Gill:war coverage "irrelevant"
Sunday Times writer AA Gill has attacked the world media over its war coverage and accused journalists of passing up hard, uncomfortable news for the sake of advertisers.
His comments appear in the latest issue of GQ in a feature called "Ever get the feeling you’ve been jihad?"
Reporting from Pakistan on the media "front line", he accuses the press of being irrelevant and "spinning out of context". He brands one female journalist a "dumb bimbo" and says the most dangerous thing correspondents would ever do is eat the food.
"There’s precious little journalism being done out here. Most of these Bhutto Babes and Dicks in blue shirts are only used to putting subtitles to pictures. They couldn’t find a story if it were printed on the English-language menu in the coffee shop," he writes.
Gill claims the speculative reports and brief clips on television have become "more and more unreal", adding: "It strikes me that our precious and protected freedom of speech has become a sycophant.
"When the Bhutto Babes and Dicks in blue shirts keep their jobs through ratings popularity, none of them wants to say the hard, contrary, unpopular stuff and advertisers won’t be seen dead endorsing uncomfortable news. The competitive nature of rolling coverage makes broadcasters look to the channel next door for the agenda. They outbid each other to pander to a public mood. "
He accuses journalists of poaching relief workers from aid agencies and says they are paying so much for transport and bribes at border crossings that charities trying to deliver aid can’t compete.
By Ruth Addicott
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