Monday 16 June 2008

The Beeb tell me to get stuffed

OK, not in so many words but the following is the reply I received from the BBC in response to my complaint about its election night results coverage in May:

Dear Mr Salmon Thank you for your e-mail regarding 'Election Night 2008'. Please accept our apologies for the delay in our response, we do hope that you were not too inconvenienced. I appreciate that you were bitterly disappointed with the graphics which accompanied our coverage. Our election coverage has always been about providing viewers with the latest information as it happens in an informative but also entertaining and engaging way. Election Night 2008 was no exception with expert analysis and debate provided by a range of voices and devices. Having said this, it is clear that you were left completely dissatisfied with the graphics used and I can assure you that we have registered your comments on our audience log. This is the internal report of audience feedback which we compile daily for all programme makers and commissioning executives within the BBC, and also their senior management. It ensures that your points, and all other comments we receive, are circulated and considered across the BBC. Thank you once again for taking the trouble to share your views with us. Regards Richard Carey BBC Complaints

In response, I've fired back the following email:

Dear Mr Carey, The election night coverage was not done in an entertaining and engaging way. It was done in a dumbed down way which treated the viewers as idiots. It seems to me that you're just brushing this point under the carpet in your response. And I know that I'm not the only person to have complained to the BBC about its coverage. What is the BBC going to do differently next time to avoid such a shambles? Yours sincerely, Bernard Salmon

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree with you about Jeremy Vine. What on earth were they thinking of?

But I don't think I agree with you about Dimbleby. He may not be quite as sharp as he used to be, but he still seems quite impressive to me. There were too many directorial cockups - not his fault.

Paxo is too snide and abrasive. Some of your other suggestions might work.

Liberal Democrat Blogs