One of the favoured ‘journalistic’ tricks used by Italian newscasters is the addition of suitable music to add drama to any story. Newsnight, the bastion of British broadcasting – still basking in the moral glow of Jeremy Paxman’s critique of modern television – decided last night that the most appropriate way to finish it’s special report on the state of morale of the British Army, would be to beam images of troops ‘working’ in Afghanistan and Iraq with an accompanying soundtrack of the late Luciano Pavarotti. What a touch of class.

Earlier in the week the Guardian reported that the BBC had shelved plans for a ‘comic relief’ style special aimed at increasing awareness of global warming:

“Planet Relief would have highlighted concerns about global warming and encouraged viewers to take part in a mass “switch-off” to save energy. Among the celebrities mooted to take part were Ricky Gervais and Graham Norton.

However, the plan faced criticism from the BBC head of TV news, Peter Horrocks, and the Newsnight editor, Peter Barron, at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh international television festival 10 days ago, amid concerns that it would breach the corporation’s guidelines on impartiality.

Asked whether the BBC should campaign on issues such as climate change, Mr Horrocks told a session at the TV festival: ‘I absolutely don’t think we should do that, because it’s not impartial. It’s not our job to lead people and proselytise about it…It is absolutely not the BBC’s job to save the planet. I think there are a lot of people who think that, but it must be stopped.’
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hmm…