So the two latest casualties of the trial by media culture we have are Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand. Depending on your take on the issue it’s likely you care little or not at all for the welfare of these highly-paid media stars but that misses the point.

Many commentators (nods to Borkowski and Will Sturgeon) have already shared their thoughts on the issue and my own rather flippant opinion has been given short shrift both on Facebook and Twitter (nod here to Anne Wollenberg).

To me there are several things at play here: a media hungry for alternative stories to the credit crunch endlessly being played out before our eyes, a rather antipathetic feeling towards Brand and Ross and the hyping up of the chattering classes who view anything mildly tasteless as hugely offensive. Essentially, a recipe for a media storm in a teacup.

What I find concerning though is the reaction by Ofcom in deciding to hold an enquiry (further adding fuel to the media fire) then every Tom, Dick and Harry ploughing their own agenda by jumping on the bandwagon (see Gordon Brown, David Cameron, the granddaughter et al) and finally the BBC caving in to pressure to suspend them both.

In an age where advertising revenues are falling - and no doubt set to fall faster still as the recession bites - media organisations are constantly hunting for the ‘big story’ that draws in readers and viewers. The consequence is that minor incidents are overblown to create fodder for 24-hour news and to fill pages.

Will Sturgeon has highlighted the obsession of credit-crunch washing while Sally Whittle has called upon journalists to approach particular stories with more measure and sang-froid. It therefore behoves upon the PR industry to follow the same approach. Rather than simply jumping on bandwagons that serve our clients, let’s contemplate first what the likely impact is.