McShane launches into the media

Given that it was a hacks FOI that discovered that he had browbeaten a secretary (and then sent flowers) it is no surprise that he doesnt like the media much. But his suggestion launched today takes the buscuit.

"I would like to see the FOI Act extended to all those organisations and companies which have any formal status within the public realm.

"We refer to the Fourth Estate, it is time for the FOI laws to extend fully to all of our media organisations who have far more power than many of the public agencies, the local councils and the rest who are covered by FOI legislation.

"What our media organisations, the oligarchs who own them, often from overseas, decide to do has a huge impact on our public life."

Oh yes, really. Now of course it could be fun I am sure but what does he mean by,

"formal status within the public realm".

The fourth estate is not a formal title, merely a shorthand honorific. Do golf clubs, do freemasons, do corner shops have formal status? Is the Church counted?

We could go on. People say that Ken Dodd is an institution, FOI him would you Denis?

To be fair his next statement I have far more sympathy with, when he called for the FOI legislation to cover any company (and I hope he includes the NGO sector in this) which is intreciept of taxpayers money.