Jacintha Saldanha's Funeral - BBC News Reverts to Simple Factual Reporting

Today BBC News very soberly reports on the funeral of Jacintha Saldanha that takes place in India.  The tone of the report is dispassionate and factual.  But the BBC has not played a distinguished role in the unfolding of this sorry tale.

The story started with *Kate Middleton being admitted to hospital. For the next two days the BBC made it their lead story. They interviewed experts on ‘morning sickness. They discussed all implications for the line of succession; the possible gender of the new baby. They milked the story dry. They did this despite the fact that at twelve weeks the pregnancy was at a critical stage and a more responsible approach would have been to maintain a distance between themselves and the rest of the media clamour.

 Very little actual information emitted from the hospital. But that wasn’t important. There was a media scrum to report on. Why not turn the camera on the jostling journalists outside? Now it was a David Attenborough documentary. It was like they were filming orang-utans in the rainforrests of Borneo. The BBC was above the melee: a separate species. Yet minutes later BBC reporter Luisa Baldini is screaming, microphone outstretched, ‘Kate! Kate! How are you feeling?’ The BBC didn’t just report in the story: they rolled about in it, luxuriating, for days on end.

Then the Australian DJ’s played their phone hoax. The BBC led with that story as the most important story of the day. Of course they had to play the recording of the hoax call in every single bulletin for the next two days. This was manna from heaven. The BBC could live off trivial stories like these forever. By elevating all the surmise and supposition and designate it as a headline story they could survive indefinitely without bothering with stories that actually have an effect on people’s lives. They can push back the less sexy stories about what’s happening to the other seven billion people on the planet to a less prominent position.

When poor Jacintha Saldanha committed suicide BBC News deftly switches tack from amusement and mock outrage to the ‘blame game’. High minded journalists turn their attention to where the blame lies; the hospital; the DJ’s ; the radio station or the media. They conveniently forget, of course, their own irresponsible coverage.

Now, the final chapter in a sorry story. Now we get the tight-lipped reporting of Mrs. Saldanha’s funeral.

It’s a shame that the BBC, as well as providing some excellent quality reporting, feels the need to compete with the Sun, to supply sordid sensation, gossip and surmise.  

Euro Banks Draw Closer - Britain Rethinks its Position

As a teenager I think I thought that foreigners were inferior. I changed my mind when I travelled and saw that many countries organised themselves just as well as we did. In fact their transport systems were much better.  Their values were equal to ours. Their streets were cleaner without litter.

Now as an enthusiastic European it’s a bit uncomfortable to have to admit that the Euro-sceptics might be winning the argument.  With todays’ formation of a new banking union in the Eurozone Britain is going to find itself increasingly on the outside looking in.

I suppose after the recent Euro crises it was inevitable that the Eurozone would have to draw together to avoid further bailouts and that Britain would become spectators to developments in Europe. Unfortunately, greater integration between the Eurozone countries means that the non-members are forced to consider greater economic independence. Although Britain’s growth will continue to depend heavily on a healthy Euro,  UK PLC may have to look further afield in future.

One Idea occurred to me: I wonder if Britain could emulate Hong Kong.  Hong Kong thrives as an ‘Off-shore Island’ to China. It manages to capitalise on helping to service China but stands apart from it. China uses Hong Kong as a conduit to the outer world and Hong Kong reaps the benefits. Could the UK develop a similar relationship with Europe? 

Government Claims Misleading - An Unsatisfactory Apprentice Programme

The Government boasts that in 2011, around 457,000 people started an apprenticeship. This is a 63.5  per cent increase on the previous year. They claim the Government’s Apprenticeship Programme is now the "gold standard vocational qualification". However unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds remains high at almost 21% .

To my mind, apprenticeships have been seriously devalued.  When I left school any young person who secured an apprenticeship knew that he or she would be given the opportunity to gain marketable skills that would stand them in good stead for the rest of their working lives. More importantly, the apprentice and the employer entered into an informal contract that bound them together for the five years it took to graduate as a ‘journeyman’ tradesman. There was an *unwritten agreement that in normal circumstances the apprentice’s position was guaranteed.  I know from experience that when times were lean and men were ‘layed off’, the apprentice’s job was secure. But times have changed.    

The Government recently reclassified the official definition of an apprenticeship to include training that extends as little as a year. 

During 2011, 51.8% of apprenticeships for 16 to 18- year-olds were completed in less than 12 months. The 12-month minimum change, introduced from August this year, is likely to result in 65,000 extra apprenticeships each year, or their reclassification as pre-apprenticeships.

 Morrisons Supermarkets, for example reclassified existing employees as apprentices.  It turns out that one in 10 of the apprenticeships created in England last year was at Morrisons' supermarkets. Also most of the 52,000 apprentices at the supermarket were existing employees who were over 25. These apprenticeships last an average of 28 weeks. 


* At one time, of course, apprenticeships involved a written contract. 

