There is no point being wishy washy if you want to be known. A strong opinion may divide opinion but it also grabs attention and publicity. Watching the cancer ridden journalist Christopher Hitchens being interviewed by Jeremy Paxman was an affirmation of this point. His black and white views, his refusal to step down from his atheism in the face of death, his ability to use intellect to brow beat his contenders and his controversial arguments create a brand of journalism that wins readers and viewers in spite of what the reader or watcher thinks. Christopher Hitchens is a brand. No question. Jeremy Paxman behaved like a besotted groupie at the man’s feet.
