Beeb Man Says Vote For...
I've just come from the Glasgow newsroom talking to the Editor of Good Morning Scotland about his nervous rash. He claims - in his weekly newsletter - that this has been brought on by the Scottish election campaign. I actually thought he was joking about this, but, sure enough, he has a pluke on his forehead about the size of Vesuvius. It made me feel guilty for laughing at his newsletter so I quickly changed the subject.
"What about the Press?" I asked, "which newspapers will come out and declare open support for particular parties?"
There ensued a short discussion on how much influence newspapers actually have on voter intentions. Apparently, during the Thatcher years, most readers of The Sun newspaper had no idea it supported the Conservative Party. These days, with the declining sales of newspapers that you actually have to pay for, I wondered if freesheets such as The Metro would swing the balance if it backed any party in favour of longer journey times on trains and buses, so that readers would have more time to read their paper.
Of course here at the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ we're happy to be bound by editorial policies that prevent us from showing bias towards a particular political party. Cynics may sneer at that notion. It's a bit like those people who believe everyone in the media supports Rangers or Celtic and only pretend to be fans of other football clubs.
The truth is, if you work for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ long enough, you become institutionally incapable of expressing a personal opinion on anything that matters. This can cause problems. In a restaurant, for example, someone is bound to ask if you prefer red or white wine. Normal people express an immediate preference, but the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ person hesitates...
"Well, of course, there's bound to be merit in either wine...and there's a case to be made for rose...or even having nothing at all. Let's find out what everyone else thinks..."
You think I'm joking? Well, maybe, but this election campaign is causing me all sorts of diffciluties at home as my children ask me who people ought to vote for. Not that they'll be able to make their mark on the ballot for another eight years, but, in any case, I tell them that everyone has to make their own choices. At the last election my offspring made that choice on the basis of their favourite colour...now they're just too sophisticated for that. They demand answers.
Finally, in a pragmatic twist, and realising that their toy and sweets money comes from my ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ salary, they asked me which party "liked the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ".
Gosh, they might have to spoil their ballot papers.
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