Where I Should Be Tonight

Tonight, I should be at a meeting in York with Douglas Carswell organised by the University of York Freedom Society. I am not because the meeting was suddenly cancelled yesterday.

Meetings get cancelled all the time but this time it's a bit odd. Gordon Brown suddenly decided to visit Yorkshire this week and - guess what? He's been in York today.

It seems that the cancellation of this meeting may be innocent - Carswell couldn't make it. He has got a baby now and it's a long way to travel. Nevertheless, it being cancelled at the same time as Gordon Brown being in the vicinity made me feel very uncomfortable and led to me asking to join this blog.

Over the past few years I have become an increasingly suspicious person. Today, after a radio programme Brown did for Radio Leeds, a fawning article appeared with suspicious speed on the BBC website. The House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Committee also met in York yesterday - a load of media professionals demanding that their companies be bailed out with government money. There is an interesting comment on the article:

The scheduled aims of this public meeting was to get the views of the public. Unfortunately the meeting was monopolised by "professional" journalists and associates, whose views however relevant highlighted their own personal and company interests.There were a few members of the public present but their views were not encouraged by the Chair, the ITV Calendar presenter Christine Talbot herself a media professional.

And these media professionals wonder why their companies are in trouble?

Where I Should Be Tonight