Saddam and Gomorrah

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Working in the media (though not, I hasten to add, as a journalist) I am always of two minds in responding to criticism of it. Yes, on the one hand, the media tends to "steer" us toward the cheaper end of town, but on the other hand, being the fiercely competitive field that it is, you have to acknowledge that they only give the public what they want - if they didn't, they'd quickly go broke.

At the end of the day, the sad truth is that the general public want this crap. Not only want it, but are willing to pay good money for it. And equally sad, there are media barons out there gleefully raking in that money and pumping out the cheap pap that so annoys Sweder and many others (me included).

But Sweder, you are dead right to complain. Media organisations do take notice of complaints, even if there is no acknowledgement given.

The best solution though is to either go for a run, or switch to the sports channel. And next time you see Mr. Murdoch in the street, tap him on the shoulder and have a gentle chat with the bloke.