Damn Elections

I seem to be flicking through the TV and coming across Poker. After two evenings at HoG I'm down 82p, but I still can't understand why people watch it on TV unless it's railing against insomnia. No-one even wants to advertise during the shows...

I must not get too into the whole gambling thing - after all I have a history of trouble - 50c lost in Vegas, and £2 on the lottery.

I did however get my new bike today. It's very goth... see here. It has many things in its favour, like being black, being fast, very light, and being my unconditional friend.

Perhaps I should spend some time polishing my knees...

Vanity Publishing Gone Mad

Obviously I'm starting from the position of being an amateur looking for exposure, so it's probably wrong of me to take the piss too much about people who "ambulance-chase" local disasters with their cameraphones, but honestly the world could benefit from quality control.

Technology has changed news gathering as much as it has the way we interact. Blogs spread news faster than newspapers and television; journalists no longer have exclusive access to mass-communication; the role of the "professional" is being diluted.

A while ago I wondered why people still buy newspapers. Ignoring the form-factor issues, what was the point I thought? They're outdated before they hit the shelves, cost more money and are frankly limited in their scope and content. Then I realised, ignoring stereotypes ("Daily Mail Reader" "Liberal Guardian Reader") it's about opinion and analysis. BBC News has been better at this recently, but is still pretty bland in the majority. Mind you, it's dangerous to have an opinion these days.

So, where does this leave us? The role of the "journalist" is to be the analys - more about taking delivery of material, quality control, then publishing the best. Acting as an intelligent filter rather than instigator.

And while people still agree to conditions like this - who can blame them:

In contributing to BBC News you agree to grant us a royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to publish and otherwise use the material in any way that we want, and in any media worldwide. (See the Terms and Conditions for the full terms of our rights.)

It's important to note, however, that you still own the copyright to everything you contribute to BBC News and that if your image and/or video is accepted, we will endeavour to publish your name alongside it on the BBC News website. Please note that due to operational reasons this accreditation will probably not be possible with video. The BBC cannot guarantee that all pictures and/or video will be used and we reserve the right to edit your comments.

Ramble over.