Frenchmen Murdered In Saudi Arabia

krizon

krizon

At the Start
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I'm wondering if I missed something in our own media - the shooting murder of four Frenchmen by a gang at the historic site of Madain Saleh, in Saudi Arabia, last week? We have continuing headlines and news about the kidnapped Brits in Ethiopia, but I haven't seen anything about the horrendous attack on the French people who were visiting the historic Arabian site. The accompanying women and children were spared, but the men shot dead outright, while a teenage boy who took a shot in the shoulder died later in hospital. Don't tell me we can't be bothered to report this because it doesn't affect British people?

Meanwhile, Yemen has just put 36 Al-Queda suspects on trial, and Saudi continues to fight gun battles with Al-Queda gangs, kill some, arrest others. We keep searching and arresting people in this country and it makes the headlines, but why does the 'war on terror' in other countries get short, or no, shrift?
 
Yes, online reports. Not exactly majoring in the printed or televised news, is it? Nothing on the night's tv coverage, no further follow-ups. If they'd been British, we'd have British Council spokesmen coverage, bodies flown home coverage, grieving families coverage, interviews with neighbours, endless talking heads from the Beeb's political section, etc., etc.

We seem to report 'international' news when it's about tornados in the US (as if they're totally unused to them), or the deaths of third-rate 'celebrities'. I'm with the criticisms that our televised news service is getting more and more infantile and insular.

There was a good example last night of the shape we're in, with a man reporting to the studio in blustery night-time weather about how bad the weather was. He was on for all of a minute - why? Are we unable to visualise blustery weather, or how dumb it is to go out in it and get swept away off sea fronts?
 
The BBC website's reports tend to replicate their radio and television broadcasts. Certainly I myself heard Radio 4 news at 1.00 covering the incident.
 
Okay, okay, two falls and a submission... I'm in a snit with news broadcasting generally at the moment, anyway. I thought this was overlooked while a gasping world sat in awe and wonder (or was it shock and awe) at the 'pink funeral' and over-groomed presenters exchanged moronic 'Hallos' and 'thank yews' all evening. And why we need six, seven people to front a few minutes of news about Lower Tickling's oldest inhabitant, and Little Snurdlington's three-legged dog, etc., while the world burns...

... rants on similarly into the wee small hours...
 
Krizon, I agree entirely with your views on the news coverage we get, most of the O/Bs could be scrapped and the news just read out. Item on yesterday on water rates, cue shot of water running from a tap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you new signature by the way. :laughing: :laughing: :luv:

Brian, you always seem very keen to defend the Beeb, are you a spin agent for them? :ph34r:
 
I have been wondering why so many O/B happen during the news, I completely agree with Colin, news is the same whether we have someone reporting from the place/event or about the place/event
 
Originally posted by Colin Phillips@Mar 6 2007, 07:19 AM
Brian, you always seem very keen to defend the Beeb, are you a spin agent for them?
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Not at all. And my son is a broadcaster with a radio competitor of theirs while his wife works for a TV competitor. I'll attack them with the rest when they deserve it but most of the stuff that is thrown at them is undeserved, whether inadvertently as in krizon's missing the news coverage of the Saudi incidents or the vested interest concoctions of such as James Murdoch and Paul Dacre.

Not a lot really riles me but the constant sniping that the organisation is unpatriotic because it reports both sides of issues such as conflicts in the middle east (a certain newspaper's sneering references to the "Baghdad Broadcasting Copporation" and comments on the number of non-white reporters and presenters in particular) get my goat.

Those who have experienced broadcast media elsewhere in the world will see that we should be grateful for a national broadcasting service that has remained so despite fairly regular attacks by politicians of all colours and those who have a commercial interest in reducing their sphere of influence. The BBC remains a source that people from other countries will turn to in times of troubles in an attempt to glean at least an element of the truth.

Now, if you want to hear my views on the administrative inefficiencies of the organisation, then grant me an hour or so of your time....
 
I've got an hour spare.

I do think they have gone mad with their "positive discrimination" (or whatever the fashionable/pc name for it is these days) policy.

It seems to me to be very perverse to have at least one woman on every sports event that they cover.

I am probably going to be accused of sexism here but the proportion of female presenters/reporters seems to be much higher than the number of women who are actually interested in sport, from my limited experience.

Another thing, if you are in an industry that depends on communication, it would seem to be appropriate to have a neutral and easily understood speaking voice, tell that to the people who run BBC radio.
 
Originally posted by Colin Phillips@Mar 6 2007, 12:22 PM
Another thing, if you are in an industry that depends on communication, it would seem to be appropriate to have a neutral and easily understood speaking voice, tell that to the people who run BBC radio.
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Unfortunately you can't get LBC News in Wales!

Ah, but you can, via the internet - The Morning Report from 6.00 am to 10.00 am Monday to Friday is recommended (though it does have a woman co-presenting).

Just click here - then you want the 1152 AM button:

LBC News
 
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