Forum Topic

BBC weather obsession

Does anybody else think it odd that the BBC often cut the Downing St briefing about 5 mins before the 6 o’clock news to bring us a weather forecast? Especially when we get the same forecast at 6.30pm? Very odd.

Pippa Meldrum ● 2373d16 Comments

Might be "padding".

Jennifer Selig ● 2372d

One could say the same about the briefing - shown at 5pm and then repeated ad nauseam on 6pm.My elderly parents (who haven't got any form of dementia) religiously now watch the news at 9am, 1pm, 6pm and 10pm, plus the briefing at 5pm, yet they don't seem to know 1/4 of the news that I know - a good indication of how reliance on one media source can result is misinformation or a lack of wider awareness.

Adam Beamish ● 2372d

Out of interest Adam, what are your other sources of information making up the remaining 75%?

Andrew Jones ● 2372d

A complete mixture, many stories on the BBC website aren't reported on the news, various newspapers, even (a shocking confession) Mail Online so that I have a vague awareness of who Z list celebrities are, Wikipedia and so forth.Normally I don't watch the TV news at all, it's only that I'm currently 'stuck' up north with elderly parents and genuinely shocked at how much they lap up BBC News.

Adam Beamish ● 2372d

Andrew wants to discredit all non-BBC media sources. We know what he's like; and we know what the BBC is like, especially in relation to 'COVID-19' - an absolute disgrace; and the people of this country are going to suffer immensely as a result of the BS they've broadcast in support of our corrupt government.

Michael Brown ● 2372d

I have not watched the BBC news in over a year now and many have ditched it.

Julian Pavey ● 2372d

I've given up watching the daily Covid gloomfest. For one thing, I can't do anything about it, no matter how optimistic or pessimistic it is. Secondly, it's confusing, since the various politicians and experts are generally working on 'best guesses' based on their interpretation of statistics rather than hard facts. And thirdly, anything of any significance will be endlessly repeated on news bulletins for the rest of the day. Until there's a vaccine, nothing can really change, and even then, the logistics of vaccinating the entire population of the world are pretty well beyond comprehension.

Colin Jordan ● 2372d

"Andrew wants to discredit all non-BBC media sources" - No I don't, I was simply asking a question of Adam and he replied.I'm not aware of trying to discredit any particular media sources, could you elaborate and name a couple of media sources that you think I have tried to discredit? What I feel I've tried to do is put forward evidence from credible sources, and some of that evidence is in contradiction to things I believe you are trying to suggest are true, and I'm leaving it to other people on this forum to make their own minds up about it."We know what he's like". Maybe you do, though I don't know how. But please tell me, what exactly am I like according to you? And who are you referring to when you say "we".

Andrew Jones ● 2372d

Why is it that almost every thread ends up getting personal?

Pippa Meldrum ● 2372d

Do your parents read newspapers? Mine are of an age where their eyesight is such that it's difficult for them to read newspapers as much as they used to even a couple of years ago.I'm not shocked by your 'confession' - many articles I read in the Mail Online are coherent and readable, and come up quite high up on the search engine results. Don't have much interest in Z-list celebrities though.Thanks for the reply, I genuinely was interested, in spite of what someone else was suggesting my motives were in asking you.

Andrew Jones ● 2372d

I suspect part of it is down to feeling you are able to say things that you might not say face to face. Maybe people feel they need to vent. And there have to be all sorts of other reasons. The psychology of people's responses on forums, there's a good subject for a dissertation for someone, though I expect it's been done a few times already.

Andrew Jones ● 2372d

Part of the News Channel programme order(which is the special that appears on BBC1) the programme has to run the weather and trails (mini programme adds) to allow the on air presenter leave, get them SIX o’clock presenter in, change over of director & journalistic production team technically set and clean the desk & computer between presenters & broadcast journals/editors.  You would not normally notice as the 5pm bulletin normally(before COVID) comes from a different studio. But as we are running on less staff, we are using one studio and combining all the  outputs of News Channel,  BBC1 bulletins & BBC World.  Yours a BBC News director

Jacqueline Whiston ● 2368d

Very true Colin - fully agree with everything you've said.

Jennifer Selig ● 2368d

Listen to (BBC) Radio 4 instead, where the wonderful Evan Davis just politely cuts short the tedious “tell us nothing new” briefings and goes to a more interesting interview.

Beryl Wall ● 2368d

Thanks, Jacqueline! Very interesting.

Pippa Meldrum ● 2367d

… can  I suggest Luton.Swindon's nice too, although a bit further afield..oops sorry! wrong thread

Stuart Kerr ● 2367d