Most Annoying Popular Expressions

Bradley Wiggins and the People's Court

Tour de France  winner, Bradley Wiggins was thrown off his bike when a white Vauxhall Astra Envoy is thought to have pulled out of a petrol station and collided with him. His injuries were thought to be very serious at first, but later it appeared he suffered a number of broken ribs and cuts and bruises.

Wiggins' accident has sparked a flurry of comments on Twitter -- some sympathetic, others highlighting the dangers cyclists face on the road, or the risk they pose to other road users if they don't ride responsibly.

I wonder how much blame attaches to the driver in such a case.  On the face of it the driver entering a junction is obviously in the wrong. You just shouldn’t pull out until you can see your way is clear. But can there any extenuating circumstances? Perhaps at subconscious level some drivers just don’t register a bicycle as a fully authentic road user. In other words: if it’s not a car or bus they just don’t ‘see’ it.

Maybe a defence lawyer might argue that that Bradley (world’s fastest man on two wheels) was travelling faster than a motorist might have reasonably expected.  But I don’t really think that defence would stand up.

So, my sympathies lie completely with poor Bradley and Britain’s cyclists. Therefore: GUILTY and 6 points on her licence.....

Next case.......

BBC TV News - Sophie's World

Millions without power; thirty five dead; patients in intensive care being evacuated from hospitals.  Hurricane Sandy is likely to continue on its destructive path for another three or four days.
But hold on.  The BBC's on the scene. They've set up an interview with a New York official. It's a chance to capture the horror and perhaps let viewers get some understanding of what it's like to go through this massive social upheaval. Sophie Raworth has got her first question ready.
'How long do you think will it take to clear up the mess?'
I thought she had missed the point slightly but at least  she didn't (however tempted she may have been) follow up with:  'How do think the hurricane will affect the Presidential Elections?'
But quite apart from Sophie's contribution the BBC's coverage throughout the rest of the day failed to capture the human dimension of the devastation.

Kentucky Fried Pancakes Offer for Under 12's

Just watched a shocking advert for a KFC Breakfast offer in TV.  If I heard it correctly; anyone who buys one of their wonderfully 'nutritious' breakfasts is entitled to an exciting extra. A young son or daughter (under 12)  doesn't have to watch and starve while the parent scoffs  a chicken burger. No: the youngster is entitled to three pancakes topped with loads of imitation maple syrup. What a wonderful way to start a new day!

* By the way KFC's signage on Millburn Road, Inverness is a total eyesore: four huge, ugly, crude signs.  How the Planning Department passed that is mystery.

Congratulations to BBC for Record-Breaking 'JT' Mentions

Thursday 27th Sept 2012 will go down in media history. Today the BBC  mentioned one particular sportsman more often than any other broadcaster ever.  Over  all their outlets, (including all its TV and radio channels) they managed to mention John Terry 10 million times!  This record-breaking achievement  overtakes both the Wayne Rooney and the David Beckham records by several million. Well Done!

England Invades Poland - BBC News: Sports Trivia

(Scene: Outside the England Team hotel in Krakow)

BBC Reporter: I’m standing outside England’s hotel in the centre of Krakow. The England team should be arriving soon. ……………………..blah , blah, blah, blah, blah..........  So the team should be arriving soon, so back to you in the studio.

BBC Newsreader in the studio: Thanks Tim. Hopefully they should be arriving quite soon.  

We all wait. We’ll just have be patient.  Maybe if we return to Krakow in a few minutes we’ll be lucky enough to see the coach sweep in through the gates.

This is the BBC News.  This is what passes as ‘sports coverage’.

Next news item: Leo Ferdinand: Why has he been overlooked for inclusion for the national team? What is the real reason Roy Hodgson decided to leave him out? Extended analysis follows….

Why, I wonder, is so much of the sports reporting on TV based on gossip and hearsay? Someone refuses to shake hands;  a player calls someone a bad name; the manager insults someone by not informing them properly why they’ve been over-looked for the team.  On and on it goes.  Celebrity gossip: reported on national news reports is bad enough but sports gossip is a killer!

I certainly don't grudge at all the proportionally extra TV coverage the England Team gets. They are, after all, Britain's only representative in Euro 2012. My issue is with the lack of substance in so much of new reporting.

Would You Believe it...? - Hen Lays Egg With Inch-Long 'Tail' In China

It’s probably not what you want to see staring back from your breakfast plate first thing, but this egg has an inch-long “tail”.

The unusually shaped egg was laid by a hen in Hukou, China, the Mail Online said.

It’s unknown if the misshapen offering was consumed, but it’s not the first time Chinese hens have offered up such oddities.

According to China News a “spoon-shaped” egg was laid by a hen in Huaibei City, Anhui province, in January 2005.

Railway worker Huang Yazhou apparently awoke to hear the hen responsible “making weird noises” before delivering the 8.5cm long egg.

(Huffington Post)