I have just watched an old edition of Antiques Road Show on BBC sign zone.
As is usual in all of these antique programmes it contained the obligatory I bought this in a boot sale for next to nothing item that turns out to be valued at £1000. When this happens it is always seen as fantastic, brilliant, wonderful – which it must be for the purchaser.
But why do these programmes never spare a thought for the poor bugger watching at home who sold that five thousand pound vase for 10p in the boot sale?
When I was younger I use to sell in the occasional car boot sale, every time that Flog It, Real Deal and similar programmes are on the telly, I live in dread that one of the things that I sold as brick-a-brack for a couple of bob might turn up on the programme as a valuable antique. If it did I'd feel gutted, sick, disconsolate.
Show some sympathy telly people!
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
23/10/2010
Is BBC news racist or just biased against the English?
I am grateful to O'Neil's elsewhere for pointing me in the direction of this letter in the Belfast Telegraph:
I disagree with Mr Hastings. Not mentioning Northern Ireland's, or Wales' or Scotland's achievements on news programmes is hardly racism, no matter how flexibly one wishes to stretch the term. There might be a fair accusation of bias, but the bias isn't against Northern Ireland, or Wales or Scotland, but a bias against England.
The fact is that if I want to know what has happened in Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland I can watch the national news on Newsline, Wales Today or Reporting Scotland, the one nation that doesn't have a national news programme is England (it has many regional news programmes but not a single national one), and therein lies the difficulty for BBC News at Six and News at Ten; they have to double up as both the UK "national news" and the English national news and tend to fall between two stools.
Giving details about Northern Ireland's sporting achievements, which will be repeated on Newsline 25 minutes later, crowds out English News; not giving the details of Northern Ireland's achievements upsets people like Mr Hastings.
My main news viewing is S4C's Newyddion. Produced by the BBC it is a mixture of Welsh, UK wide and international news which always gives a Welsh prospective on stories from outside Wales. It is similar in mix to the Scottish Six that was proposed in days gone by as the best way of presenting Scottish News.
Surely the best way forward is for the BBC to translate Newyddion's format into English in Wales, to have a Scottish six and ten, to have similar programmes for Northern Ireland and to allow England to have an English National news programme twice a day!
BBC 'racism' is clear through sports coverage
On Tuesday, October 12, Northern Ireland played the Faroe Islands in a Euro 2012 qualifying match, with an early kick-off at 4pm.
The match finished 10 minutes prior to the start of the main national news on BBC1 at 6pm, but there was no mention of the match in the 30-minute bulletin.
If the match had involved England, instead of Northern Ireland, would the match have got a mention on the national news?
Then the next day, Northern Ireland won eight medals (three gold, two silver, and three bronze) at the Commonwealth Games, but it did not merit a mention in the main national news which started at 6pm on BBC1.
If it had been England's best-ever day at a Commonwealth Games, would it have got a mention on the national news?
These are just two examples of the institutional racism that exists at the BBC. What is the BBC going to do about it?
COLIN HASTINGS
I disagree with Mr Hastings. Not mentioning Northern Ireland's, or Wales' or Scotland's achievements on news programmes is hardly racism, no matter how flexibly one wishes to stretch the term. There might be a fair accusation of bias, but the bias isn't against Northern Ireland, or Wales or Scotland, but a bias against England.
The fact is that if I want to know what has happened in Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland I can watch the national news on Newsline, Wales Today or Reporting Scotland, the one nation that doesn't have a national news programme is England (it has many regional news programmes but not a single national one), and therein lies the difficulty for BBC News at Six and News at Ten; they have to double up as both the UK "national news" and the English national news and tend to fall between two stools.
Giving details about Northern Ireland's sporting achievements, which will be repeated on Newsline 25 minutes later, crowds out English News; not giving the details of Northern Ireland's achievements upsets people like Mr Hastings.
My main news viewing is S4C's Newyddion. Produced by the BBC it is a mixture of Welsh, UK wide and international news which always gives a Welsh prospective on stories from outside Wales. It is similar in mix to the Scottish Six that was proposed in days gone by as the best way of presenting Scottish News.
Surely the best way forward is for the BBC to translate Newyddion's format into English in Wales, to have a Scottish six and ten, to have similar programmes for Northern Ireland and to allow England to have an English National news programme twice a day!
26/10/2008
Crap Telly Time
My analogue TV signal will be switched off in almost twelve months time. Apparently This will give viewers far more channels and choice than ever before. Hooray and Hallelujah, how fantastic.
I already have a digital service through a Sky satellite dish. Whenever it rains, whenever there are high winds, the digital service is not available. I get pixelated pictures, no sound or a no satellite signal being received message.
My sister has Freeview through an aerial, she has the same problems and more. Not only do wind and rain interrupt her reception but heavy traffic passing her door has the same effect, so she is rarely able to get a Freeview reception before 10pm on a calm weather day.
At the moment both of us are able to get an analogue signal during adverse weather and traffic conditions - but not for much longer. Come next October we will have the choice of 1000's of new channels to watch - when the wind isn't blowing, when the traffic isn't flowing and when the rain isn't raining.
