176 Problems With the News

I was uncertain about posting this because, as with a piece I posted in September last year on much the same topic, it is completely irrelevant to anyone who does not live in the UK.  

Secondly and much more importantly as far as I’m concerned, is that once you realise what it’s about and the lengths I went to doing the research, you will probably be thinking something like, “What kind of desolate, solitary life does this sad old git with no friends, have?  Has he nothing else or nothing better to do with his time?”   

The answer is, I’m afraid, that I am a fairly ordinary kind of sad old git.  I’m the kind of sad old git who has been getting up every morning for the past 11 months and done nothing all day but wonder how long it is until bedtime.

I expect that like some other people with unlimited time on their hands, I did start to write a novel.  In fact, I have started writing three but none of them is finished.  The first is about half way done while the other two, which are both aimed at children, just need a final chapter.

I’m really not sure why I am reluctant to complete them.  I suspect it’s because, once one is finished, I have absolutely no idea what to do with it and if I ever did manage to get it into the hands of a publisher, I would be devastated to have it rejected.  

I would know with unqualified certainty that it was perfect and wonderful - whatever that stupid, so-called expert might think.

Today, I’m returning to a topic I’ve written about before: the BBC television news and how it continues to annoy me.  If my last post was a rant on the "moan, grumble, rant" scale, what follows is possibly a grumble. 

In September last year, I wrote about how the BBC news directors love going in for tight closeups on women’s faces just, it seems, to show every blemish.  In December 2018, I wrote about news reporters who report on a story and give the impression that they are at a certain location when, in fact, they are somewhere else entirely.

For the past few months, I’ve become more and more infuriated by the limited and restricted content of BBC television news bulletins and the numerous “stories” they run that aren’t news stories at all but short documentaries.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a “news story” on the BBC television news of 8 women who all live on the same street and are all pregnant.  That is interesting I suppose but it is not proper news and it took up several minutes of every news bulletin on the BBC that day.

I always try to watch the BBC news at 10 o’clock in the evening and I record it in case something happens to prevent me from seeing it.  Once in bed, I sometimes listen to the midnight news on the radio.

Then, I often hear an important news story that had not been mentioned on the television two hours earlier.  It is often not a trivial matter either.

In early February this year, I heard on the radio how Keir Starmer had made an absolute fool of himself during Prime Minister’s Question Time.  Remarkably, there had been no mention of that on the 10 o’clock television news.

What you do see a lot on the television news, however, are vox pops and interviews with supposed experts.  I am sick to death of vox pops and the BBC appears to be obsessed with them.

Why does the BBC think that the viewer has any interest at all, or cares in any way, about the opinion that the “man-in-the-street” has on any topic whatsoever?    Why the BBC feels that the view of someone who has never given an issue any serious thought or consideration is of any value, is a complete mystery to me.

Interviewer:                What do you think of the pay freeze?  

Man-in-the-street:      I’m for it.  My cat just had kittens.

Interviewer:               Thanks and now, back to the studio.

As for “experts”, why doesn’t the reporter interview him or her and then give us a precis of his or her views?  Some experts are not skilled communicators.  For example, any interview of whatever length with Nadhim Zahawi, the Minister responsible for vaccinations, could be summarised in 15 words or fewer.

Below is a table setting out the stories in the television and the radio news broadcasts that occurred within 2 hours of each other on the night of February 24th.  The stories are listed in the order they were broadcast and both programmes were 30 minutes long. 

Every news story mentioned had broken and was fully developed before 10 o’clock.  There were no “breaking” stories. The television bulletin at ten could have covered every story that the radio ran but those in charge chose not to mention them. 

This morning, armed with a stopwatch, I watched the recording of the television news again and downloaded the radio bulletin from BBC Sounds and listened to that again.

Pretty sad, eh?  Still, it gave me something to do and when I had finished, it was only 11 hours until bedtime.

The stories below in red text were on the radio but were not on television. 

The one in blue text that the television bulletin included, was certainly not a news story.  It was a short documentary.  

It was important but it would have been better suited to a magazine programme like Breakfast or The One Show.  It did not merit being the longest story on the most important and prestigious news bulletin of the day.

