The Reaches of all Branches.. Fact or Fiction?

Over the past months we have seen what has happened in Operation Yewtree, court cases heard and tried. But what exactly has gone on, in all this we have seen performers go from one end of spectrum to the other. As such I felt it is the right time to tell you my experience, many years ago I was an autograph collector writing to celebrities to get them before Yewtree happened. During this I did write to Stuart Hall and Rolf Harris for their autographs, I realize there will be people questioning why I did this, some will be shocked and other will decry this. 

But whatever you think I am not holding them up to be idols or hate figures, only telling you my experience of this. Am I embarrassed that I did this, no. Am I pleased that I did this, no.  Maybe some people may not think this is a position at all, but there maybe other people who did the same over the years. By the wave of social media, there have been jokes, there has been opinion and debate over it all. Though where does it leave us now? At anything like this, jokes will be made, plus video clips have been drawn on to say they are banned or comments made as to alter what something might be. 

How things are read is something as well, a sketch by Not The Nine O'Clock showing children being rounded up to be taken see 'Rolf on Saturday, OK' has now got a another meaning although the original meaning was that the show was boring and they had to ship children in to be in the audience. Though how do we know that John Lloyd and Sean Hardy were not saying something else, but with them including Chris Langham as part of their original line-up for the show and knowing the knowledge about himself now. Should they be criticized for making part of their show?

Sometimes after the event things can be reflected on as such, where as Operation Yewtree ten years down, what will be the thoughts of people. How do we know that people now are doing what went on back then? We do not know, as they did in the past. In hindsight we can use what we know know, however the press who built up the celebrities and reputations have knocked them down.

Though is this self-justifcation on their part, almost a cleansing of the soul. The programmes of those who have been convicted will never get seen again, but can we just leave a blank space where once things existed? Naturally enough, people of the future will ask why, as such with the Second World War that period has not been blanked. So why should this period be blanked as well? There maybe not want to be understanding about this, which is fair enough as people also want to understanding. 

In darker times we have gone through things to be healed on the other side, but like any fresh wound, if poked healing cannot start. As much we will be reminded through satire about what has gone in this period with the likes of Charlie Brooker skimming the surface for jokes, there can be only so much which can be got out of a subject or event. 

Myself, do I question every day why I did what I did? Maybe, somethings you have to live with because what happens in the future, either good or bad nobody can tell.

"Down with this sort of thing..." Careful now...

There will be another entry here from my fare fingers soon, but for some time I have been thinking about my future of writing about Light Entertainment. With Operation Yewtree going on and more arrests by the day, I will admit it has been hard to be motivated to write about stars without the fear they would be arrested or some story would come out about them.

Whatever you think about the whole thing is up to you, though in sometimes I have been taking a break from this and I think this is the right time to put across the positive side of Light Entertainment and Television. People may think it has been clouded by certain aspects, though it has brought us some of this country's most defining people and personalities. The embarrassment factor is there that the public have watched these personalities and they have become fallen idols overnight, but let's not forget they were the ones who entertained us and that others have done so with a grey leaden skies above them.

The world and shape of Light Entertainment may have changed by recent events, but there cannot be at any point the sort of pontification which has gone on so far. Idol rumors has caused for lawyer to be called in, some people have been sued for what they have said on social network sights. What actual may appear as a joke, might be truth but yet it could be non-truth. Now people have equated this to a suing culture, which maybe right or wrong, though in what we believe and think can be changed just like that. It maybe simple to say sometimes with so many names flying about, it might a case of the little boy who cried wolf. But in terms what it does can be said to hindrance to some and also yet others.

If there is justice to be done for people who have done crimes, let it be done and dealt with by the relevant authorities. By almost becoming vigilante journalists on this matter, it may only cloudy the water by putting names out in the open which may not be true, with experiences of vigilante justice around naming and shaming of people and seeing what effect it can have, plus also when it goes wrong because of innuendo and rumour, people should be very careful what they say with on going investigations.

Free speech should be always there, but when it can hinder it can make even more of a mess...

Proof Read all about it – When the local press goes wrong... My tale of when the local press goes wrong

n the past couple of months apart this blog I have also been writing for my local daily newspaper, the Portsmouth News in their weekend television pull-out, sharing a TV Nostalgia column with a another writer looking at programmes past. Now I have been enjoying doing this and do it just for the love of writing, maybe naïve you might say to do something like that. But something occurred within the past week which has maybe made me think again about this.

Last Saturday, an article was posted of my work on the subject of Van Der Valk. Now for the past couple of weeks they have been using another writer Nick Collins who also works for the paper and printed his articles in the slot for the past few Saturdays. So I was relieved to finally see my work in the paper. But was shocked to read that Mr Collins had been created with my work, my intellectual copyright given to him over what I had written. So naturally, you can understand I was not happy with this. That is why I have taken to my blog to explain what has gone on.

On Monday, I contacted the editor about this matter to complain in a polite way that I should be owed an apology for this. With getting this reply, he said that the byline of the column was not changed as it was a template and “that an apology would be issued underneath this week's column in the pull-out this Saturday.” and that it doesn't make it less disappointing and he copied his features editor into the email so he could see the reply. OK, I thought. But I didn't think this go far enough at all, I suggested that an apology could go in the weekend pull out but also an apology maybe in the editor’s column in the main paper as well.

Then on Tuesday, I received an email from the man temporally in charge of the TV pages as his colleague is on leave. He said “It was my fault. I can only apologise. No excuses. I am standing in for the person who normally does the page and the page itself was templated with Nick's byline and I didn't change it.” he continued “I'm doing this week's TV pages too and running your column on This Is Your Life. I'm putting a correction on the bottom about the error last week and of course, changing the byline.”

Again I emailed the editor about this asking once again for an apology in the weekend pull out, but also in the main paper as well. This being a satisfactory conclusion as far as I was concerned to this matter. This is still an ongoing situation, I am still awaiting their reply to this... If I need to I will come back to the subject to update you what is happening, but it maybe a case of the little guy against the might of the local press. But no matter what, I shall not give up until I get the right conclusion.

In this of all week with the Leveson report coming out and with such serious issues with the press, it begs question about thing being checked before they go to print. This itself went to print in the paper itself, but in such serious times things like that can spiral out of control leading to confusion totally. I am not saying that the press should be heavy regulated or left free, that is your mind to make up. But if the smallest thing can be allowed to get through the net without checking, then something could snowball into a situation. We rely on the press to bring us the stories especially which are local to us which may not get a look in to the national press, it may seem to others that it is just full of council meetings and non-news. They do serve a purpose, with them informing communities of what is going on. Their focus is on maximising their local coverage, by organising campaigns. Though where does crusading stop and influence starts?

In some ways these campaigns are good, allow the people to have their say but when the paper wants to put an agenda on a people it can seem difficult for some people. Local papers have been a start for some of our best journalists, but like anything there's the good and the bad. The good writers rise and the bad ones fall, the careful line which is tread by them is something which the national press has fallen off by a few bad apples. Though, do we know the local press is still balanced on that line or are they are close to falling off themselves.

Leveson may have an effect on the national press, but with anything, the repercussions will surely felt in the local press too. From what has happened, we have seen the News of the World closed down because of what has happened and generally local newspapers are struggling to keep afloat as the smaller ones either go weekly or drop by the wayside. Its interesting to see what direction it all goes in, but once thing will be sure that the local press maybe never be the same again.

I have put this out there to highlight my case of what has happened, it is up to you to decide what you think about The Leveson Report's finding. This maybe a tiny part of what happens when you are a writer, but certainly I think it is a key part.