Camera Shy

Why is it that no-one wants to go in front of a camera? It's like the ultimate Taboo these days. I almost got nutted by a guy who didn't actually look like he was going to nut me, simply for asking whether he had 5 minutes to spare; "Well, we are about to just have a cup of tea and just relax, so no." Bastard.

Background: Due to a severe lack of planning on my part (surprise surprise) I had to apply for an extra day of filming for my assessed news package. That extra day was today. Picked up the gear at 9:20ish, picked up my partner in crime/cameraman, a.k.a Ryan, at about 9:40 (traffic was terrible).

The only problem was, i still didn't have an idea for a story (surprise surprise). I was going to do about Bournemouth's Waste Disposal System, and how effective it was (woo) but instead, i ended up doing about the weather. That you right your heard me, the weather. It's a naff story, but its a story, so I'm happy.

Did you know that this April was the hottest it had been for 300 years in England? Hmmm? Bet you didn't, did you? (Don't answer that). But anyway, i did my story on the weather, and how it had affected the seaside business in Bournemouth. Rock on.

Now I've got to type up a 1450 word profile on a women who does Extra work, due in tomorrow. God i love my life.

Big Brother 'racist' row

By Joe Robinson

It seems slightly typical of today’s society that it would take a reality show like Big Brother to finally wake people up to the important issues in life when celebrated Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty came face to face this week with the great British attitude towards foreigners in this years Celebrity Big Brother.
The incident, which involved housemates making ‘racial’ comments on how Indians all have Diarrhoea and don’t wash their hands, has seen Channel 4 and the Broadcast regulation OfCom receive over 10,000 complaints.
Celebrity mother Jackie Budden called Shilpa “The Indian” while the shows main sponsor Carphone Warehouse has said that it is “reviewing” the deal with the show. Keith Vaz, MP for Leicester East had been asked by his constituents to table a motion in parliament over this issue, so now instead of discussing terrorism, taxes or anything of importance in Parliament, they will be talking about Big Brother.
Great.
You’d think with racial attacks occurring across the country, Britain would realise there is a problem.
It seems that when it’s an ethnic person that no one has ever heard of it’s ok, but when it’s a famous ethnic person who no one has ever heard of, the government must act.
But what does the public think of this row?
On the BBC News website many are of the agreement that this has been “blown out of proportion” or is simply “female rivalry”.
Others have criticised Big Brother for not stepping in purely because Shilpa has “not voiced any concerns” of her own.
Even Big Brother fan’s think this incident has gone a bit too far, pointing out that fellow housemate Germain Jackson called the girls “White trash”, which of course isn’t racist in the least.

*academic piece
Sub-Edited by Tom Whitman