Jubilee flotilla coverage - why did the BBC get it so wrong

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

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www.keepturningleft.co.uk
Okay,

clearly it is not just us sailors and the Telegraph/Mail who thought the BBC made a horlicks of this great National event.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...s-inane-diamond-jubilee-coverage-7814668.html

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news...amentable-jubilee-river-pageant-coverage.html

http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2012/06/04/stephen-fry-leads-criticism-bbcs-coverage-diamond-jubilee

How did it come about that they invested so much time,effort,expertise and on-screen talent yet still got it wrong?

Clearly at some stage in the planning they had a coffee,biscuits and flip chart meeting where they decided between them that boats are boring.

During my journey around the coast it is clear that every interesting boat has an great story and there is usually some-one around to tell it - yet we were offered a diet of wet water colour painters, new born babies and mad over-acting pseudo historians

such a wonderful thing to film yet they kept on turning the cameras away from the main event.

Imagine covering other national events in the same way:

an FA cup final where they kept on switching over to a nearby hospital or had pie consumption swingometer

a royal wedding where they spent more time filming the crowd outside than the proceedings inside

Wimbledon final where they break away mid serve for a chat with a person selling strawberries.
 
I can say why and how they got it wrong in one word; arrogance.

'We're oh so highly paid and professional, we landed jobs with the beeb, we don't need to approach this with the care and research a newbie would apply, we'll just stick to the formula which makes the One Show one of the most lamely presented, lazy shows ever perpetrated'.
 
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Seajet said:
I can say why and how they got it wrong in one word; arrogance.

'We're oh so highly paid and professional, we landed jobs with the beeb, we don't need to approach this with the care and research a newbie would apply, we'll just stick to the formula which makes the Fast Show one of the most lamely presented, lazy shows ever perpetrated'.
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Highly paid and working for the BBC (off screen) are mutually exclusive.
 
We watched it in a bar here on Crete. The first time they switched away from the procession to some muppet in Battersea Park the local Greeks asked if it was all over now. By the third time they'd switched away to a nonsensical and seemingly unrelated "event" all the locals had got bored and left....
 
well....

Lakesailor said:
Have I misread this or are you saying that you agree it was badly handled?
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I watched it with landlubbers who enjoyed the event as covered by the BBC

and cooed at the babies and were very pleased to see Anneker again

but it was at my neighbours house on his massive TV

so I thought it was just me who thought they had missed the point

and I am always very keen to give my occasional employers the benefit of the doubt in that they understand the public better than I

however, it seems that I was not alone wanting to see more boats and fewer rebull fired up celebrity gobs

maybe just the pics of the boats, a well prepared dimblelby and a decent historian chosen for reasons other than their tumbling locks and great legs

Dylan
 
There was no coverage of the larger craft moored downstream of Tower Bridge, which is a great shame as for all intents and purposes they need not have bothered to make the effort. The overall very poor BBC presentation was bad and I am still wondering as to why they even bothered to include Tom Cunliffe's "contribution" which could have been so much more meaningful for the non-boating viewers.
 
I must say if I'd gone to the effort and no doubt expense of getting an interesting sailing - or for that matter motor - boat there, I'd be feeling pretty miffed.

There were full size square riggers fer chrissake !

I hope the social side between boats made up for it...
 
It was appalling coverage. I switched to Sky News which was much better. There was a thread on digital spy forums that went to over 2000 posts with most complaining.

The Points of View BBC message board was taken down at one stage due to complaints.

After a lifetime in the industry I find it a bit sad really. They can get it so right witness todays Church Service.

The concert had it difficulties not least running the credits over the firework finalle.

And while I am at it when the One show started I thought I was watching CBBC with that set. Its the "youth" market they perceive they need so shots no longer than a few seconds, continuous camera movement etc. The havent spotted they don't mostly watch this stuff anyway.

Its the M&S syndrome. Desperately seeking the youth market even though its the over 50's that have the cash.......
 
Lakesailor said:
Have I misread this or are you saying that you agree it was badly handled?
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No, the Beeb kept making a big issue of how brilliantly the Royal Barge was handled. It was all a bit OTT. :)

Yes, the barge was well handled, but the way the commentators kept going on about it was ridiculous.

But coverage for something like that is not for boaters, and combined with grotty weather I'm not sure there was much more they could do.
 
gerry99 said:
There was no coverage of the larger craft moored downstream of Tower Bridge, which is a great shame as for all intents and purposes they need not have bothered to make the effort. The overall very poor BBC presentation was bad and I am still wondering as to why they even bothered to include Tom Cunliffe's "contribution" which could have been so much more meaningful for the non-boating viewers.
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I don't know this is what happened, but this is what can happen.

The mobile cameras are uplinked to a helecopter, from there to, say, BT Tower, and from there via cable back to the control van.

You have a selection of cabled cameras too in case the helecopter is grounded. But you can't cable everything.

The clare balding mobile was working, which may mean the helecopter was flying, or that they had microwave point to point links for that as it was so critical.

So it could be part of the plan just didn't work and they were down to contingency stuff. There is usually more to it that meets the eye and it itsn't usually lacking for lack of thought.

The celebs however are clearly by design.........
 
The clare balding mobile was working, which may mean the helecopter was flying, or that they had microwave point to point links for that as it was so critical.

This may be where the rot set in and quickly uploaded to the mothership...
 
Rigger Mortice said:
But coverage for something like that is not for boaters, and combined with grotty weather I'm not sure there was much more they could do.
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Well, with 1000 boats, there must have been 1000 easily accessible stories. The pilot gigs from the west country. The Scottish coastal rowing project skiffs. The Australian surf boats. The little ships. The history of the leisure use of the Thames - the Thames skiffs, the steamboats etc. A little bit of research and they would have had relevant human interest stories coming out of their ears.

Out of interest, why was one of the ribs accompanying SoC wearing a Canadian ensign?
 
Keen_Ed said:
Well, with 1000 boats, there must have been 1000 easily accessible stories. The pilot gigs from the west country. The Scottish coastal rowing project skiffs. The Australian surf boats. The little ships. The history of the leisure use of the Thames - the Thames skiffs, the steamboats etc. A little bit of research and they would have had relevant human interest stories coming out of their ears.

Why was one of the ribs accompanying SoC flying a Canadian ensign?
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i would imagine that both ribs were armed guard
 
Keen_Ed said:
Well, with 1000 boats, there must have been 1000 easily accessible stories. The pilot gigs from the west country. The Scottish coastal rowing project skiffs. The Australian surf boats. The little ships. The history of the leisure use of the Thames - the Thames skiffs, the steamboats etc. A little bit of research and they would have had relevant human interest stories coming out of their ears.
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Quite.

This is the bit that frustrated me.

I could even have put up with the inane and shallow celebrities, but the boats seemed to be a bit of a side show for the BBC.... It was after all a 'Thames Pageant', not a Royal Parks pageant, nor a Lemin Drizzle pagaent, and not least, God forbid, a bloody cookery demonstration (at least the rubbish technology saved us from that drivle).
 
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