No interest – No Britons Involved

I was somewhat repulsed by the  one-eyed news reporting of the Indonesia hotel bombings earlier in the week.  The bombings got a quick mention while a frantic search went on for a Brit who may (or may not) have been nearby at the time.  But the tone of the report was basically – bombs, faraway country, foreigners killed, and now on to a skateboarding dog. 

However, the BBC report I saw was unusually repugnant in that they made a tenuous link between a bombed hotel in faraway Indonesia and Manchester United, who were due in that very hotel next week. So they suddenly came back to the story – almost as though al Qaeda was a bit pissed off at Ronaldo’s transfer from their favourite football team and wanted to exact revenge. 

 Which is ironic when you think about it – because I suspect that terrorist bombs are almost as regular in London than they are in Indonesia,  And Manchester United is obliged to visit London on a fairly regular basis  without complaint – apart from any offside and penalty decisions that go against them. 

But it got me thinking of our media’s mania for British involvement.  The seemingly endless and grisly casualties from Afghanistan for example.  I know that eight British soldiers died last Friday – because I have been endlessly told so.  But I have no idea how our good friends in the Taliban have been getting on.

Now I know that the BBC is unlikely to send Kate Adie or Ragi Omar into a terrorist bolthole to take tea and discuss how the war on terror is going from their perspective.  But it would be nice to know if our brave lads are having any results in the seemingly pointless turkey shoot they are engaged in. 

But our obsession with British involvement is not just restricted to harrowing news stories.  Obscure sports rear into our sub consciousness in total parallel to the level of British involvement.  

For example – a few years ago we had wall-to-wall coverage of a sport as ludicrous as ice dancing because there was Robin Cousins, Torvill & Dean et al.  Now you won’t find any television channel giving skipping around on ice the time of day –unless some gormless celebrity is involved. 

No today we are supposed to be enthusiastic about blokes & girls in tight Lycra riding strange bikes in very small circles – sometimes with the involvement of an electric moped, sometimes not.  It is so absurd a ‘sport’ it is hilarious – but hey, Britons are involved.  Once no Britons are involved (give it a year or two) and it will go back to well-merited obscurity.