lawrence of Arabia as Lawrence of Tremadoc, or Vaughan Williams as English.
As for the oil-spill thing, isn’t it odd how few mentions there’ve been of the 11 working-class men who died at the start of this? Plenty of pics of straggly pelicans, etc. Is a disaster a disaster when it disturbs middle-class sensibilities, or is a disaster just a disaster?
Journalism is always a choice – some, like JS, have the nerve to see this – the rest is GMTV.
Congratulations Jon.
For those who think the market shows wisdom in who should be well rewarded and who should struggle to make ends meet, I give you the England football team.
Every man jack of them on £100,000 or more per week, and not even competent at what they do.
Meanwhile thousands of underpaid public sector workers are about to be thrown out of work because of a situation that is not their fault.
The market is an ass.
This is a tired stream now, but I wasn’t suggesting that the troops conspired in any way. I have just noticed that when there are multiple helicopter or road deaths, we are often told that these are due to mechanical failure of some kind, rather than what I believe they usually are, which is a horribly accurate attack by the enemy.