23 February 2005

Alive! Lost things resurface

A good illustration of what links reportage makes or doesn't make. This story is about the things that were found after many years from the famous crash in the Andes which resulted in the survivors saying alive by eating their dead fellow passengers. The report here makes links to the Hollywood usage of the story. They could have, of course, made a link to the shrinking glaciers resulting from global warming. Given a choice between movie stars and the end of civilisation as we know it the film stars have it every time.

Of course I know there are other reasons for reporting it that way: human interest is the chiefest as well as making links with the readers' experience and current knowledge. But surely not beyond the wit of a good writer to dig out the human interest on an ecological story?

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"Spend and tax" not "tax and spend"

 I got a response from my MP which got me kind of mad. You'll see why as I reproduce it here. Apologies for the strange changes in types...