Abe-rration

I read in The Economist www.economist.com , a publication I respect, about Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his tasteless (not to say inaccurate) comments about Japan's Imperical Army and sex-slavery in the 1930's and 1940's.

According to The Economist "[Mr Abe]...was hailed as a youthful,electorally savvy representative of a new political generation........Mr Abe began in spectacular fashion..." but later in the article "This revealed Mr Abe's true colours, as a conservative politician who has long taken a revisionist view of Japan's 20th century history".

So we see what the media, even the unhysterical Economist has done. First they built up Mr Abe as the great reformer after the historical insensitivities of his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi. And then, barely a few months later, they tear him down.

Is this hypocrisy or merely sloppiness? Did The Economist not know of Mr Abe's long-held revisionist views when they built him up? Or were they simply enjoying the benefit of 2 stories -one to build him up and the other to tear him down.

The news media are on the constant search for drama and dramatic rises followed by crashing downfalls of companies, politicians and other celebrities serve this purpose perfectly. While, in our personal and professional lives we generally favour stability and gradual change, in the media world the more volatile, unpredictable and unreliable someone is , the more media coverage he or she can get.