20040806

What's up with the Guardian?

Yes, I know it's only reprinting a PA feed, but you have to wonder why the following is news -- or even english:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,1271,-4391432,00.html

As the interview neared its end, Emma began winding up Victor ... The cameras stopped rolling - and the pair launched into a ferocious slanging match, with Victor hurling insults at his arch-enemy. Presenter Dave Berry stepped in to try to calm things down. But then Emma lost the plot and tried to attack Victor.

Shall we play count the cliches / gratuitous coloquialisms there:

"winding up"
"cameras stopped rolling"
"slanging matching"
"hurling insults"
"arch-enemy"
"calm things down"
and, most egregiously of all: "lost the plot".

[the remainder of the story is also, um, packed to the gills, with cliches, but at least that has the, uh, good grace, to be in the form of a direct (although, most likely made-up) quote].

Is this journalism? No.

Edit: and while we're on the subject, a Guardian report on HP4 still contains a number of glaring errors:

French actress Clemence Posey, [...] beat over 3,000 girls for the role of Cho Chang, a schoolgirl who catches Harry's eye.

Um, that would be Clemence Poesy as Fleur Delacour. The clue is, they are both French whereas Cho Chang... oh, never mind...

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