	BBC Television News 10 pm February 24th	Length of item	Radio Midnight News February 25th  (2 hours later)	Length of item
1	Headlines	1:39	Headlines	0:55
2	Students return to school on March 8th is justified.  An extra £400m given to schools to help catch up. A report from the Education Editor who visited two schools. Interviews with 2 Head Teachers and the Education Secretary. 4 MIS  (Man In Street) interviews.	4:10	Teachers to assess work and award GCSE & ‘A’ level exam grades.  A report from an Education Correspondent.	1:18
3	Adults on the Learning Disability Register to be moved up the queue to get the Covid jab. Report from a Health Correspondent. 3 Interviews. 1 MIS interview.	2:51	£400m to help schools enable children to catch up lost education. A report from an Education Correspondent. Interview with a Head Teacher. Interview with the Education Secretary.	2:57
4	There is a low vaccination take up in some parts of the country. A report by a Health Correspondent in Newham. 2 Interviews with doctors. 2 MIS interviews.	2:48	Alex Salmond’s dispute with Nicola Sturgeon. A report from the Scotland Editor.	2:51
5	Latest Covid vaccination figures. A report from the Health Editor. 2 MIS interviews.	2:24	Adults on the Learning Disability Register are to be prioritised for a Covid Virus jab. Report from a Science Correspondent. An interview with Jo Whiley.	2:33
6	Leeds and Reading music festivals will go ahead in August	0:16	Covid infection and deaths figures.	0:22
7	A new vaccine made by the US company Johnson & Johnson is safe and effective. The UK has ordered 30m doses.	0:24	Ghana has received 600,000 doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine. A report from a correspondent in Accra.	1:24
8	Ghana has received 600,000 doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine. A report from the Science Editor Interviews with a UNICEF representative and a World Health Organisation doctor.	2.35	A new vaccine made by the US company Johnson & Johnson is safe and effective.	0:23
9	Alex Salmond’s dispute with Nicola Sturgeon is becoming bitter. Report from the Scotland Editor. Interview with Ruth Davidson, Scottish Conservatives Leader.	4:17	Doctor Anthony Fauci spoke in London about future control of Covid and ending the pandemic. A report from a Global Health Correspondent.	1:18
10	Tiger Woods has a car accident. A report from a Los Angeles Correspondent. 2 interviews.	3:32	Leeds and Reading music festivals will go ahead this summer.	0:18
11	Calls to Domestic Abuse Charity have increased 56% during lockdown. 2 Interviews. 2 MIS Interviews.	4:14	Talks on the future of the Vauxhall Car Plant in Cheshire are to continue. Report from The Business Editor.	1:18
12	Sport: Cricket: India v England report. Football: Manchester City win in Europe.	0:49	178 asylum seekers contracted the Corona Virus last month while being housed in open dormitories at a disused barracks. Report from the Home Affairs Editor.	2:05
13	A painting by Van Gogh unseen for 100 years has been shown in Paris. Report from a Paris Correspondent. Interview with Sotheby’s Senior Director.	2:13	The UK membership body for museums has told government ministers they should not interfere with their work. Report from an Arts Correspondent.	1:38
14			The SNP has accused Westminster of a power grab because regeneration money will not go to the Scottish Government. Report by a Political Correspondent.	1:16
15			The Fresh Produce Consortium are worried that border checks could delay trade and cause price rises. A Report from a Consumerism Correspondent.	1:21
16			Tiger Woods has a car accident. Report from a Golf Correspondent.	1:39
17			The Governor of the Bank of England warned that a clash with the EU may put the City of London at a disadvantage. Report: Economics Correspondent.	1:23
18			The City, Wall Street and currency markets.	0:29
19			Cricket: India v England report from Sports Correspondent. The football scores.	1:11
20			A painting by Van Gogh has been unveiled in Paris. Report from a Paris Correspondent. Interview with a Sotheby’s director.	1:45
21			Front pages of tomorrow’s papers.	1:11
22			The headlines again.	0:50

The average length of a television news story was 2 minutes 15 seconds whereas the radio news stories were just 58 seconds long, on average.  

Topic	TV Time	Radio Time
Covid	66%	42%
UK News	74%	76%
News & Information from Government	32%	19%

The majority of the topics covered on the television news were Covid-related.  Is there something wrong with me but I am suffering from Covid overload in many ways and one of those ways is hearing about it non-stop.

I think that a reason why I find the radio news more interesting and stimulating to listen to is that it covers more stories from the UK that are important but still interesting.  

If the topic being covered is not one that interests you very much, three minutes or more seems like a very long time to sit and wait for something more noteworthy to crop up.  Radio news stories are snappier, contain very few interviews and the listener is always spared the views of the IMITS (Ignorant Man In The Street).

The television news’ second longest story was an item that, while being important (increase in domestic violence), was not news but a short documentary.   Look at the important news stories (in red) television chose not to cover or even mention.  

Why was news about the Vauxhall car plant in Ellesmere port missing from the television news?  Thousands of jobs are at stake there.

Sometimes, there are as many as three mini-documentaries in a single television news bulletin. 

I also find it interesting that there was no coverage at all of anything from the United States but perhaps that isn’t so surprising as nothing much has happened there in the past few months, has it? 

 

If you have any thoughts on this topic, please let me know:  terrywilton@hotmail.com