Take the Readies...........

Like many people I get most of the news I need from radio, television and the internet so why do I buy newspapers?

The answer (for me) seems to be for the musings of the various columnists. Sometimes they provide an insight and depth that is not readily available in other media e.g. Nick Cohen in The Observer and sometimes a wry sense of the absurd in current affairs e.g. Rod Liddle in the Sunday Times or a sense of rage against the Brown machine that is just addictive like Matthew Parris in the Times.

The problem is that for every excellent columnist there is half a dozen who simply annoy me to hell (and back!). Okay lets play a game. I will list the adjective that best descibes 5 of the worst and you figure out who I mean. Answers on a cyber post card. One of these word onanists I debated with via email over a particularly tortous rationalisation on his behalf of why he had slipped from his use public provision mantra when it came to education for his own children. But now as part of his drift to the right he works for a paper where he lacks an email to allow such democratic nonsense.

1. Pompous
2. Innane (but my departed dad was witty!!)
3. Trivial (but my brother is a scholar and a succesful politician)
4. Venal (shes poor one day and trying out luxury cruises the next)
5. Hypocrite (the poor how can we help oh just off to my villa in the Dordogne to think about it)

You can't go wrong as therte are just so many to choose from.