Happy New Year to any readers that fall across this page during January!
It is a difficult time to find anything other than the weather or the economy to discuss, and both could be described as depressing - we have two inches of snow here already and no sign of it stopping and despite a slight climb in the sterling/euro exchange rate, I still feel poor. Over the past month I have however noted a distinct difference in reporting policies between the BBC and teh nearest equivalent in France - France Televisions.
It seems to me that all UK news bulletins start badly and continue to pile on the misery for the full half hour at the end of which, if you are very lucky, they will show a film of a bird skidding on ice or eating a chip as the "light and fluffy" good news story at the end. As this has been preceded by extensive forecasting of misery, death, penury, bankruptcy and the end of civilisation as we know it, the sight of a skidding bird or a pigeon about to indulge in too much saturated fats is not enough to promote the optimism and pioneering spirit required to face 2009.
France Television does cover the global economic crisis, but it is rarely the first item nor is it ever the last. Instead, blowing up avalanche risks is always a top priority, plus pointing out the wonderful snow coverage at all ski stations is always favoured. If retailers have had a good week, they tell you about it, they don't cast doubt on the figures and imply "they" are trying to hoodwink you. The tone is to urge you that if we all work together we can get out of this, rather than we are all doomed.
With the New Year, there are a major run of politicians and the like giving their good will wishes for 2009, and the general note is that yes, 2009 is likely to be pretty grim, but there are opportunities, and we must all look out for each other, and if we work together, we will come out the other side stronger, happier, healthier and living in a nice world.
In the middle of the night, we all get those cold sweats about how 2009 will work out for us and our loved ones, but looking for the bright side and new opportunities is much more healthy, so why not give it a go? I must remind myself of that at 3am this morning!
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