For the record: 26/01/2009
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YouTube en mass
The Pope has launched his own YouTube channel. Benedict XVI joins the likes of Queen Rania of Jordan and Prime Minister Taro Aso, the prime minister of Japan, who already have their own channels. He will have to go some to beat the Queen, who got in on the act in Christmas 2007 with www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel and whose "Christmas Broadcast 1957" is building the sort of kudos more normally associated with The Who's "Live at Leeds", having amassed 1,037,000 views. No 10's channel www.youtube.com/downingst has now clocked up 517,000 hits for its most popular clip, the scary "Tony Blair congratulating Nicolas Sarkozy in French".
Style and sandals
'Loaded' founder James Brown was famously fired as editor of 'GQ' after running a piece on style icons and including Field Marshal Rommel. The trendy 'Monocle' magazine has its own "Style Leaders" feature and this month's star is the son of Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam ("The Sword of Islam") Gaddafi. In fairness The Sword is not a bad egg, with a talent for diplomacy. But fashion editors might be surprised by the guide to his wardrobe, namely a Keffiyeh –"made famous by Yasser Arafat", a safari suit "made popular in the 1960s by African and Arab leaders" and a pair of sandals "the staple footwear of the Arab world". We look forward to seeing Gok Wan in a similar ensemble next season.
The future's bright
The media industry might be in pain but prospective media students reportedly remain as keen as ever to apply for courses. If journalism sounds less viable, then how about TV weather presenting? The Met Office makes the Masonic sounding offer of "a fascinating opportunity to learn the craft", with a two-day course in a studio on "putting a forecast together". Who knows, muses the Met Office's media boss Juliet Gardner, "we may unearth another Sian [Lloyd]". So, put that meteorological study to good use and you could end up dating Lembit Opik and be the first contestant voted out of 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'
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