Not carping about Hugh

Talking about this morning's Broadcasting House on Radio 4, blog favourite Hugh Sykes was reporting from Tanzania today. 

As we like being fair and honest at ITBB, I must say that Hugh's report was interesting and beautifully crafted.

(How true it was I really couldn't say). 

He may not reckon much to my prose style, but his is superb...

...and if you're interested in Tanzanian politics (and who isn't?) his latest report is an absolute must. 

(Even most Radio 4 listeners would gladly forgo The Archers for a spot of Tanzanian politics).

Hugh really took on the Tanzanian government over its measures to impose the government's line on the private media there, and may have won himself a scoop in getting the minister to say those such measures might be voluntary rather than compulsory. (Are you as riveted as I am by this? I know I am.) 

Though Hugh didn't mention any political labels, the government there is left-wing and the two main opposition parties are liberal and right-wing, so Hugh was quietly going against what many of us see as a left-wing BBC bias here - though he'd have made that much clearer if he had mentioned those political labels!

Of course, he could just have been sticking up for his fellow journalists here.

Still, thinking of Hugh's fish market on Barack Obama Drive, which runs along the sea front in Dar es Salaam, I really mustn't carp. This was good stuff from Hugh.