Surrealing in the Years: Melting 99s and partying beach goers are out! Forest fires are in!

DURING SPELLS OF heat like the one we’re experiencing right now, there is a specific complaint that is commonly levelled at media organisations. It happens when a headline about record-breaking heat, or weeks without rain, is accompanied by a photo of a melting 99 or throngs of revellers taking to the beach. People don’t like it because they believe it masks the real story, which is not ‘Oh good, the sun is out, let’s all take our tops off’ but rather ‘Oh dear, the world is ending (let’s all take our tops off)’. In a rare move for this column, I will say one brief thing in defence of the mainstream media, which is that, in fairness, when it’s hot, people do be eating ice creams. They do be heading to the beach. It’s not like those photos don’t reflect very real phenomena. People enjoy the