Media Broth: Nice ‘n’ tasty

THE BBC quiz show, Pointless, involves giving 100 people 100 seconds to correctly guess the answers to various questions (and for contenders to try to pick the most obscure correct answers).

The other day, the photos of five BBC News editors (past and present) appeared on the screen.

And, clearly, regular TV exposure is no guarantee of being widely known.

Only 12 people recognised political editor, Nick Robinson, and world affairs editor, John Simpson, garnered 14.

And the rest? Robert Peston – 11, Stephanie Flanders – 1 and Mark Easton – 0.

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WHEN the masthead is so obscured by graphic elements that ‘Parents’ becomes ‘Penis’…

Take a moment to enjoy this series of ‘unfortunate publishing layouts’ – which, as far as allmediascotland.com as can see, does not include any Scots entries.

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LAST week, it was reported that the new Greenock Morton FC manager, Kenny Shiels, had chosen to avoid speaking to the media following matches – on the advice of his doctor.

It produced one of the quotes of the week: “I’m very susceptible to being controversialised.”

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GRATEFUL to Scotland on Sunday’s Drumlanrig column, from yesterday, for this one: Just before the arrival of former PR, Gordon Brown, at the launch of Labour’s by-election campaign in Cowdenbeath, Fife, the mobile phone of ‘spin doctor’, Alan Laing, went off.

SoS takes up the tale: “Laing, who is running Labour’s media, took a call on his mobile, which had the theme tune from the cult 1980s gameshow, Treasure Hunt. The Labour spin doctor confessed that he was a big fan of the show that, to refresh memories, involved Anneka Rice frantically trying to solve clues in search of treasure with the use of a helicopter.”

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ANYTHING tickling your tastebuds? Send in strict confidence to here.