Media

Let's be clear: I agree there is no justification whatsoever for gunning down journalists or cartoonists. I disagree with your seeming view that the right to offend comes with no corresponding responsibility; and I do not believe that a right to offend automatically translates into a duty to offend.

I wonder sometimes what it would be like living with the Dalai Lama - because, even though he's probably about the most saintly guy on earth, I'll bet he's got some really irritating habits. You know the sort of thing - hogging the TV remote control; stinking out the lavatory and not opening the window; constantly losing his keys.

Radio stations, especially big ones like the BBC's national pop network Radio 1, are prepared for bad stuff happening: it's called 'obit procedure'. When a catastrophic news story breaks, such as the death of a royal family member, each network has an audience-appropriate mix of obituary music on standby that will 'reflect the mood of the nation'.