Paper Monitor
A service highlighting the riches of the daily press.
"Those big-haired boys. Who are they?"
This question, put to Paper Monitor yesterday, serves as a reminder as to the value of keeping up with the newspapers.
Because one doesn't actually have to watch a single moment of Simon Cowell's immobile face to know exactly who the big-haired boys in question are. Or, for that matter, have read a single one of the articles about them either.
But even the act of flicking past offerings such as - Times, - Daily Star or - Daily Mirror) mean that one has an awareness.
It's news osmosis*, that's what it is.
The questioner - who shall remain unnamed - likes to keep up with current events, but is at the intersection of a Newsnight/Sport Online/iPod on train with eyes closed Venn diagram. On the other hand, Paper Monitor will, if necessary, crane to read other people's newspapers over their shoulder if caught short.
*(This one's for you, Ms McLeish, the fifth form science teacher who told Paper Monitor all those years ago that knowing about osmosis would come in handy one day. Well, it just has.)