Turning-point for the BBC? - the new DG

[MrGongGong]

drag queens, shark wrestling,

I'm gutted now
had I known it was going to be this then I would have cancelled work to watch !

[Bryn]

Does this mean you didn't switch on at all this weekend, Bryn?

I was working (away from both radio and television) during the days and had far more interesting things to do than watch jubilee coverage in my few waking hours at home.

[Serial_Apologist]

No S_A, nothing to do with being obsequious towards Royalty, merely a wish to have presenters who are well informed about the different types of river craft, who know their history of The Thames and London, have a knowledge of music, ceremony and regimental history and not cutting away from the live proceedings to feature inconsequential banter about drag queens, shark wrestling, pre-recorded interviews etc., and thereby missing such things as The Chartwell proceeding under Tower Bridge, not cutting off the firework display with running of titles just to fit in an Euro 2012 ad ......... etc., etc. Matt Baker may be very good on Country File with lambs but he had never heard of semaphore (amongst other gaffes) Alastair Bruce on Sky News was superb in his commentary and they concentrated solely on what was going on. In fact, it was a proper grown up programme that they produced.

But that's not what Pegleg was proposing, Anna...

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

With any television coverage of a live event, the presenters feel/are told that they must fill in all the silences.
Today, we were told that thousands of people were congregating in The Mall, moving towards Buckingham Palace. Behind her, everyone who was watching could see - thousands of people congregating in The Mall, moving towards Buckingham Palace. Do they think we are all stupid?

When they had floods in Workington and Cockermouth, it was just the same, only much more devastating for those affected.

[french frank]

Alastair Bruce on Sky News was superb in his commentary and they concentrated solely on what was going on. In fact, it was a proper grown up programme that they produced.

Perhaps we should have had the French TV coverage:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18329050

[VodkaDilc]

Even Alastair Bruce occasionally drifted into nonsense: as the Queen was being driven to St Paul's, he observed that "the Queen is getting closer by the second".

[Nick Armstrong]

Perhaps we should have had the French TV coverage:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18329050

I remember watching live TV coverage of Charles and Diana's wedding in a farmhouse deep in the midst of Normandy with two of the branches of my French family (grandmother, 4 parents and 10 children)... all were in a state of frenzy, unequalled by any of my English rellies save for the aunt whom I accompanied to Sunday's river wet-stravaganza

[Serial_Apologist]

Come on S_A... I think that's a total non-sequitur...

(I find the obsequious tone you mention just as awful as the infantilised cr*p on Sunday)

Have to disagree Caliban.

Pegleg was recommendationally counterposing the Richard Dimbleby style of presentation to the vacuity of yesterday's. Just now I had the chance to see Channel 4's coverage of today's events; also children in a Liverpool secondary school - one questioning the need for the country being represented by one person, when it should be represented by everyone - elderly royalists having a quiet community hall get-together in Helmsley, anarchists doing street art in Bristol, and a disussion on the Buckingham Palace bandstand between a four people from different backgrounds and ethnicities offering intelligently nuanced views on the monarchy. After all the force-fed enthusiasm of the Beeb these past 4 days it was good to have a semblance of balance at last.

[Aubade]

[QUOTE=Caliban;170906][COLOR="#0000FF"]
While I accept that the weather didn't help, I really disagree that the sequence of boats meant there wasn't much going on. Each of the 1000-odd boats had a story attached. Some research and preparation could have led to a fascinating programme.

Indeed. Some of them potentially important. For example, I gather that one of the boats was rowed entirely by people who had survived cancer. Had that been pointed up, it would have reached out to thousands of people watching who are affected at first hand or further degrees of removal, families, etc, and there would have have been thousands who would have drawn strength from the sight. Instead…

[french frank]

FF is absolutely right. Sunday’s broadcast was not merely inane, it was insulting.

It was actually Stephen Pollard who said that: I was just quoting his words (together with something of a caveat regarding his customary anti-BBC stance which I don't share).

[Nick Armstrong]

Indeed. Some of them potentially important. For example, I gather that one of the boats was rowed entirely by people who had survived cancer. Had that been pointed up, it would have reached out to thousands of people watching who are affected at first hand or further degrees of removal, families, etc, and there would have have been thousands who would have drawn strength from the sight. Instead…

Absolutely shameful if that was not highlighted in the coverage....

[EnemyoftheStoat]

Apologies if this has aleeady been posted, but it seems to me to provide an expert view on what went wrong on the day:

http://storycurve.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/pageant-lament.html?m=1

I chuckled at the reference to 'crazies'. None of those here of course...

[Nick Armstrong]

Apologies if this has aleeady been posted, but it seems to me to provide an expert view on what went wrong on the day:

http://storycurve.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/pageant-lament.html?m=1

I chuckled at the reference to 'crazies'. None of those here of course...

Interesting EotS, thanks. I see my post earlier unwittingly echoed his "Every boat on the river that day had a story" point.

(Hate that white type on black background though... It's done my eyes in! )

[Lateralthinking1]

[QUOTE=Caliban] For example, one pretty little boat caught my eye particularly - I wish I had known the following as it went by:

Knight Errant 50ft 1934



Legend has it that she towed a water skier in evening dress on a silver tray past the Houses of Parliament in the early 1950s… but no-one seems able to produce a photo. A famous boat though – once owned by actress Diana Dors, now restored and a familiar sight on the upper Thames.




Excellent. Thanks for that Caliban. Completely agree with Aubade's comment too.

[Northender]

BBC coverage now being discussed on Radio 4's 'Today'.