Monty's Gaming and Wireless Outlook - Issue 183

"I was told I had set broadcast journalism back 20 years. Naturally, I was both proud and elated although too modest to say so, but broadcast journalism recovered with alacrity, my contract wasn't renewed, and the incident was forgotten." - Nicholas Van Hoffman

As somebody who was once told that I had put mobile gaming back 10 years after chairing a particularly chaotic session on the subject, I can only empathise with the above quote. Happily, I am still in full-time employment, although others would say it's only a matter of time.

Others, however, have set broadcast journalism forward 10 years, so a big shout to Gorgeous George (Clooney's) movie Good Night, and Good Luck. For those too busy to have seen it, the film eulogises the CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and his fellow journalists for the courage to stand up to the McCarthy Communist witch-hunts of the 1950s. Great film, shame about the comma in the title.

The film, of course, is also a metaphor for today's dangerous days when nobody seems to mind the Thought Police bending the Orwellian Universe to their advantage. So perhaps it's timely to salute Al-Jazeera and that network's contemporary contribution to broadcast journalism.

Never has such a media outlet been so vilified by so many. The demonisation of this channel boggles the minds of anybody who can still think for themselves. Which other TV channel would turn down the chance to exclusively broadcast Osama Bin Laden pictures and words? They'd queue up to do so. But if Al-Jazeera gets the scoop, the channel is suddenly a danger to world peace. Load of old b*ll*cks.

The main objection to its objectivity is that it is funded by the Qatar government and will never turn a profit. Mmm, let me think, what does that remind me of? Oh yes, three letters. B.B.C.

Other smears by a terrified US government, whose own media outlets resemble heavily censored Public Information networks, has failed to stop the channel's growth and it's only a matter of time before Al-Jazeera moves into mobile. But which Western (or Arabian of that matter) operator will have the guts to add it to their mobile TV rosters?

This is important. As 'Traditional TV' becomes a discredited news medium that is defined by entertainment, mobile TV has a real opportunity to fill in the intellectual gaps vacated by the broadcast-poltroons who think intelligent TV is a Big Brother contestant fronting a weekend political show.

Or is mobile TV going to run away from controversial content because operators are too scared to publish. Let's hope not, because otherwise we won't go back 20 years, we'll have gone back 50 years and the likes of McCarthy will have won.