Mailwatch(ed) Forum

This is the first time I have heard of the SofS for Culture, Media and Sport, and I'm quite surprised that her first (to me) mention isn't batshit crazy. Nadine Dorries she ain't.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has advised against the privatisation of Channel 4 in a letter to the prime minister that has leaked online.

In the letter, obtained by the News Agents podcast, Ms Donelan said there were "better ways to ensure Channel 4's sustainability" than privatisation.

Her predecessor Nadine Dorries planned to sell the government-owned channel.

But Ms Donelan wrote: "I have concluded that pursuing a sale at this point is not the right decision."...

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment- ... 160730.amp

Is this the start of 'sensibling up' after the Johnson/Truss years of dumbing down? Is it their new policy to appeal to the less swivel-eyed out there in an attempt to rehabilitate themselves before the next GE? Or is this just a flash in the pan, and Ms Donelan has marked her own cards by not being batshit insane? Only time will tell.

Given that the best way to ensure C4's sustainability is to back away from it and leave it be, here's hoping she's just pointing out the obvious.

Thing is, most people don't care much about Channel 4. Aside from the headbangers who want it gone on ideological grounds (be they about government ownership and responsibility, or cultural attitudes), and they're not going to change.

As for rehabilitation I read a thing by David (Haltemprice & Howden) Davies arguing that the party are now looking mainly at damage limitation and have pretty much written off winning a general election.

Sunshine's speech this afternoon had no discernible optimism.

A man deflated but still pushing the shit-eater grin, though but.

I think C4 is probably safe now because Sunak is less pathologically predisposed to seeking revenge for any and all attempts at scrutiny than his 2 immediate predecessors, the floppy-haired criminal lardbag in particular.

The proposed C4 sale was never anything more than an arrogant, petty man with the thinnest of skins wanting to put oiks who dared question him in their place, aided and abetted by a fawning, overprinted imbecile who seemed to have some vain hope she might be the next in a long line of Mrs Johnsons.

Yep, it's as if Mrs Thatcher had taken umbrage at Ben Elton on Saturday Live or something. She didn't because she, or a competent advisor, pointed out that Channel 4 was diversifying production, exactly as the Government wanted.

I wouldn't be surprised if potential buyers had said "Sorry, you're going to tell us to make programmes in Britain, and immediately move the HQ to Leeds?! Um, OK, but we won't pay you very much for it"

I'm still sure that the best way to deal with Dorries is to tell her that the thing she wants has happened, and then just carry on as normal.

Same as my suggestion on managing Brexit. Funny, that.

MP defends Clarkson's Meghan column but attacks Lineker's USA comment
https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news ... source=app

Absolutely laughable by Donelan.

The party that just won the mid terms have made lies about critical race theory central to their campaigns. How else are we supposed to interpret that?

And as a commentator on a public service broadcaster, you just have to be conscious of the comments that he makes. The general point wasn’t about this is one individual, this is the problem for the BBC, the problem of the BBC is Gary Lineker.

"That’s not the problem. What I was doing was using a range of examples to show that is highlighting a culture, which allows that kind of behaviour and accepts it. Which is what they need to deal with.

Remember when people used to rip the piss out of John Prescott for this type of thing?

You think that's bad.

You ask the question then, what is the actual point?

Every speaker and it’s not a lot that the Unions I have worked in would fall under what she outlines there.

What the actual fucking fuck??!?

Bet they're fucking quaking in Palo Alto.

Won't somebody think of the film industry.



Did Dickie Attenborough give his life in vain?

That bill is hiding a lot of dark stuff behind “think of the children”.

That latest inset about bosses going to jail is an odd as one of the worst places for pornography is twitter.

Are they going rock up at Elon Musk’s house to arrest him? I assume it’s just so unworkable but it will pass in some form with a fair bit of unintended consequences.

Because at the fag end of a government that happens, the privatisation of the rail network springs to mind, something that should have taken a fair amount of time took very little and you ended up with deaths.