the state of television

[King Nuts]

I mostly stick to watching the streamers. Amazon Prime and Netflix between them have almost everything a person of good conscience and in search of wholesome entertainment would want to watch.

But with the lockdown, I've had the time to watch some network programming. Fuck me, has it all gone downhill or what?

Firstly, there's that BBC weather woman bint with one arm. Yeah, we get it. Y'all at the BBC are inclusive, but does the stump really need to be on show? Then there's that BBC news correspondent who's obviously blind and has eyes in different parts of his head. I take nothing away from his skill as a broadcaster and correspondent, but let's face it, the dude has a face for radio. I feel like we're being provoked. Say anything critical, and you'll get lambasted for being disablist or something. But I'm not. This is TV. The messenger shouldn't be the message.

Then there's the One Show. It's worse than sitting in the dentists and reading 'Chat' magazine.

BBC dramas. Every single one infested with PC writing and casting. Noughts and Crosses is absurd, racist dross. As are most of the rest.

Continuity announcements. Heavily accented, and most of them with 'attitude'.

But it's the adverts that take the biscuit. If I was the boss of Tesco, I'd want the adverts to ram home the message that we sell loads of things you want, at a price you're going to be OK with. Show the fucking products. Not some fake, feel-good, Central Casting households where at least half of the members are either gay or BAME. Or both. The rest of the adverts are mostly just as dismal. Every major brand trying to get their virtue-signalling points in about diversity. Here's an idea: don't show the audience. Show the fucking product.

In the old days, this is what we had:

1. News read by somebody who was so dull and ordinary looking that we didn't think about them. We just listened to what they said.

2. Documentaries about anything from politics to wildlife that didn't have some thundering soundtrack filling every second of screen time. (I mean, I love watching 'Coast' and the Attenborough docs, but the fucking nonstop music is insane.)

3. Chat shows like Parkinson, where he'd spend an entire commercial-free hour talking with a celeb of the day, like Cassius Clay or Michael Caine.

4. Comedy that was funny, satirical, and provocative. Till Death. Likely Lads. It Aint Half Hot. Steptoe. Spitting Image. Yes Minister. None of these shows would get a look in now, on the grounds they're not inclusive enough.

5. Adverts that were witty and inventive. The Guinness ads. Refreshes the parts. For mash get smash. Beattie's 'you got an ology'. Cinzano with Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins, and so on.


Lamentable. What the hell has happened.

[willie loman]

Yeah I really miss Parkinson, sums up what was really awful about the past, fawning questions, well rehearsed and oft repeated anedotes,

[lewisjones23]

political correctness ruined tv

[winkywanky]

I mostly stick to watching the streamers. Amazon Prime and Netflix between them have almost everything a person of good conscience and in search of wholesome entertainment would want to watch.

But with the lockdown, I've had the time to watch some network programming. Fuck me, has it all gone downhill or what?

Firstly, there's that BBC weather woman bint with one arm. Yeah, we get it. Y'all at the BBC are inclusive, but does the stump really need to be on show? Then there's that BBC news correspondent who's obviously blind and has eyes in different parts of his head. I take nothing away from his skill as a broadcaster and correspondent, but let's face it, the dude has a face for radio. I feel like we're being provoked. Say anything critical, and you'll get lambasted for being disablist or something. But I'm not. This is TV. The messenger shouldn't be the message.

Then there's the One Show. It's worse than sitting in the dentists and reading 'Chat' magazine.

BBC dramas. Every single one infested with PC writing and casting. Noughts and Crosses is absurd, racist dross. As are most of the rest.

Continuity announcements. Heavily accented, and most of them with 'attitude'.

But it's the adverts that take the biscuit. If I was the boss of Tesco, I'd want the adverts to ram home the message that we sell loads of things you want, at a price you're going to be OK with. Show the fucking products. Not some fake, feel-good, Central Casting households where at least half of the members are either gay or BAME. Or both. The rest of the adverts are mostly just as dismal. Every major brand trying to get their virtue-signalling points in about diversity. Here's an idea: don't show the audience. Show the fucking product.

In the old days, this is what we had:

1. News read by somebody who was so dull and ordinary looking that we didn't think about them. We just listened to what they said.

2. Documentaries about anything from politics to wildlife that didn't have some thundering soundtrack filling every second of screen time. (I mean, I love watching 'Coast' and the Attenborough docs, but the fucking nonstop music is insane.)

