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A Good Covering

by | 20th, December 2005

‘DO you want the good news or the bad news?

You’ve never had it so good

Yes, quite wise. Always good to get the nasty stuff out of the way first – makes you appreciate what you have.

So here goes: “Global warming is getting worse. Iraq is in a state of turmoil. There’s a pensions crisis. A terrorist threat. Binge-drinking. The economy. The NHS”.

And if you’re looking to escape the ravages of life in the froth of sport, know that England’s cricketers have been beaten in Pakistan.

Feel free to add your own more personal woes to the Independent’s litany of doom. Perhaps you have been struck by an MRSA superbug, you can’t find anywhere to live or you just failed to win the X Factor.

But it is at our lowest ebb that the tide begins to turn. And the Independent also uses its front page to bring the good news.

Prick up your ears and know that democracy has returned to Afghanistan after a gap of 30 years.

“House prices are on the rise again.” (Is that good news or bad news?) “More trains are running on time.” A happy 60 per cent of tsunami victims have found new jobs” – so go easy when your call to the bank is answered by a former fisherman man with a strong Asian accent.

And there’s more… “Chocolate helps reduce the risk of heart disease.” There’s been a “dramatic fall in the fear of crime”. And “the corncrake returns to Britain’s shores.”

For those of you not in the know, the corncrake is a bird related to the moorhen and coot. Its numbers were decimated by intensive farming methods in the 1970s. But now it’s back – more than 1,100 of the birds are at large.

These are the “news stories to lift the spirits”. The stories that help us get through the day.

The stories that enable the Independent to cover lots of news on a tight budget…’



Posted: 20th, December 2005 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink