Heads in the sand at the Independent

I was among a spin of PR people (what is the collective noun?) entertained/bored by a few industry experts at today's PR Week conference. Poor old Simon Kelner.

I genuinely like what he did to the format, and more recently to the front page, but in an online world the business model of charging people for content simply can't have a future - unless that content is pretty niche. But that doesn't stop him.

I don't think he was joking when he said that he wanted the "free content" genie to be put back in the lamp.

The man deserves another three wishes at last for even thinking it might be possible...

What is it with celebrities?

Maybe I'm getting middle-aged before my time. Or maybe I'm already middle aged. But papers running non-stories so prominently are really starting to annoy me. Anna Nicole Smith died recently in colourful circumstances. But she has never done anything remotely interesting or relevant to most people in this country, yet the media lapped it up.

Today the London Paper had a front page story about Posh Spice. Yes, she'd dyed her hair - but the caption went on to tell us all lots of dull stuff about which shops she had been to in LA that day. I don't care. Give me real news any day.