UKC

I turned on the TV this morning to have breakfast, and turned to BBC News 24. To find that, once again, it is BBC Pistorius 24. I cannot understand the obsession with this story.

So I did what I've done previously, and turned to other news channels...

Sky? Pistorius <next>
RT? Well, obviously Kiev is in flames because everyone in the Ukraine loves Vladimir, and wants to be Russian. But at least they also cover a lot of other worldwide stories that are actually newsworthy, rather than just being sleb nonsense.
AJ? Looked to be a pretty balanced sets of stories, again covering a wide range of topics and locations.

Mostly as a result of the Pistoffius trial coverage, I've noticed that the BBC news is really rather parochial, and the ticker just rolls around repeating the same "Breaking news: Boris Johnson announces he's going to take a dump". With 24 hour news, you'd think they'd be able to cover more than the three or four stories they keep repeating; there's a lot of stuff going on in the world that simply never features on the BBC.

And they have the cheek to claim that it's the best news service in the world.

In reply to captain paranoia:

I remember having the bbc on a couple of weeks ago with where the headline seemed to be "its summer and people are going on holiday".

This came complete with live reports from manchester airport to show how busy it was, and tips for holiday makers such as remember your passport and travel documentation, and to arrive in plenty of time.

In reply to captain paranoia:

I wouldn't worry about it. A lesbian sex scandal in a school founded for the daughters of freemasons has surely got to be more interesting than a legless gun addict.

In reply to captain paranoia:

You're right, of course. The BBC develops these absurd obsessions about certain trials: about Pretorius currently (I can't help suspecting, because he had a pretty girlfriend), about OJ Simpson (same reason), and about Amanda Knox (subtle twist: she *is* the pretty girlfriend).

Mind you, I must admit that when I look at what's actually going on (Ukraine, ISIS, ebola...), a little triviality is not altogether unwelcome.

In reply to Jim Fraser:

Ah yes, you noticed that too? Attractive lady gym teacher in sex romps with innocent young schoolgirls?

Salacity at the BBC? Perish the thought. Of *course* this is only on their website because it's a story of national importance.

Now, anyone know where I can find more images of the teacher?

In reply to Jim Fraser:


good grief- i thought that was made up, but its not...

In reply to captain paranoia:

John Birt ruined BBC news with highly prescriptive methods of working. It looks like his successors are following the same rules, with a whole lot of dumbing down to try and rival the tabloids thrown in. Producers and programme makers aren't naturally so short on ideas and creativity.
It is presumably run on a shoestring too.
ITV is marginally better but not much.

In reply to captain paranoia:

Well it could be American - pic.twitter.com/ObPRSvAmwf

In reply to captain paranoia:

Anyone remember TASS the so called news agency in the old USSR, always followed the party line no matter what. I think the BBC gets more like TASS every day.

In reply to captain paranoia:


Stick on the World Service instead - you learn about all kinds of things going on that the regular services don't seem to mention, and as a bonus you don't get distracted by that annoying rolling update bar.

In reply to captain paranoia:

That's nothing. Apparently it is dangerous to take kids up hills.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-28692548

'Staying off summits is the best way to keep children safe when walking in the mountains, say Snowdonia park wardens.' Not.

In reply to captain paranoia:

News 24 has always been poor: Too much time to fill.

In reply to DubyaJamesDubya:


That argument doesn't make sense. If you have too much time, then fill that time with a diversity of stories. Not the same three or four, repeated endlessly.

In reply to Bwox:

I'll look out for that. So they have the news stories, and the news coverage, just that they take an editorial decision not to show it? Sounds like digby has it right...

In reply to captain paranoia:

A diversity of stories costs money, either your own journalists or paying other news corporations for footage and commentary. Rolling the same stories over and over fills time, most people only watch for 30mins to an hour so the majority don't notice and it is cheap.

In reply to captain paranoia:

Tried CNN?

I think its one of the better US ones, it gets accused of liberal bias which is always a good sign…

Fox even finish with 'Fox News Fair and Balanced' which means it's in no way politically biased…

They've even gone as far to admit they are biased but only to balance out the liberal bias elsewhere…

Good for a laugh though..

In reply to Clarence:


Yes, I realise that...

But if they can present those stories on World Service, then they already have the material to present. They just, apparently, don't have the inclination...

In reply to captain paranoia:


Plus the World Service doesn't really make exciting viewing. And I think a fair bit is just recycled R4 programmes.

In reply to captain paranoia:

The problem is that 24hr news channels (and not just the bbc) seem to think that the most important news = most recent news therefore, if they are offered a live feed to something they deem news worthy they will run it which is why they often show press conferences etc that give no information, on te off chance that they may catch that breaking news and be first to air with it...

24 hour news channels are not the place to go if you want a summary of the news - use iplayer etc to look up the 10 oclock news etc...

In reply to captain paranoia:

As anyone who has worked for the BBC will tell you, radio is on a completely different cost scale to television. If you just had voices from the various BBC offices without some kind of picture there would quite rightly be questions as to why it is on the TV and not radio. TV demands pictures at the very least and video footage for most stories, that all costs many, many times more than radio news.

In reply to IainRUK:


When I come back in from the pub and need to sober up a bit before going to bed I like watching fox news. Once it starts annoying me to much I know I am sober enough.

In reply to captain paranoia:

I agree. BBC news has been dumbed down over the last decade and its reporting is not as objective as it once was. It no longer offers the independent opinion on world events it once did. Stopped watching it a long time ago. I blame the Blairite government who ousted Greg Dyke, and after he left the organisation really changed its focus away from 'real' news reporting.

In reply to captain paranoia:

Been reading on the BBC website today about floods in Cambridge. Apparently there has been a flood in Tesco 'next to the fresh fish counter' as if that makes all the difference.
Another section, which may be more indicative of the wimpish ness of some sections of society, involved an account from a chap stuck in his car due to flood water, apparently the water was so deep it had reached the top of the kerb so he had driven onto the pavement and was waiting one presumes for rescue by a hero in welly's.
Why can't what was a first rate news provider get a grip and report things of importance with some sensibility.

In reply to captain paranoia

https://www.facebook.com/palestinesolidarityuk/photos/a.212319155478021.500...

In reply to Redacted:

Got to say over here ISIS Iraq, ebola and Palestine dominate the news at the moment..

The Gaza slant differs massively, CNN is much more against Israel, as is the US increasingly in general, there's a real anger about this latest attack, but fox is still very much pro-israel.