I had a recent insight into the journalistic mindset. An investigative reported at a local newspaper (who, by doing an article about the situation, could probably prevent it from happening) was informed that as a result of a major screw-up in the court system, a disabled man and his wife were in danger of being thrown out of their home of twenty-three years. The reporter said, "so what's newsworthy about this?"

"Well, my God, man, they're about to be thrown out into the street!"

"When they are thrown out, then it will be newsworthy."

The case is still pending.

Other fields of music also suffer from incredible ignorance on the part of some writers. One tiny example: recently, if seems, many people (including some music critics, for Pete's sake) seem to think that all male opera singers are tenors. I recently heard Bryn Terfel, the young Welsh bass who is currently experiencing well-deserved success in the operatic world as "the young tenor, Bryn Terfel." Anyone who has heard Bryn Terfel (voice coming from somewhere near the region of his shoe-tops) knows, he ain't no tenor!

In a lot of areas, if you don't already know something about the subject, you're dead meat.

(Derivation of the word "expert:" Ex meaning "has been," and Spurt meaning "a little drip under pressure.")

Don Firth