3. Chat shows like Parkinson, where he'd spend an entire commercial-free hour talking with a celeb of the day, like Cassius Clay or Michael Caine.

4. Comedy that was funny, satirical, and provocative. Till Death. Likely Lads. It Aint Half Hot. Steptoe. Spitting Image. Yes Minister. None of these shows would get a look in now, on the grounds they're not inclusive enough.

5. Adverts that were witty and inventive. The Guinness ads. Refreshes the parts. For mash get smash. Beattie's 'you got an ology'. Cinzano with Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins, and so on.


Lamentable. What the hell has happened.

Well of course the BBC has to fully represent UK society, and show that everyone in it should have a fair chance at doing any job within their capability. That's the Public service, publicy-funded bit, which it needs to justify to the govt, and to the people who pay for it.

So the weather girl...she's good at her job (initially shy) but damned cute and fuckable  . Leave the poor girl alone  .

Gary O'Donohue? Bloody good at his job. Why shouldn't he do it? Get over yourself, if you can't see past his disability, sort yourself out. The messenger isn't the message if you're not making him one?

The One Show...well it is a lighthearted magazine show, perhaps not your cup of tea. Fair enough. Alex Jones though? Very fuckable, and they occasionally have some very good guests on IMO.

I agree with you about the way BBC Drama has gone. Every. Fucking. One. is. Making. A. Fucking. Point. With non-stop virtue-signalling, if it isn't in the actual plot, the cast is full of it, with a BAME quotient which is always way over the national average, regardless of where the drama is set, and women in all the positions of power and the white men being mainly ineffectual or ego-driven twats. Of course they should represent society as it is, but this is ramming it down our throats.

Continuity Announcers: again, they are quite happy to have semi-street Black voices, but when have they ever had a Cockney or a Scouse or a Brummie accent? Never. It's quite possible to have clearly Black and ethnic voices without being so extreme. They're trying too hard with this. I do get it in a way, because the BBC, quite rightly, have to be able to demonstrate that they are attracting and serving viewers from ALL of UK society, but I think they have the balance wrong.

As for adverts (obvs ITV), and while we're at it, BBC Drama again, of course show mixed marriages and relationships. But to ALWAYS have a blonde with a Black guy? Perleeze  . Get some more Black actresses on, and show them in relationships with White guys. It's starting to look like Mandingo gets his own back for Slavery.

Agree about the levels of music on pretty well everything. It's not even just about the levels, it's BADLY DUBBED. The dialogue track is completely mangled because the spotty teenager who probably never had proper Sound training (and certainly none at the BBC), has smashed it through a compressor and totally killed the dynamics (making it actually less intelligible) in the mistaken belief that if it hits the top of the meter he can pile as much music on as he wants. WRONG. It's completely unforgivable, and the BBC seems powerless to sort it out. And this is at a time when the population is ageing and suffering hearing loss. Don't get me started on the subtitles, the semi-literate spelling and use of the wrong words (that sound the same) drive me up the wall. This isn't on live TV, this is on 'groundbreaking BBC Drama' at XMillion Pounds a minute. And it's Red Bee Media, another sold-off ex-BBC 'enterprise' seemingly staffed by spotty teenagers who have degrees but somehow can't spell. WTF?

Spitting Image is allegedly returning, but I suspect behind a paywall on BritBox? Shame. And Yes, Prime Minister, never has there been a better time to bring it back, plenty of stuff for them to get their teeth into.

There IS lots of good stuff on telly if you take the time to seek it out, and yes, even on the BBC, KN. But it's normally found on BBC2 or BBC4, so I suggest you take a look at the schedules regularly to make sure you're getting your money's-worth for your £150. It IS good value IMO, but you have to seek out what's for you  .

[willie loman]

In real life you rarely see a black girl with a white guy, not in Britain, so why should they start having this on telly,

[winkywanky]

They seem keen on suggesting other desirable things that aren't common, so why not that?

