Gordon in the morning: Island life

Gordon this morning runs the not altogether surprising story about Tom Jones still liking women despite - gasp - being 70:

SINGER TOM JONES is still tempted by female fans offering him sex - at 70.

The womanising Welshman admits he's "a little weak-minded" when propositioned.

Indeed he is. What's missing from this story, though, is the context in which the remarks were made. Even the Telegraph - no great fan of the BBC - manages to admit that it heard the quote on Desert Island Discs.

It's funny, the team at News International get very cross indeed when their content is lifted without any acknowledgement - as James 'there on his own merits it's just a coincidence that his surname is' Murdoch put it earlier this year:

"We need enforcement mechanisms and we need governments to play ball … There is no difference with going into a store and stealing Pringles or a handbag and taking this stuff. It's a basic condition for investment and economic growth and there should be the same level of property rights whether it's a house or a movie," he said.

"The idea that there's a new consumer class and you have to be consumer-friendly when they're stealing stuff. No. There should be the same level of sanctity as there is around property. Content is no different. They're not crazy kids. No. Punish them."

Of course, sensible people don't mind a bit of sharing and cross-quoting, providing there's an acknowledgment of the original source and it's not being passed off as your own work. But that isn't the case here - there's no concession that Gordon Smart's column is making good use of the licence fee - and, well, NI aren't sensible people. What was the official line from Wapping about websites which just print chunks of other people's journalism?

“News International makes a significant investment in journalism and we believe that it is entirely appropriate for us to ask that our rights are respected. NewsNow has acknowledged that they require our permission to use our content and, in the absence of our permission, has ceased to do so.”‬

Perhaps 79 year-old Rupert Murdoch is just "weak-minded" when quotes about sex are thrown at him.