Date: October 2014 - Page 2

Once labelled a social experiment by its producers, Big Brother really is nothing more than a manipulative attempt by a network to win ratings. Unfortunately, for Channel 9 this 2014 incarnation is losing viewers. And any marketing expert will tell you there are several very apparent reasons why.

Firstly, if it is a social experiment, it is a failed one. The best experiments take time. They are designed so that empathy is created with a product or person; we develop a taste or distaste, we feel engaged, we want to see success and feel part of a character’s growth. In reality it takes longer than three months to be able to do any of this. I think most people are attuned to the fact the people within the house are potential DJs, or television hosts playing with a false sense of identity. Don’t try to tell us otherwise. 

I am sitting in my hotel room in Atlanta reading the New York Times, as I do most Sunday's.

For me, it's the best newspaper in the world, with no other comparing to the ability of the NY Times to cover intelligent, thought-provoking stories that are based on facts, rather than a publicist's spin or worse, a journalist that is just trying to make headlines.

As I read through the business section I came across this:

Ever heard of cutting off your nose to spite your face? We have all done it at some time in our lives, and others like me have done it far too many times that I don’t care to remember.

After watching House of Cards in what can only be described as a bedroom coma over one long weekend, I was deeply enthralled and quite fascinated to be honest, in the way each and every person conducted themselves.