The pope draws 1.5 million young people to Madrid – but that's not news?

Andrew Brown, a hidden treasure at the UK's Guardian newspaper, raps the press for it's coverage of WYD:

The media focus on the anti-pope protests, but ignore World Youth Day, perhaps because its attendees aren't cool.

If I were a Catholic, I would be feeling rather pissed off with the BBC. The news bulletin in this morning's Today programme carried an report of the pope's visit to Madrid that concentrated entirely on the "thousands" of protestors against the visit. It did not once mention World Youth Day, the extraordinary global Catholic gathering that the pope is also visiting. That has brought something like 1.5 million young people from around the world to the Spanish capital to greet him. Whether or not you approve of this, it is important and – above all – newsworthy simply because it is unexpected and goes against the grain of what the media tell us. So why is it not reported?

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