The British press has got a new bogeyman: poor old George Best. He was found drowning his sorrows in his local pub and – not surprisingly – brawled with what turned out to be a News of the World photographer. Now it’s open season on him. Doctors are queuing up to tell us how there were many far more deserving recipients of a liver transplant. Presumably his rapid death would have been their preferred option.
Full article: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2003/jul/16/health.lifeandhealth
Western values counsel that we can buy anything and be anything, so why balk at Michael Jackson?
The general consensus about the Michael Jackson interview on ITV on Monday is that it revealed how truly mad he is. It did the opposite for me, making me wonder more about the craziness of the culture that produced him. For Jackson’s wacky life is the embodiment of many dearly held western beliefs: that you can be anything you want, buy anything you want, create any lifestyle and indulge any needs you have. It’s an unsettling thought as we inch towards a war to defend those values.
Full article: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/feb/05/broadcasting.comment
Those who thought the main interest of Ulrika Jonsson’s autobiography would be Sven-Goran Eriksson’s tangled love life were in for a surprise. Sven isn’t the only famous man whose career is being shaken by her revelations. Indeed he must be sighing with relief now attention has shifted to her accusation of rape against a television personality. Everyone in the media knows this man’s identity. His career “is now over”, one senior executive is quoted as saying, “whether his name is out or not”.
Full article: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/oct/23/broadcasting.pressandpublishing