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Rolling news is a curse of modern television.
It drains journalism of its edge, a ceaseless vacuum, sucking in more and more "news", "breaking events" and facts until nothing is left to fill the void other than re-runs of the same underdeveloped story.
Which is why the actions of magicians Young & Strange are all the more wonderful.
Outside the Houses of Parliament are a smattering of gardens and greens - spaces favoured by many news crews to provide immediate coverage of stories emerging from the heart of Westminster. As Sky News correspondent Ashish Joshi began delivering an update on NHS reforms on a live broadcast, Young & Strange struck.
The illusionists wheeled an elaborate prop onto the grass behind Joshi, and proceeded to perform a half-decent shortening-man stunt. Joshi continues with professional aplomb, as his camera man attempts to manoeuvre the shot for a close-up to block the magicians' antics - only succeeding to highlight how much more interesting their stunt is than Joshi's update.
HOWEVER: Sky has since explained that the footage wasn't actually put out live on their channel - it was a fake stunt that only ever existed on Young & Strange's YouTube channel. Joshi was in on the whole thing.
Still, perhaps it's a feature 24-hour news channels should consider, mixing up their coverage with the occasional trick. We might be more inclined to tune in. For example, if they could make Jeremy Hunt disappear, that would be excellent.