[timsussex]

Yeah I really miss Parkinson, sums up what was really awful about the past, fawning questions, well rehearsed and oft repeated anedotes,

while they pushed their latest book, film or album - which they give lots of false reasons for making , - its a tory that had to be told...…., when I saw the script …..this music comes from within me.....this is the album I've always wanted to make ….. All a load of crap its all about the money

I used to watch Jonathon Ross (or Woss) hoping that some guest would remind him of the nasty things he said about them on Film99

[King Nuts]

Gary O'Donohue? Bloody good at his job. Why shouldn't he do it? Get over yourself, if you can't see past his disability, sort yourself out. The messenger isn't the message if you're not making him one?



There IS lots of good stuff on telly if you take the time to seek it out, and yes, even on the BBC, KN. But it's normally found on BBC2 or BBC4, so I suggest you take a look at the schedules regularly to make sure you're getting your money's-worth for your £150. It IS good value IMO, but you have to seek out what's for you  .

What is this '£150' you speak of?

I agree that Mr O'Donohue is an excellent correspondent. I've been listening to him for years on the radio. My point is that his appearance is distracting. It bloody well is. But more to the point, I think the BBC is provoking us by saying if we don't accept someone deformed-looking on television, then we're the bad guys. Maybe they have a right to do that, but in my opinion, they do not. We expect a filter on the BBC. I don't want to hear a newsreader farting on air, for instance. Maybe they'll hire someone to read the news who's got some form of gastric ailment which means they can't stop farting all the time. Would that be OK too? It'll be amusing, but not for long.

You're right, of course, about some of the stuff on BBC2 and 4. But even Newsnight has gone down the pan. On the other hand, 'detectorists' is one of the finest shows ever made (though the BBC didn't actually make it, someone else did.)

[smiths]

I am not just interested in wholesome entertainment, plenty of stuff available for me to watch fortunately. I also like old shows like Waking The Dead with Trevor Eve, New Tricks and The Bill all on Drama.

My fave show at present is Googlebox and watching the older episodes that are repeated in the early hours some nights on E4 which I didn't see first time round. A good laugh can be had for me watching it.

Of course due to the virus some shows have stopped filming so like with Corrie they are only showing a few episodes a week now and will run out at some stage if lockdown continues. Some others are showing old episodes.

Quiz shown this week about Charles Ingram and his wife on ITV1 was quite good I thought. 

[smiths]

Gary ODonahue is a very good reporter in my view, I couldn't give a shit what he looks like, I go on how well he gets the points he is making across. He is a very clear communicator in my observations.

My main gripe with BBC reporters particulary political reporters is there are far too many of them, halve them and make the rest do the work, and then save the red button service the BBC went to get rid of and stop putting the licence fee up.

[GingerNuts]

What is this '£150' you speak of?

Presumably the TV Licence fee.

[snaitram99]

Quiz shown this week about Charles Ingram and his wife on ITV1 was quite good I thought.

Yes it was very good, although I think it portrayed the major as more of a prat than he actually was. Did you find yourself wondering if the guilty verdict was correct?

[King Nuts]

Presumably the TV Licence fee.

Sometimes I think my humour is wasted here.

[Squire Haggard]

The points about the BBC mentioned above bug me as well. We are being constantly preached at in the name of PC. Another thing that annoys me is the rampant feminism still taking its revenge on us for the wrongs past decades and centuries. I find Laura Kuenssberg to be inane, and only there because she's not an older man.

[David1970]

Lamentable. What the hell has happened.

You have got old and are out of touch, life moves on, society moves on, tastes move on and you are stuck in the past a grumpy old man.

[smiths]

Yes it was very good, although I think it portrayed the major as more of a prat than he actually was. Did you find yourself wondering if the guilty verdict was correct?

I thought it was made in a biased way for him and his wife being innocent, I go on what the verdict was though. I also think they were guilty.

[smiths]

The points about the BBC mentioned above bug me as well. We are being constantly preached at in the name of PC. Another thing that annoys me is the rampant feminism still taking its revenge on us for the wrongs past decades and centuries. I find Laura Kuenssberg to be inane, and only there because she's not an older man.

Whereas I think Kuenssberg is an excellent political editor, I would of preferred to have seen Norman Smith get the job instead of her though, or Vicky Young who I find is one of the best reporters in getting what she is saying across in a clear and concise manner. The best person for the job is what I want to see, be that a man, a woman or a transsexual.

PC certainly is a problem generally in my view, its stopping honest debate on the main channels with some being too scared to be honest in case they suffer a backlash and get sacked.

