Forum for former BBC staff

Forum for former BBC staff
http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl >> News and Comment >> Prospero is -your feedback is wanted http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1559986970 Message started by WG on Jun 8^th, 2019, 9:43am

Title: Prospero is -your feedback is wanted
Post by WG on Jun 8^th, 2019, 9:43am

I see from the latest June edition of Prospero that feedback is wanted (page 2).
Readers are encouraged to write to prospero@bbc.co.uk with suggestions.

Well--the first thing that comes to mind is to for all BBC Pensioners to have an e-mail telling them when the latest edition is available and encouraging them to access the On Line version. Very happy to read it On Line and do without the hard copy version?

Aside from the above-it's quite a fun read but a bit of an editorial dog's dinner isn't it, with heavily pruned Ariel articles, "crospero crossword" ,Mystery Sudoku(?) and photographic archive features with limited appeal (to me anyway).

What I do enjoy is the letters page, the obits and news about past colleagues.

Lets see what emerges from this Consultation Exercise?

Title: Re: Prospero is -your feedback is wanted
Post by John on Jun 8^th, 2019, 1:26pm

"Well--the first thing that comes to mind is to for all BBC Pensioners to have an e-mail telling them when the latest edition is available and encouraging them to access the On Line version. Very happy to read it On Line and do without the hard copy version?"

I must disagree with you about on-line reading. Not everyone has the means to read Prospero on-line or prefer to do so and besides that there are the secondary uses for Prospero that are not possible with the electronic version.

Title: Re: Prospero is -your feedback is wanted
Post by JohnW on Jun 8^th, 2019, 4:26pm

I wouldn't want to push anyone who prefers reading Prospero in paper form into having to read it electronically/on line - that would be wrong.

However, anyone who so wishes should be able to opt for such a service if they're content to do so. After all, electrons are 'nearly free', whereas the envelope (now thankfully they've stopped using plastic wrapping!) and the paper itself are rather demanding of trees, besides much energy being needed to produce. It would also mean that they could make the electronic version 'longer' and not have to hold Obituaries over to the next edition!!

We might also then be able to scan through the old editions (even those writ before we retired!) to see who might have passed away without us being aware of the fact!! Facebook simply isn't that old!!

The only caveat I have about making Prospero available electronically is that it shouldn't go the way of Ariel - i.e. be only available in electronic form. [On occasion, it was nice to be able to keep a copy for the personal archive!!]

Title: Re: Prospero is -your feedback is wanted
Post by Administrator on Jun 8^th, 2019, 7:39pm

The June issue of "Prospero" may be read here.

The index to back-issues available on-line may be seen here.

More about "Prospero" here.

Just a reminder, the BBC Pensioners’ Association Website is here.

Title: Re: Prospero is -your feedback is wanted
Post by Dickie Mint on Jun 8^th, 2019, 8:25pm

I just wish they wouldn't waste the whole of the front page on a photo!

Title: Re: Prospero is -your feedback is wanted
Post by Mikej on Jun 12^th, 2019, 9:14pm

I totally agree with Dickies comment about the front page of Prospero. A complete waste of a whole page that could have interesting and important articles on it - like pensions and finance update. I think it was the last edition that even had a quite adequate version of the front page repeated on an inside page.
Lets have more stories and unfortunately we need more space for obits etc.