AE on Telly News (NEW CONCEPTS)

[Mick Harper]

CNN had a choice of lead story last night. The end of the Iran War or a judge ordering Donald Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center 'by midnight'. Liberal America watched with apprehension. Would they put anti-Trumpery ahead of news value? You really have to ask?

[Mick Harper]

Another News Value Clash

President Trump had assured us a peace deal between America and Iran would be signed 'on Sunday' (his birthday, whether coincidentally or not). The Iranians were reported as being not entirely on all fours with the scheduling but not about an agreement having been arrived at.

So naturally I tuned in Sunday morning, i.e. now, to find out the latest. Al-Jazeera led with an update. Still roughly the above was the burthen of their lead story. Except, critically, the Iranians may be having reservations about the agreement itself. What do they know? I turned to CNN to find out.

They led their 9 a.m. hour-long news bulletin (from London, as is often the case when America is in the middle of its night) with eight and a half minutes on the New York Knickerbockers winning a basketball competition and the exuberant street celebrations that ensued thereby. Then, in other news, said roughly what Al-Jazeera had said.

You don't pays your money and you takes your choice.

[Mick Harper]

Is my conspiratorial paranoia working overtime or did something happen on last night's Newsnight? It had not recorded on my digibox when I settled own to watch it this morning, as is my daily wont. The five minutes of weather (which I record automatically in case of Newsnight overrunning) wasn't showing the weather. It wasn't on my digi I-Player and according to the BBC's own website, it will be available 'soon'.

[Mick Harper]

There's an eight-hour bio of Mussolini on Sky Atlantic. That's right up my street: eight hours will provide me with plenty of material I haven't already acquired and it will be made by Italians, so interesting from that point of view as well, both artistically and historically.

When I settled down to Episode One I found it was in subtitles and, while I could see it had OK production values, it just wasn't worth the pfaff of reading subtitles (which were exceedingly small). But why was it subtitled? Why isn't it dubbed? Because dubbing is crap, you say. (And expensive, Sky America says.)

Bollocks to you both. AI can now do the entire job, and do it better, with the flick of a switch. It will even flick the switch if you ask it.