Chapter 21 In which Leyland warns of the excesses of a state-controlled media

'Back in the dark days of communism in Eastern Europe life for the people of Romania under the dictatorship of Nikolae Ceausescu was particularly grim,' began Leyland.
'Look do we really have time for this? interrupted Pangloss. You just told me the time-space continuum has been interefered with and events are hurtling through space towards me. I thought I detected a note of urgency in your voice.'
'Yes, you did, but don't worry. This is just a device to build tension; they do it all the time in films. We've got plenty of time.'
'Oh, right. Well, in that case, shall I ask Jenny to bring in some tea?'
'Er, no, I'm fine thanks. Anyway, poverty was rife, food was scarce, abortion was made illegal, and divorce was pretty much impossible. Practically the only thing to brighten this existence were a few western television programmes; two favourites were, strangely enough, the films of Norman Wisdom and the BBC series The Onedin Line. However, after visiting North Korea Ceausescu decided that his people were having far too much fun and being corrupted by western decadence; the transmission of TV programmes was greatly reduced, and at the same time popular prime time broadcasts were replaced by images of military parades accompanied by patriotic music. This was not to most Romanians' taste, so people in parts of the country where Hungarian TV channels could be received began learning Hungarian, and others tuned their radios to stations like Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America, effectively by-passing the state-controlled media. The result of this was that years later, when there were small uprisings against the dictatorship, the news travelled around the country like wildfire, even though it was not reported by Romanian TV or radio.'
'Yes, yes, a very interesting history lesson, I'm sure, said Pangloss impatiently, but what has all that got to do with this blog?'
'I'm merely pointing out that where the ruling party or person monopolises the media, constantly spinning stories that everything is wonderful, the people will simply look for other ways of getting unbiased information. The Piddlebackside blog may have started as a lighthearted joke, but the speed with which it has gained a dedicated following suggests that you are only fooling a very small section of the people now. You can have your photo taken all over town and talk about a garden city and roads with new trees planted alongside and a new name and all the other tosh, but who do you honestly think believes you? The people want a town centre where they can shop, a decent bus service, somewhere for the kids to play, all the things that make a place worth living in. They're not fooled by grand initiatives and slick presentations, and they certainly don't want to see their hard earned cash going into the pockets of consultants.'
''An impassioned speech, Mr Leyland. I trust none of that will find its way on to the Piddlebackside blog?'
'Of course not, you have my word as a journalist. Anyway, to finish my story, it's a strange coincidence that the defining moment in the Romanian revolution was when Ceausescu and his wife were spontaneously booed by a crowd in Revolution Square in Bucharest.'
'Yes, well, after those moaning Romanian Victor Meldrew-types had got it off their chest with a little booing I'm sure they all went home and forgot all about it,' said Pangloss.
'Not exactly. Once the Ceausescus were captured they had a brief trial on Xmas Day and were then taken outside and shot.'
'That could never happen here though, could it?' said Pangloss.
'Of course not. You'd be hard pushed to get so much as a pint of milk round here on Xmas Day; I really can't see anyone organising a firing squad.'
'Well, that's a relief. I was planning on spending Xmas at mother's. Her roast potatoes are to die for. She par boils them and then fluffs them up with a fork before putting them in the oven.'
'Crispy, I'll bet.'
'Absolutely.'
'Well, anyway, I didn't come here to swap recipes. I just want to point out that if you have a stranglehold over the newspapers people will begin to move away to the internet, where news travels so much faster, especially bad news. Your critics may even begin to use radio phone-ins to air their complaints. The presenter on Radio Heaven is always trying to fill the two-hour slot on his midday show.'
'So what do you suggest I do?'
'It's not my job to give you answers. I'm a journalist. I just write down the facts in a way that my editor thinks the owner of the newspaper would like to read them. Now, I've got to go. Thanks for the interview - your answers were very, er, ... enlightening. Don't forget to listen to the radio.'