The Daily Mail supported (still supports?) fascism, endorsing Hitler in the 30s and offending millions - they have never apologised.
Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross offend 2 people (the total number of complaints before the Daily Mail stirred it up) and they apologise fully, yet this meaningless circus dominate the front pages of every paper for a week. What a load of bollocks - sack the disgusting Mail editors who distort and lie about people's private lives on a daily basis - morals, my arse!
Whilst I find the DM to be an appalling rag whose policies I rarely, if ever, support (and if I did I don't like the way they argue them) it doesn't mean they are wrong on this issue.
ReplyDeleteWhilst I don't like either of these people's humour I accept that many do and the BBC does have to bow to all its licence payers and give them entertainment they want. I also have little sympathy for the A to Z list celebrities who appear on the programmes and they get all they deserve. Furthermore swearing on TV in context and after the witching hour doesn't bother me either, if I don't like it I don't watch, simple.
But this case was different. Andrew Sachs wasn’t on the show when it was recorded and didn’t have a chance to defend himself other than a garbled mobile phone call. If he had been in the studio there would be body language and off air comments if Ross and Brand were going too far, which would provide a natural break.
Moreover, Sach's grand daughter didn't have the right of reply and no matter what you think of her, 3rd persons should not be abused like that.
Should the stars have gone?
It shouldn't have even been aired but given that it was, probably not in hindsight for the first offence but possible for compounding it as if it were some sort of joke, but I suppose they are paid to be infantile, immature, oafs who bully people they don't like or agree with. So calling for their heads now is a bit late.
However, what they did wasn't stepping over the line it was jumping over it. The fact that it was recorded and put out shows a significant management failure and it was right that the Controller lost her job. They knew that these two were always close to the bone, which is why their shows were reviewed before being aired.
We are told it will stifle talent. I don't think so and anyway this wasn't the product of talent, it was the product of ego and people being so start struck they lost all sense of proportion.
So initially 2 people complained, so what?. That 2 complained should be seen as significant anyway. Those that listen to the show know what to expect so shouldn't be offended, that they were shows that they went over the top.
Just because some of us didn't hear the show doesn't mean we don't have a right to express our disapproval whenever the BBC, a public body operating in all our names, is out of line. In this case they were and it wasn't just the DM that raised concerns, other newspapers did as well, although not in the DM's style!
That it all got blown out of proportion is the fault of the BBC's leaden footed management. An immediate apology, donation to Children In Need from the stars and slap on the wrist would have killed this off. Instead we go obfuscation, waffle and confusion. They brought it on themselves and are now paying the price.
If it had been a private company doing this we could have expressed our concerns by not listening and writing to the advertisers and they would have been starved of funds. We don't have the same impact with the BBC so other methods of expressing our disapproval are needed and it is also why the BBC management needs to be on its toes and sensitive to the public mood.
What gets me is the hypocrisy of the press and the public. The Mail intrudes into and publishes the most disgusting lies about people's private lives every day causing untold distress and nobody ever calls for their editor to be sacked. The press receive far more complaints than the BBC every year but the toothless press complaints commision do nothing.
ReplyDeleteEver since Jonathan Ross made a fool of David Cameron with his 'wank over Thatcher' jibe, the Mail has been out to get him. And the BBC is a significant competitor for the Murdoch/Rothermere media empires - they will never miss a trick to kick it and make up gross distortions about how poor value the licence fee is when it is less than buying the Daily Mail - just think what the BBC has contributed to our cultural life compared to the Daily Mail which has dragged Britain into the gutter with its pervy stories while trying to act all moral. The Mail is a disgrace, and it is a shame the public haven't woken up to this fact! The BBC will always be more moral and informative than that disgusting rag and when the BBC is dead and buried under the Tories, we will all realise what we have lost.
@ The Great Simpleton 3/11/2008 12:37pm
ReplyDelete'That 2 complained should be seen as significant anyway.'..
I have waited for years for Mr Harding to say something remotely sensible, and when he does (in spite of it actually being a comment on an issue that I would personally agree with you as having been highly unsavoury) you spoil it by responding with something as daft as that?
Neither wonder we suffer from the tyranny of the minority, as 20th century witchfinders drag the masses in their wake, seeking out the incubi and succubi that prove some unfortunate's alliance with whichever Great Satan is this week's bete noir...
And before you get all po faced...remember, you wrote '3rd persons should not be abused like that' - well, have a look at your descriptions of Jacqui Smith & Trevor Phillips on your own blog before you start pointing fingers at others. It's not that I mind you doing that. I just don't like inconsistency.
Jacqui Smith and Trevor Phillips are in positions of priveledge and when they make satements they are fair game for comment. I never make comments about their families and won't unless the family start to make public pronouncements.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Sachs and his Grand Daughter hadn't put their heads above the parapit and as such they didn't deserve what happened to them. If Andrew Sachs had gone on the programme he knew what he was in for and would have been fair game, but his family still wouldn't have been.