Time to wake up and smell the spin

SOME newspapers go to extra lengths to satisfy their readers. The New York Times has just announced the appointment of its first perfume critic, who will assess and rate the various scents on the market.

“Perfume is an art form just like others from theatre to painting to music, so we’re excited to be the first to cover perfume in this way,” a paper spokeswoman Diane McNulty, said.

Disappointing as it is to relate, the Irish Examiner hasn’t got round to hiring its own perfume critic just yet. But we did give thought to appointing a political press release critic, an expert who might, perhaps, be known colloquially as a “bullshit detector”.