Journalism in America....I'm surprised the news even exists!

It's a general rule that most English people think Americans are stupid.

I'm not the type of person to discriminate against anyone, and I can only recall my experiences of the minority of American people I have met in the country; they're friendly, polite, talkative, and love the English accent! They also eat a lot. 

But, saying they're stupid is a different matter. Surely we all know stupid people in England? 

Regardless.....at the minute, I'm sat at a friend's house in Dallas, Texas; the deep south of the United States; home to George Bush and a highly Republican state (don't prejudice on that alone!).

As a journalism student I'm carefully studying the newspapers and watching the news over here with a degree of interest that others probably wouldn't care about. I like to see what NBC5 are using as their lead story in the 11.00pm news, and I'm reading the newspapers to see how they are written.

On Sunday I was watching the news on NBC5; the news channel for the Dallas and Fort Worth area of Texas. I had been to the University of North Texas (UNT) that day to help my friend move into her room; it didn't seem that big a deal. Every September, people move into their University rooms in England....I did it two years ago, nerve racking yes. Newsworthy; not a chance.

That night, one of the stories on an American news channel was about students moving into their rooms at UNT. Come on! I know BBC Look North and ITV Calender like human interest stories, but this seemed crazy. This isn't news!

Unbelievably however, the next story was even worse. NBC5 had decided to produce a TV news package on someone throwing an "Olympic Party" at their house which involved eating food from all over the world and watching the Olympics. It was just ridiculous. 

I think it would have been better if the anchor had just said there was no news. Because, unfortunately for the United States, that probably would have been better.

As I said, I'm not one to prejudice. But I'm not impressed with what I've seen of American journalism.

Legalised Brothels in England?

It almost seems ironic that my next blog should be about legalising brothels in England, especially after my blog on Max Mosley.

But, after watching "A W.I. Lady's Guide to Brothels" on Channel 4, I'm amazed at how I now feel about these 'knocking shops.'

Granted, the purpose of the programme is to gain support and raise awareness about brothels, but I think Jean and Shirley from the Hampshire Women's Institute have done a fantastic job at portraying both the positive and negative aspects of working as a prostitute.

In a documentary that followed these WI ladies around the world; visiting various brothels in Holland, the USA and New Zealand, its clear to see that their main aim is to keep working girls safe.

To keep these girls off the streets, the WI are proposing to legalise brothels in our country to try and give them better working conditions as working girls.

Whilst prostitution is legal in the UK, brothels are not. These girls do not have working contracts, and many are vulnerable to physical abuse and danger.

Whilst I understand the ladies hav to start somewhere, I do think the 'Mobile Brothel' in a white camper-van, which was eventually driven to 10 Downing Street, may have been a bit far-fetched!

Safety for working girls is one thing. Shoving them all in a caravan is another.

I do think that de-criminalising brothels in the UK however would be a bold move for our government, and one that could quite possibly increase the safety of something that happens in our country; whether we like it or not.

Even if prostitution is not something we are personally involved with, it has been estimated that nearly 80,000 people in the UK are*.

This is a problem that needs to be addressed. I guess we'll have to wait until June 2009 to find out how the Hampshire WI get on.


* http://www.people.ex.ac.uk/watupman/undergrad/aac/scale.htm