[King Nuts]

You have got old and are out of touch, life moves on, society moves on, tastes move on and you are stuck in the past a grumpy old man.

So you don't actually have anything useful to add to the debate. You just take a pop at me.

It's like Groundhog Day with you, innit.

[winkywanky]

What is this '£150' you speak of?

I agree that Mr O'Donohue is an excellent correspondent. I've been listening to him for years on the radio. My point is that his appearance is distracting. It bloody well is. But more to the point, I think the BBC is provoking us by saying if we don't accept someone deformed-looking on television, then we're the bad guys. Maybe they have a right to do that, but in my opinion, they do not. We expect a filter on the BBC. I don't want to hear a newsreader farting on air, for instance. Maybe they'll hire someone to read the news who's got some form of gastric ailment which means they can't stop farting all the time. Would that be OK too? It'll be amusing, but not for long.

You're right, of course, about some of the stuff on BBC2 and 4. But even Newsnight has gone down the pan. On the other hand, 'detectorists' is one of the finest shows ever made (though the BBC didn't actually make it, someone else did.)

£157.50, for the licence fee.

How you could compare a newsreader farting live On Air with being blind and in front of a News camera is beyond me 

As for who makes BBC shows, just like ITV pretty well all the shows are put out to tender to independent production companies, and have been for many years now, certainly at least 15yrs.

Some of these will be those companies pitching their own ideas, some are from 'in-house'.

[winkywanky]

I am not just interested in wholesome entertainment, plenty of stuff available for me to watch fortunately. I also like old shows like Waking The Dead with Trevor Eve, New Tricks and The Bill all on Drama.

My fave show at present is Googlebox and watching the older episodes that are repeated in the early hours some nights on E4 which I didn't see first time round. A good laugh can be had for me watching it.

Of course due to the virus some shows have stopped filming so like with Corrie they are only showing a few episodes a week now and will run out at some stage if lockdown continues. Some others are showing old episodes.

Quiz shown this week about Charles Ingram and his wife on ITV1 was quite good I thought.

Corrie and EastEnders both have around 7wks-worth of episodes in the can, as a buffer.

So if for example they cut the weekly showings down by half, that would be 14wks of being able to keep showing them.

[winkywanky]

Gary ODonahue is a very good reporter in my view, I couldn't give a shit what he looks like, I go on how well he gets the points he is making across. He is a very clear communicator in my observations.

My main gripe with BBC reporters particulary political reporters is there are far too many of them, halve them and make the rest do the work, and then save the red button service the BBC went to get rid of and stop putting the licence fee up.

I don't think anyone here knows what the workload is of the average BBC reporter. Yes, you could cut them but then you'd inevitably lose reach and coverage, and have to rely more on regurgitating stories from other big providers like Reuters.

You want to save the Red Button, but then you want to stop putting the licence fee up. You can't have both, you can't have something for nothing, and infation in the TV sector is higher than inflation on the outside.

It's easy to cherry pick stuff you don't like and say get rid of that, don't put the licence fee up. But then everyone has different ideas of what they want from the BBC.

It's easy to say (and many do) that Gary Lineker earns this, and John Humphrys earns that, and certainly there have been excesses in the past, for various reasons. A lot of these are contracts for 2/3yrs which have to be honoured until they expire, and then renegotiated. AFAIK they are working hard on this, which is why you don't see big stars/presenters exclusively on the BBC any more, a bit like Lineker doing ITV and BT Sport as well as the BBC.

At the end of the day the BBC has to be at least somewhat competitive in salaries to get the best talent in front of the camera, and it's also true to say that many of them will actually work for less on the BBC, purely to be there. That's more common than people know. Of course that may just be a career move in itself, to get better exposure, nevertheless it happens a lot.

[King Nuts]

How you could compare a newsreader farting live On Air with being blind and in front of a News camera is beyond me 

Because I like being facetious, as you must have noticed.

[winkywanky]

The points about the BBC mentioned above bug me as well. We are being constantly preached at in the name of PC. Another thing that annoys me is the rampant feminism still taking its revenge on us for the wrongs past decades and centuries. I find Laura Kuenssberg to be inane, and only there because she's not an older man.

I think you'll find Kuenssberg is just about the most highly respected British Political Correspondent in the country, both within the Houses of Parliament and outside it.

But I think it's true to say the BBC are making a point about getting women on-screen (and of course making sure they get paid the same as men  ).

