Re: [Hampshire] What a load of old cobblers!

Jacqui Caren wrote:
> I agree - some of the BBC backend folks seem to be very "FLOSS" but the
> journos (well newsreaders) have no idea what they are spouting!

My take on the piece was that it's pitched in a chatty, informal style
that wastes most of the time on pleasantries, so much so that it's
sorely lacking in content.

I hate that conversation style. I can't imagine the BBC employing a
conversational structure for any other type of factual reporting.

Newsreader: If you're anything like me you don't really get the whole
Israel-Palestine conflict. Hell, you could write all I know about Israel
on the back of a napkin! I don't know about you! So, can we solve this
whole Middle East thing or will it run on forever? Which are better,
Jews or Muslims? Should we all be not eating pigs, or not eating pigs?
Well, to answer all those questions for me I have LJ in the studio to
talk about Jews. LJ is a reporter for BBC's "Oy vey!", and is just
generally a Jew nerd. Tell me, LJ, why is the whole Isreal conflict so
annoying?

LJ: Ha ha ha. Well, Bob, Jews and Muslims don't like each other much but
they still want to live in the same place!

Newsreader: Ok, so tell me... how did we get into this situation? Why
would we want to "refresh", or bring peace to the Middle East?

...

I don't think it's deliberate perversion of the issue, I think it's just
that TV journalism has become so dumbed down, and so entrenched in those
dumbed down metaphors and formats, that they are simply unable to
envisage how to construct a segment that would put across these subjects
comprehensively and in an adult fashion.

Channel 4 News is the only news programme that seems to be targetted at
people with a mental age of over 18 these days (not counting BBC 4 News
which may be grown up but does not deliver UK-centric focus).

Dan