But for most of the time we will have no TV reception.
Such are the advantages of new technology!
I already have a digital service through a Sky satellite dish. Whenever it rains, whenever there are high winds, the digital service is not available. I get pixelated pictures, no sound or a no satellite signal being received message.
My sister has Freeview through an aerial, she has the same problems and more. Not only do wind and rain interrupt her reception but heavy traffic passing her door has the same effect, so she is rarely able to get a Freeview reception before 10pm on a calm weather day.
At the moment both of us are able to get an analogue signal during adverse weather and traffic conditions - but not for much longer. Come next October we will have the choice of 1000's of new channels to watch - when the wind isn't blowing, when the traffic isn't flowing and when the rain isn't raining.
But for most of the time we will have no TV reception.
Such are the advantages of new technology!
11/10/2008
The Best Politics Show?
Lots of blogs have side bar Vox Pop opinion polls. I am not keen on them so I have not (yet) added one to my side bar.
If I was to start such a poll on the most effective political programme on th telly I wonder who would win. Question Time? Dragons Eye? The Daily Politics?
The Programme that I would choose as the most effective political programme would be The One Show. Shown at that odd, everybody watching time between the News and proper programmes, it is witty, funny, charming and full of propaganda.
It is the most blatantly British programme on the BBC. Day in day out it promotes Gordon Brown's Britishness agenda. What is the best British invention ever? What is the funniest things Britons have done? When was the best British year? When was the worst British year?
Many of the answers to The One Show's questions about the best, the worst, the funniest etc date from before Britain even existed.
Despite being a light show it is packed with experts. Scientists, medics, historians, linguists, ornithologists, veterinarians, herbologists etc, etc all of whom use their expertise to prove that British is Best.
If a programme on S4C or BBC Alba tried to promote Wales or Scotland with even a smidgen of the propaganda values that The One Show uses to promote Britain it would be withdrawn, questions would be asked, heads would roll.
The idea that England could be promoted in such a biased way on the BBC is just ................. (fill in the blanks, I don't know that many obscenities).
Welsh, Scottish, English, Cornish (and after yesterday's offering even Manx) nationalists should complain en mass about the blatant unionist political propaganda that The One Show is.
If I was to start such a poll on the most effective political programme on th telly I wonder who would win. Question Time? Dragons Eye? The Daily Politics?
The Programme that I would choose as the most effective political programme would be The One Show. Shown at that odd, everybody watching time between the News and proper programmes, it is witty, funny, charming and full of propaganda.
It is the most blatantly British programme on the BBC. Day in day out it promotes Gordon Brown's Britishness agenda. What is the best British invention ever? What is the funniest things Britons have done? When was the best British year? When was the worst British year?
Many of the answers to The One Show's questions about the best, the worst, the funniest etc date from before Britain even existed.
Despite being a light show it is packed with experts. Scientists, medics, historians, linguists, ornithologists, veterinarians, herbologists etc, etc all of whom use their expertise to prove that British is Best.
If a programme on S4C or BBC Alba tried to promote Wales or Scotland with even a smidgen of the propaganda values that The One Show uses to promote Britain it would be withdrawn, questions would be asked, heads would roll.
The idea that England could be promoted in such a biased way on the BBC is just ................. (fill in the blanks, I don't know that many obscenities).
Welsh, Scottish, English, Cornish (and after yesterday's offering even Manx) nationalists should complain en mass about the blatant unionist political propaganda that The One Show is.
19/09/2008
BBC Alba
A new tv channel broadcasting in the Gaelic language starts tonight at 9 pm. BBC Alba can be seen on Sky channel 168 and on other digital services.
If you would like to learn a little Gaelic inorder to enjoy the new service then the Beeb is also providing on line lesson: Beag air Bheag (little by little)!
If you would like to learn a little Gaelic inorder to enjoy the new service then the Beeb is also providing on line lesson: Beag air Bheag (little by little)!
13/09/2007
Plaid Cymru Conference not on TV
The party conference season starts today with Plaid's annual shindig in Llandudno.
As usual, the London Parties conferences will be given wall to wall coverage on TV, but this year there will be even less coverage of the Plaid Conference than usual.
On BBC 2W and BBC Parliament (Sky 504) there is live coverage today between 1:45 and 2:45, and the same two hour slot tomorrow. There is a conference special edition of Waterfront on ITV1 Wales at 11:30 pm tonight.
There is no coverage at all of Saturday or Sunday's proceedings at the Conference (Saturday is usually the most important conference day), and for the first time that I recall since the channels inception there doesn't appear to be any coverage at all on S4C.
As usual, the London Parties conferences will be given wall to wall coverage on TV, but this year there will be even less coverage of the Plaid Conference than usual.
On BBC 2W and BBC Parliament (Sky 504) there is live coverage today between 1:45 and 2:45, and the same two hour slot tomorrow. There is a conference special edition of Waterfront on ITV1 Wales at 11:30 pm tonight.
There is no coverage at all of Saturday or Sunday's proceedings at the Conference (Saturday is usually the most important conference day), and for the first time that I recall since the channels inception there doesn't appear to be any coverage at all on S4C.
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