Pedalling away from 'one way street' media

Not much of a posting this morning – I have to give a lecture to the Westminster Media Forum and am still thinking about what I need to say…but Europe is on my mind.

Wow is that Eurozone unravelling fast? Germany in the eye of the Greek storm. Who amongst us in UKPLC would vote to bail Greece out?

I am intrigued by yesterday’s thread on Iran. 

Adrian Clarke and I have had our differences but he’s on the spot on sanctions – there is no evidence whatever that they work.

Sporting cut-offs helped with South Africa but did not clinch the death of apartheid. Indeed there is a huge case for lifting them against Zimbabwe – which, largely unnoticed, despite continuing political repression is beginning to move economically.

Bahramerad I take issue with you on Iran/Pakistan…maybe ‘age old’ adversaries was pushing it a bit, but I can tell you that the Mullocracy in Qom and Tehran fear nuclear Pakistan at least as much as anyone else does.

It suits us to back the Israeli view that Iran’s bomb is designed to hit Tel-Aviv. Frankly when you sit in Tehran – as I did at Christmas – it is Islamabad they fear…that Sunni hardmen will grab the things and fire them into Shia Iran.

That’s what Iranian officials hint at every time they talk about it. Oh, and of course Uncle Sam wouldn’t hit Iran if she had a nuclear bomb – they tell you that too.

So what am I going to say today? Well 2010 tells us TV ain’t dead – that the web won’t replace it, but use it and compliment it…that we are headed into the golden age of interactive democratising journalism.

Goodbye to ‘one way street’ media that ‘tell it like it is’ – TV, newspapers, radio are no longer God – the citizen has been liberated to strike back.

Look at the political rebellion sweeping the English speaking world – from Arkansas and Kentucky to Brighton and Bristol – there is change in the air!

Crumbs I’m late – going to have pedal hard!