Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not happening

Before the media's head was turned by the much 'sexier' goings-on in Libya, you may recall there was trouble flaring in Bahrain. More on that in a moment. First - the good news.

Before Libya, or Bahrain, properly kicked off, there was a little event in Egypt which you may recall, and it's to that which I want to return for a moment. Listening to rightfully proud Egyptians speaking eloquently to the BBC in Tahrir Square in Cairo, in a language other than their own don't forget, was a lesson in the power of educated, determined and peaceful protest to catalyse change. The Beeb, in the aftermath of Mubarak's fleeing the country, found hundreds of people cleaning up the mess left behind by the protest, self-organised and without obvious direction.

From somewhere, diggers and heavy equipment had appeared to clear away burned cars and makeshift barricades. People apparently sported badges saying, "Sorry for the mess. We will build Egypt." Well they might be proud of what they've done. With very little violence, most of which in any case seems to have come from Mubarak's cronies, they have brought the beginnings of democracy to this most ancient of countries.

Would that the same had been possible in Libya, but there was a depressing inevitability about the descent into anarchy and bloodshed that's going on there. Gadaffi took power in a military coup in the first place, and was always likely to try to retain his grip militarily. The best that can be hoped for there is that it doesn't descend into outright and prolonged civil war. With any opposition completely crushed under Gadaffi's rule, is there even a credible potential leader among his opponents?

With grim stories of large numbers of deaths and widespread violence, and chemical weapons apparently at Gadaffi's disposal, it's only to be hoped that it doesn't go on much longer. But I wonder if the news media feel the same - how interesting it was to watch them basically abandon coverage of the trouble in Bahrain when a larger conflict broke out at the neighbours'. They couldn't wait to pack up their kit and hurry off to somewhere that may give them 'better' pictures. I haven't seen a single piece on Bahrain for at least a week, and I sincerely doubt it's just calmed down and gone back to normal just like that simply because the cameras have left.

Have the cameras haven't turned to face elsewhere because of some ghoulish interest in a 'proper' conflict? I fear there is an element of that. Or does the media only care because there are more British interests invested in Libya? I sincerely hope that all the Brits that are stuck out there get home safely, of course, but the question occurs, what the hell were we doing business with such a despotic regime for in the first place?

Anyway, whatever the real motivations are for the media to switch off in one country and focus on another, I really hope that when they eventually deem Bahrain worthy of their attention again, it hasn't turned into a little twin of Libya.