RTIR Reporting

[Robin]

I find it very annoying that there is so litle media coverage of the RTIR or indeed of any other sailing event. We normally go to Yarmouth to watch from the buoys but decided against this year in view of the forecast, but we had TV on all day sitting in our berth trying in vain to catch some kind of report. Even with a rained off Wimbledon the BBC couldn't find a free slot for someone to notice that a major event was on off the S Coast. Then we have our local paper (in Poole where hundreds of boats were competitors), apparently there might be a report in the 'sailing' section later in the week!

We often buy the French papers when over there, primarily for the forecasts, but EVERY day there is a round up of the local sailing in summer, from the Optimist dinghies for the kids on up to the big multis.

Rant over (until next time!)



<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[StephenSails]

Yes I agree with you completely.

Sailing is one of the sports where we did really well at the last Olympics and its about time our sailors deserve some coverage.

Unless I was being blind? the Sunday Times had no mention the race either.



<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yachtinguniverse.com>http://www.yachtinguniverse.com</A>

 

[bedouin]

Almost unbelievable isn't it.

It must rank as one of the biggest sporting events in the country in terms of number of competitors - probably only races like the London Marathon and the Great North run being bigger - and yet not a mention on the BBC

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[boatless]

Several pages on football in the Sunday Times, and not a mention either.

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[GeorgeP]

I think there may have been a fleeting reference on the back page of the Money Section.

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[tcm]

Re: surely...

...big outfits like orange will have a PR dept and be badgering the media?

or, surely SOMEBODY in all that fleet wd be involved in the tv/news industry?



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[robp]

It's amusing isn't it, that they think we want to sit and watch NOTHING HAPPENING during the rain at Wimbledon, whilst the RTI was on? Slight lack of lateral thinking!

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[Aja]

I suggest it must be very difficult for the BBC. Outside broadcasting at Wimbledon ties up a lot of cameras and crew. I know 'cos my father used to hop from foot to foot when weather delayed the kit from coming north for the Open which is held straight after Wimbledon if the matches hadn't been played.

I appreciate that local camera crews must be in the area - but to cover such a large area and the sheer scale of numbers would make it pretty pointless going out 'live' with a couple of cameras. Wouldn't do it justice.

In my opinion.

Donald

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[Robin]

Actually there is coverage by BBC South and/or Meridian camera teams since 2 second slots are flashed acoss the news, occasionally if they get a hole to fill on LOCAL coastal area TV then you might see a bit more, but a) it will not be publicised b) It will probably be shown on a weekend when we are all on our boats and c) It will be flippantly presented by that Gabby woman with a full orchestra playing loud and inappropriate music over it like for the Boatshows!

Harumph!



<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[jhr]

Very difficult for any TV company to give good coverage of yacht racing. IMHO this is because:

- It's difficult to convey the excitement and drama of an event that takes place at slow speeds; the best footage comes from things like Ellen MacArthur half way up a mast in a Southern Ocean gale.
- In order to give an idea of what's going on, you need both an arial view, which means chartering planes and filling them with expensive OB equipment, and filming from water level as well. The people who came nearest to getting this right were Southern TV, who used to hoof around the Solent in an ex MTB fitted with a couple of gas turbines. In the end, the cost all got too much, although I wonder what happened to their archives - they must have got some great footage over the years.
- It's very difficult to get a hook to hang it all on - no particularly glamorous figures in the sport and where there is something for them to latch on to, (Ms MacArthur again) it's "plucky little Ellen", not "Phwoar! What a stunna"!

In spite of all this, I think it's possible to make yacht racing exciting and telegenic but, in spite of the fact that (I think?) fishing and yachting are the 2 largest participant sports in the country, I don't think the Beeb can be bothered to make the effort /forums/images/icons/frown.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[Twister_Ken]

It used to be, at Cowes Week and other big regattas, that if the press turned up, everybody would look the other way, tack their boats away, etc. Didn't want their bosses to see them on Sportsnight when they were thought to be at granny's funeral.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[Lee_Shaw]

As a rule most of the general public want to see high speed crashes and semi naked women when it comes to automotive sport. Watching a bunch of white triangles going around an island at less than 15 miles an hour is about as boring as it gets for the majority of the population.

Sailing is exciting to do, but to watch it on a little box in the corner of the room- I dunno - it just doesn't seem to come across.

Only round the world in two weeks, proper offshore racing makes exciting telly - as was said above - with mast climbing, Southern Ocean surfing and wot not, and it's invariably the woman (in Ellen's case)/machine pitted against the elements aspect that makes this appealling. Without the human interest it loses almost all of it's appeal.

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[bedouin]

In recent years we have seen excellent coverage of match racing with the Sydney Olympics and the Americas Cup (but not on the Beeb) and in particular the "Virtual Spectator" technology adds an extra dimension to the coverage that is difficult to get in any other way.

The problem with RTIR of course is that it is a handicap race, so you can't really see the battles unfolding and it is very difficult to build up any sense of drama.

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[robp]

Well the 10,000 metres starring Paula Radcliffe went down quite well!

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[Jeremy_W]

But this is about making known an event that involves a large number of people doing something interesting. You'd cover it the same way they cover the Great North Run. Turn it into a human interest story:- a bit of elite pro (Orange); a bit of top level amateur (Exabyte); a bit of club amateurs (Contessa fleet); and finally a bit of "mum, dad and the kids" in an old Moody at the back of the fleet. But all face the same course.

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[boatless]

Club amateurs - OI, ref!

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[beancounter]

I've just come across a report on the Beeb website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/dorset/3843161.stm

Very much the "local interest" angle

<hr width=100% size=1>Fabricati Diem, punc

 

[jimi]

Agree completely .. TV coverage of sailing and rockclimbing is only marginally more interesting than cricket as a spectator sport.

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[Robin]

I would go along with that reluctantly, BUT the RTIR is a 'spectacle' event. The London Marathon is deadly boring as a sport but is of some interest as a spectacle - it gets a lot of media coverage too.

My other beef was with the BBC News reporting that Ellen 'failed' to break the record, factually correct maybe but the implied message is unfair. As I said elsewhere Beckham missed 2 important penalties but he was not reported as having 'failed', indeed everyone rallied behind him.

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[jimi]

Not me mate, I think Beckham is a complete tosser with a talent for media manipulation! His only football skill is his accuracy and power in kicking a dead ball .. and these skills seem to have gone the same way as his last penalty .. over and out!

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