Pistorius and BBC versus the Rest of the World

         

The access the media has been given in the Pistorius Case has meant the BBC was able to stuff their news bulletins with unlimited video footage of the trial . It’s been the lead story for week now, despite there being no shortage of domestic stories. Also the excessive time allowed for reports from South Africa has meant that news from around the world has also has been squeezed out.  Maybe it’s the perfect story for the BBC considering their appetite for any type of celebrity ‘news’.

For example here’s a recent story that didn't even merit a mention by BBC :

In the months after the 2010 earthquake, the United Nations deployed troops to Haiti who are believed to have brought with them the cholera bacterium from overseas. The U.N. has publicly stated that substandard sanitation at one of its barracks may have led to the outbreak that resulted in the deaths of  8000 people. Another half a million people were made ill by the polluted water.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that the United Nations will not compensate families affected by the 2010 cholera outbreak that has claimed thousands of lives, despite evidence that the organization was responsible for the outbreak.

“Our case is about the U.N. dumping contaminated sewage in Haiti’s waters that has caused thousands of deaths.  On Friday, Ban Ki-moon phoned Haitian president Michel Martelly to inform him that the United Nations has no intention, or legal obligation, to pay compensation to the families of Haiti's cholera victims. 

Two FSA's - Both Ineffective

 BBC Newswatch recently reported how BBC News had confused two different FSA logos. Last week they mistakenly put up the Financial Authority Service logo on our screens instead of the intended Food Standards Agency.  Probably a fresh-faced researcher typed in ‘FSA’ into ‘Google Images’ and copied and pasted the first image he\she came across. An easy mistake maybe.

However, there are, perhaps, more similarities between the two UK Government regulators than you might, at first think.

The Financial Authority Service, set up as the City Watchdog failed to curb the casino banking of companies like RBS and Northern Rock. We might naively think The FSA’s primary aim would be to protect the public interest. Instead they were concerned  to regulate with  a ‘light touch’ to smooth the way for the banks and cooperate rather than confront.

Now we have another FSA. This one, we fondly imagine, is set up to firmly regulate the food industry and make sure that the food we eat is safe and is what it says on the label. But no: it turns out they don’t have any power.  They don’t actually test any food. They don’t investigate. They don’t fine or name and shame.  They see their role as co-operating with the food industry.

Two FSA’s: both alike in dignity. Two FSA’s: both popularly thought of as defending the interests of the public but fall a bit short.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had regulators who were prepared to regulate?