Credibility Gap

One of the reasons I'd figured on our having a disappointing level of visitors at the Ideal Home show was the near lack of coverage. It dawned on us that with a name like the Daily Mail Ideal Home show, the rest of the media may not be too interested in promoting the event, and especially not any credible environmental journalists who may have been suckered in, like us, by the theme, to at least check it out, if not make any foolish mention.

So imagine my surprise to at last get to the Independent of April 3 (the day after the close of the show, which I'd purchased because it had the defeinitive 'Your World. Your verdict' manifesto of reader opinion on how to fight global warming - of which more, another time), and find nestling in its pages a small piece by their 'Green Goddess'.

I almost skipped it, starting as it did with something about her going for a spin with her eco coach, but my eye did catch mention of the show.

Seems she and he decided to visit. Though not mentioned, I can only presume this was not "press day', but somehow she felt it 'good to see [it] reflect the public's growing interest in green issues' which seemed straight out of the press release. Perhaps more accurately, it was interesting to note the cynical way any greedy business will slap green on anything to seduce an gullible public, who will have paid for entry before they becoming any the wiser, seduced by glowing reports from a compliant media.

They did at least notice and comment on the fact that the eco-areas were completely deserted, which probably would have included ours had they stopped by, but for some reason this was yet another journalist who missed us. It did however dawn on them that endless patio heaters and jacuzzis might not empitomise the best examples of enviromental good practice. Oddly, the majority of the half dozen eco-exhibits were plonked in the same area as these.

And, er, that was it.

Then she was off home to watch 'It's not easy being green', pitching for an urban version where a newspaper columnist is filmed going green in London. I'm not sure, but maybe Penney Poyzer has already cornered that, with the slight twist of using real folk. And at least she did not seem to assume that the rest of us would share in the notion of an eco-coach as the de rigeur accessory for the Chelsea. 

Even if this piece was satire, it passed me by. 

I will need to compose myself a tad before getting back to reading what the rest of the Indy readership have to say, which hopefully will be a bit more in keeping the the real world the rest of us live in.

No wonder we can't seem to get coverage. We don't move in (or is it disappear up) the right circles.