Saturday 7 February 2009

Miscalculation

The BBC is now on the back foot, having badly misjudged the mood of the long-suffering licence payers, and is now faced with a deluge of letters castigating them for their actions over ‘Gollygate’, as against a tiny trickle of support from the perpetually-aggrieved.

A glimpse into the world of the highly-paid BBC executive provides an explanation as to why they are so terribly out of touch with their audience:
In the world according to BBC1 controller Jay Hunt, the debate about Carol Thatcher’s use of the word ‘golliwog’ is clear cut.

The glamorous Cambridge-educated television executive popped up on the BBC’s news outlets yesterday to tell millions of viewers and listeners that the comment was ‘completely inappropriate’ and ‘racist’ and Miss Thatcher had to go.
In other words, to tell us all what to think, and how to behave, according to received wisdom at the BBC.

Sadly for her, the viewers weren’t prepared to tolerate this, particularly in the wake of the Jonathan Ross affair:
But while the 41-year-old was giving a stern and at times shrill defence of her actions, the BBC was busy counting up the complaints from viewers angry at the decision.
The viewers have tasted blood, Jay. They want more.
Others asked how she could be so sincerely incensed about Miss Thatcher’s remarks, yet previously have so wholeheartedly defended Jonathan Ross.

In an interview late last year she called Ross a ‘responsible broadcaster’ whose £6million-a-year salary was ‘academic’.
In other words ‘one of us’. The viewers disagreed, and forced your employers into an apology more grudging than the one Carol Thatcher reportedly gave.

This little debacle is swelling the ranks of the tv licence rebels and earning the BBC unfavourable press from all corners. Perhaps employing fewer people who regard those that pay their vastly-inflated wages as dim, lowest-common-denominator walking cashpoints would help?
The Australian-born BBC boss ‘stress bakes’ cakes to relive her tension – and yesterday she sounded like she needed to knock up a quick Victoria sponge.

She appeared tetchy at the backlash over her decision as she was asked whether a private conversation should have led to the sacking of a presenter.
‘How very dare they! Don’t they know who I am?’

They do now. They don’t like it, and more and more, they are beginning to resent paying for it.

4 comments:

North Northwester said...

Wee-ha! I love it when a plan comes together.
Who knows - perhaps the long march BACK through the institutions has begun?

Dr Evil said...

This is the stupid reply I received to my complaint. Pretty much verbatim re what the womancontroller said:Notice they are not at all contrite for their actions.

Thank you for your e-mail.

Carol Thatcher's remarks were not made in private but in a BBC Green Room in front of a number of people including BBC staff and caused great offence to those who heard them.

The One Show had hoped that Carol would issue an unconditional apology to those whom she had offended. Unlike other presenters who have found themselves at the centre of a news story in the past, Carol declined to do so.

As a result, her position on The One Show is no longer tenable and there are no plans to work with her in the future on that show. This is because her role as a roving reporter requires her to report on a wide variety of issues and to meet a diverse range of people throughout the country, many of whom are unlikely to agree that her remarks were acceptable even as a joke.

This does not mean she is banned from the BBC as a whole but simply she is no longer able to fulfil her current role on The One Show.

The BBC considers any language of a racist nature to be wholly unacceptable.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Regards

BBC Complaints

Anonymous said...

I've had the telly tax demand through today. As there are some things which the BBC does which I approve of and use - like David Attenborough and their HBO co-production of 'Rome' - I calculate that on average the BBC is still worth £3 a week.

The main problem is that now, in addition to the £3 of good-value pleasure they provide, they are inflicting at least as much irritation, or maybe more - minimum of £5 worth, or £10 in a bad week.

This means they owe me between £2 and £7 per week. I'll send them an invoice for the balance and see if they want to call it quits rather than pay it.

JuliaM said...

"This is the stupid reply I received to my complaint."

i haven't had so much as a form letter reply yet! Maybe I should complain about that...

"..there are some things which the BBC does which I approve of and use - like David Attenborough and their HBO co-production of 'Rome'.."

Hmm, true. Though they are all available on satellite ;)