So when I read this fun little article today about George Clooney being arrested at the Sudanese embassy I was initially intrigued. A famous actor gets arrested for civil disobedience against a brutal regime? At first this seemed like a great scoop so I decided I’d engage in some celebrity stalking when suddenly this catches my eye:

“Also arrested, said Mr Oglivie, were Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights leader; Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern; Virginia Democratic Congressman Jim Moran; and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Ben Jealous.” 

Suddenly, my intrigue turned to virulent disgust. Here is the BBC, arguably the finest news source in the world, and here it was, finally putting the final nail in the casket of global quality journalism. For those still unsure about why I’m so upset consider this. The BBC, unlike its American counterparts in main stream media, has always been held to a higher standard. A full legnth story on Clooney was something I’d expect to see on HLN or CNN in the middle of the day. But here’s the BBC, in a story where two sitting congressmen are arrested (not to say MLK III and Mr. Jealous aren’t also more important than Clooney) and and yet here’s the BBC spending a pithy paragraph on this actually major and important story while taking up another 10 minutes of my time on why the real story is an actor getting arrested. 

So just to sum up, why am I so angry? Because the BBC, one of my sources of truly quality journalism, has instead been reduced to a tabloid that cares more about the arrest of Clooney than a handful of true public figures. 

Shame on you BBC.