Words Dept.: category

Since the start of this week, I have been unemployed embarking on an exciting new freelance career, which means I’ve found myself watching daytime television. The programmes are dreadful but the adverts, which appeal to housewives, the retired and the out of work, are kind of fascinating for what they reveal about the UK’s socio-economic [...]

Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen are my favourite commentators ever. As it’s July, I’m enjoying their voiceovers on the Tour de France coverage on ITV4 almost as much as the cycling itself. Unlike many commentary double-acts, the sporting pundit (Paul) seems to do as much talking as the broadcast journalist (Phil). Put them together and something quite [...]

For all BBC middle managers thinking of moving up north, of which there really aren’t that many, please be aware of these facts, all verifiable on Wikipedia: The last known “art gallery” closed in 1987 The crime rate rose by 900% last year, driven by a shocking trade in aggravated pigeon theft Jack Duckworth reads [...]

There’s something inescapably awful about the latest Conservative election broadcast, which essentially consists of David Cameron saying the words “Cameron Direct” a lot while prancing about, pointing a lot and occasionally sitting on a train. I’ve checked and it’s not a parody but I’ve still watched it about six times on YouTube since it was [...]

This must surely rank as one of the most remarkable and ridiculous moments in the short history of 24-hour news channels. Carrie Gracie, a presenter about whom I’ve had my doubts for a while thanks to her uncomfortable flirting with fellow anchor Simon McCoy every morning, gets completely flummoxed during an interview and admits to [...]

When Guardian Media Group’s MEN Media announced last month that it was cutting a load of jobs at the Manchester Evening News and closing several local newspaper offices, there was a feeling from the NUJ and some staff that one of the reasons for the severity of the cuts was to protect Channel M. As [...]

What is green custard? As far as I can see it’s a vaguely remembered school dinner treat, which, before today, rated about three mentions on the whole of the internet

I suppose it’s about time I confessed to the fact that I am contributing to a new blog. It’s called AdTurds and, as the name suggests, is simply about television adverts that me and (regular Words Dept. commenter) Robin think are shit. Web geeks will notice the hilarious AdWords pun, on top of the fact [...]

I’m a long-standing admirer of Noel Edmonds. How his work in the field of light entertainment hasn’t yet been rewarded with a knighthood is something none of us, I’m sure, can really fathom. In case you haven’t noticed, the bearded libertarian tossbag (I use these terms in the most respectful way possible) has a new-ish [...]

For some reason I got annoyed about the ITV ad break during injury time goal mess-up last night although in retrospect I’m not sure why. It actually spared me the horror of seeing Everton score. Everyone has surely suspected for a while that ITV was going to do something like that. Everything about its footy coverage is [...]