Enjoy the war. The peace will be terrible

Live8, the bombings, the Olympic announcements, shootings, arrests, peace in Northern Ireland, the media hasn't had a period like it for years. Many of these events have been broadcast live as they happen. This puts the News & Current Affairs team at the top of the network agenda. OB units, uplinks, helicopters, on location, bigger and more editions, more bylines, more pictures. That story in full, pages 1,2,3,5, 7, etc. For media people, it's what they live for. At some stage though, the sensational coverage must come to an end and so must the spending. Newsrooms have budgets, too. Anchors will be anchored. Talking heads will fall silent. Our old friend Phil Space will be back among us and as usual, the freelancers will become so much freer. The forthcoming silly season may be the the silliest we've ever seen. As the Russians closed in at the end of the Second World War, Berliners had a saying: "Enjoy the war. The peace will be terrible."