Tony Blair's attack on the media used the phrase 'feral beasts'. He is being remarkably insightful.
'Feral' has a specific meaning, and is extremely apt.
A feral beast is one which was once domesticated but now living wild. A domestic cat gone wild is feral but the Highland Wildcat (which has never been domesticated) is not. The 'wild' horses of America are technically feral - all are descended from the domestic horse, as the horse is not native to the Americas. True wild horses are extinct.
Think about the application of this word in relation to the media. Blair seems to be saying - as I have long maintained - that New Labour's success has been built on domesticating journalists. Now the domestic, house-trained, journalist has turned on New Labour. It has gone feral. Good.
