Editor's Corner

The rise of ‘infotainment' and its nemesis, ‘this isn't news'

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 07:00:00 -0800

"This isn't news". Those three words haunt me. I have seen them at least twenty times a day for the past three-and-a-half years. I've even started seeing them in my nightmares, splattered on my walls in Internet blood.

Tuesday was a typical example; we ran a story about David and Victoria Beckham's son, Romeo, being By Richard Evans

If you were going to choose a word to represent 2010 what would it be? Debt? Coalition? Wedding? Miners? Gamugate? Snow? There are lots to choose from. There are so many, in fact, that even the lexical behemoth that is the Oxford Dictionaries has struggled to narrow it down to just one word while it was selecting this year's ‘Word of the Year'. ...

Evolution applies to everything, even Andrew Marr

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 07:00:00 -0800

Whenever I think of the word ‘evolution' my mind, without fail, wanders back to the images in school textbooks of apes slowly turning into man - and if our photo editor is doing his job correctly it will be the image a few inches to the right of these words.

Comment: Am I the only person who has learnt nothing from the Pope's visit?

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:15:55 -0800

Well it's all over - the first papal visit to Britain since 1982 when John Paul II graced us with his presence has now come to an end. It didn't come cheap though; the four-day trip reportedly cost the taxpayer somewhere between £10 million and £12 million. So now come the usual questions; what did we learn? And, was it worth the cost?

What are the Ground Zero protests really about? Here’s a clue; it’s not a mosque

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:00:00 -0800

I've read several blogs and comment pieces over the past week about the proposed Islamic cultural centre in New York. You won't know of it by that name of course; the right wing media has decided to refer to it as the 'Ground Zero mosque' instead.

Comment: Why I'll never use Facebook Places

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:00:00 -0800

How old are you? What are your hobbies and interests? Are you single? Would you mind telling me your political views? These are all questions that the majority of Facebook's 26 million UK users freely offer the answers to.

Is it worth angering the Scots over a double summertime?

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:59:58 -0800

It's back, the debate that has been quietly raging on the backburner since the 1960s. And while the debate is back, perhaps the clocks might not be.

Billion pound oil company seeks tall, dark, funnelling system with GSOH

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 06:00:00 -0800

By Richard Evans

Five years ago when I was a ‘newbie' to the London 'scene', and when people used words like ‘newbie' and 'scene', my flatmate and I decided it would be a good idea to enter into the world of online dating to meet new people. This was before it was cool. ...

Do not make a martyr out of Raoul Moat

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 06:00:00 -0800

By Richard Evans

The fact that 38,000 people joined the Raoul Moat Facebook tribute page this week tells me one thing: There are at least 37,900 imbeciles using Facebook.

I exclude 100 people on the basis that some of those who joined the page may have actually known Moat before he turned into a crazed gunman, and could have legitimate reason to pay tribute.

The ‘R.I.P. ...

Hey good lookin'

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 06:00:00 -0800

By Richard Evans

We all have our daily routines. For many of us it will include washing, drying, brushing, styling, spraying and hopefully, dressing. Some people will use more verbs to get ready each morning, while others will undoubtedly use fewer.

Whatever our preparations include, whenever we are asked how long we spend glaring and grooming in front of the mirror each morning, our natural response is to lie. ...