The po-faced seriousness with which some people take themselves is so wildly hilarious that I am in danger of busting a rib cackling at them just reading the Press Digest that comes online first thing in the morning.
On Sunday, while messing around preparing for the week ahead (you know, consulting diaries, shuffling the papers in my briefcase pretending to work on them, that sort of thing) this happened to me.
First, Kullhadd (that estimable and academic journal produced by Labour) headlined a leak of correspondence between it and the Office of the Prime Minister to none other than Ms Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Leave aside the fact that it is hardly possible to "leak" correspondence between a newspaper and someone to whom it was asking questions with a view to publishing the answers. Leave aside the fact that last week, KullHadd was scooped to this story by its unofficial stable-mate MaltaToday. Leave aside the fact that the correspondence was copied, apparently, to every Minister, PS and, for all I know, MP on the Nationalist side, which virtually guarantees broadcast.
Leave all that and the fact that DCG already pointed all this out to them aside: just how sanctimonious does KullHadd have to get before it disappears up its own fundament? For pity's sake, they were asking the Government whether it believes it should adopt Mintoff's attitude towards freedom of expression (i.e. stamp on it in the manner being adopted along the North African littoral as we speak) and then they come over all precious because Ritianne's revolting little ploy was exposed?
Not to be outdone, Illum breathlessly reported a suspected crime of cosmic proportions. This was not about a drive-by shooting in Bubqara or a major break in some old crime, those are stories real journalists would cover. This was about the fact that Pullicino Orlando and Bartolo, heroes of the divorce farce, are worried that their phones are being tapped, no doubt so that the Curia can keep tabs on them in its battle against the Great Satan.
Oh well, the same paper also reports that John Bundy is one of the most respected presenters in the media, so that's all right then.