Forum for former BBC staff

Forum for former BBC staff
http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl >> News and Comment >> Mandela coverage http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1386404299 Message started by EyeTunes on Dec 7^th, 2013, 8:19am

Title: Mandela coverage
Post by EyeTunes on Dec 7^th, 2013, 8:19am

I do not think the BBC need be singularly blamed for saturation coverage in the last two days. It's the media in toto who have decided that UK audiences need the news from all and every angle even if audiences or readers are only mildly interested.
However-if come the funeral- Sports coverage, Eastenders or the Strictly Come Dancing is shelved/moved/postponed then justifiable complaints will start coming in -big time.
Am I right here or am I the only one?

Title: Re: Mandela coverage
Post by Roundabout on Dec 7^th, 2013, 10:18pm

My view is that the BBC coverage of the death of Mandela has been excessive because of the constant repetition of the basic information,especially at a time when there were at least two other very important stories involving the actual lives of people in this country. There is an inbuilt 'Overkill' operation in BBC News which comes almost automatically into play when stories such as this break and all other news, weather etc is lost or put into brief headlines.
Come the Funeral perhaps the other mystery of the Beeb operation the Network Scheduling panic will come into use with probably the first part of the proceedings on BBC 1, switched halfway through to BBC 2!....or am I alone in this?

Title: Re: Mandela coverage
Post by EyeTunes on Dec 8^th, 2013, 9:53am

Unless there are some very odd people without a tv remote and 1950's H still aerial on their roofs getting one tv channel, there will be no need for channel switching on the day of the funeral (15/12-next sunday). For worshipers of democracy and news junkies-the full all day Mandela proceedings can safely and extensively be carried by the resting and redundant Parliament channel supported by News, with prize cow BBC1 left to handle Sports Personality of the Year and the results of the Strictly Come Dancing semi finals.
Unless of course the great British public deem otherwise--after all-it's THEIR BBC.

Title: Re: Mandela coverage
Post by Dickie Mint on Dec 8^th, 2013, 1:51pm

There was not too much coverage of Nelson Mandela, the BBC says so!

And there's a BBC Trust consultation current; where on the BBC1 page "It should be the BBC's primary outlet for major UK and international events and it should reflect the whole of the UK in its output." So, tough, the BBC has decreed that BBC1 WILL carry anything the BBC decree important.

Auntie knows best! How do we get them on the same planet as the rest of us?

Richard

Title: Re: Mandela coverage
Post by Roundabout on Dec 8^th, 2013, 9:55pm

There's a challenge Richard...I recently wrote in an official complaint via the official BBC Website Complaints procedure and the moron who sent me the 'All purpose ' answer said..........

' We’re naturally very sorry when we hear that members of our audience do not like our programmes or services

We try very hard to produce a wide range of high quality programmes which we hope will appeal to our audiences.

The BBC’s a publicly-funded broadcaster serving the whole of the United Kingdom providing programming to a hugely diverse audience with differing tastes and preferences.

There will always be some programmes that do not appeal to some people and this is the nature of broadcasting whereby we are serving many different people with many different expectations.

We’re sorry that this particular programme wasn’t to your own liking, but would say that it represents one individual show and therefore just one small part of a very wide range of programming across BBC Radio.'

So much for dealing with my specific complaint...if I didn't like the 'show' I was complaining about never mind there'll be something else wonderful along in a moment!!!!!!!!!!!

Title: Re: Mandela coverage
Post by John on Dec 9^th, 2013, 7:26am

You are lucky that you got an answer at all!

John

Title: Re: Mandela coverage
Post by EyeTunes on Dec 9^th, 2013, 9:20am

Lets light a fuse-retire till sunday,then see the Public reaction?