Yet more commentary masquerading as news in the Indy

The traditional and standard format of a newspaper is well known I'd say. It goes like this. News pages, Commentary and Editorial, Letters, then Sport. At least generally that is how it goes. One of my bug-bears is, as most will know, the Independent, which regularly blurs the line between reporting news and reporting opinion masquerading as news.

A good example of this happening can be found in this morning's paper in the "European News" section with the headline " Sarkozy: I am no fascist (even if I sound like one)". It is the part in brackets which is nothing more than pure opinion in the news section. What's more if you read on the "news report" says,

This was the language of the extreme, populist right, in the name - M. Sarkozy insisted - of consensual, pragmatic, liberalising reform. M. Sarkozy may not be a fascist but he is not afraid of sounding like one.

Whether one likes Sarkozy or not, is of the right or left, it is undeniable that paragraph is nothing but opinion in the news section of a paper. Now before anyone points out that this is the Indy so it's par for the course, I know that. It doesn't stop me being bloody annoyed by it. I don't have a problem with opinion, after all that's all my blog is for the large part, but I don't try to pretend it isn't.