I don't mind that so much if they're good, and I think most of them are, and bloody good too.

Vicky Young, Katya Adler, many more (and many of them obscenely hot IMO  ).

[winkywanky]

Because I like being facetious, as you must have noticed.

I know mate  .

I do think this is an important point to be made though (boringly)...we should all feel comfortable about one-armed weathergirls and less-than-pretty, blind US Correspondents.

If we're not, it says more about us than it does about them.

[King Nuts]

It's easy to say (and many do) that Gary Lineker earns this, and John Humphrys earns that, and certainly there have been excesses in the past, for various reasons.

The 'various reasons' you mention have a lot to do, firstly, with context. A former DG was earning 800k per annum, if you recall. Secondly, the 'market' for top talent is small. It's either the BBC, ITV or Sky. That's it. Chris Evans isn't going to go and work for North Norfolk Digital, so if he's being paid millions to keep things 'competitive', that's bollocks.

The top end of management and so-called talent at the BBC routinely earn 300k-400k and beyond. It has no relation to the real world.

[winkywanky]

Whereas I think Kuenssberg is an excellent political editor, I would of preferred to have seen Norman Smith get the job instead of her though, or Vicky Young who I find is one of the best reporters in getting what she is saying across in a clear and concise manner. The best person for the job is what I want to see, be that a man, a woman or a transsexual.

PC certainly is a problem generally in my view, its stopping honest debate on the main channels with some being too scared to be honest in case they suffer a backlash and get sacked.

smiths: I would of preferred to have seen Norman Smith get the job instead of her


But that would be blatant nepotism...I'll get me coat...

[catweazle]

Sometimes the PC element is so extreme it puts me right off.  I recall watching a play on BBC2. A king and his wife had twin sons.

The king and queen were played by white actors. One of the sons was played by a white actor, but the other was played by a black actor. It is stretching the imagination to think that a white couple could have twins, one of whom was jet black.  He was a fine actor, spoke well but it just jarred with me.

[David1970]

So you don't actually have anything useful to add to the debate. You just take a pop at me.

It's like Groundhog Day with you, innit.

King Nut I was responding to yet another new thread you have started. You could have cut out the long winded body of the text and just posted the last line. The last line express your general feeling of bewilderment at the modern world.

The BBC TV should be privatised, and encoded like SKY TV so those who want it can pay for it and those who don’t want to watch it don’t pay.

King Nut have you ever thought of watching Gold TV, full of old repeats just up your street and not bewildering.

[King Nuts]

I know mate  .

I do think this is an important point to be made though (boringly)...we should all feel comfortable about one-armed weathergirls and less-than-pretty, blind US Correspondents.

If we're not, it says more about us than it does about them.

Yes, you're right, but there's two parts to this.

1. We ought to be tolerant, forgiving, inclusive, understanding etc etc. I agree with all that.

2. I don't think we need to be provoked into it. And TV does this. It does it with ads, with drama, with the aforementioned weather girl, and relentless news bias/activism.

[winkywanky]

The 'various reasons' you mention have a lot to do, firstly, with context. A former DG was earning 800k per annum, if you recall. Secondly, the 'market' for top talent is small. It's either the BBC, ITV or Sky. That's it. Chris Evans isn't going to go and work for North Norfolk Digital, so if he's being paid millions to keep things 'competitive', that's bollocks.

The top end of management and so-called talent at the BBC routinely earn 300k-400k and beyond. It has no relation to the real world.

It's true what you say about top talent wanting/needing to be on BBC, ITV or Sky (and yes, probably in that order).

Specifically Chris Evans, pretty sure I remember him working on R2 for a LOT less than he could have got on Virgin Radio? Something like that, I seem to remember.

Similarly, he was working on the revamped Top Gear for a lot less than his usual fee? He can afford to do this of course, he's stinking rich, but an example neverthleless.


The top end of management and so-called talent at the BBC routinely earn 300k-400k and beyond. It has no relation to the real world. It's all very well saying that, but TV bears no relation to the real world, a bit like (but not nearly as bad as) footballers.

[winkywanky]

Yes, you're right, but there's two parts to this.

1. We ought to be tolerant, forgiving, inclusive, understanding etc etc. I agree with all that.

2. I don't think we need to be provoked into it. And TV does this. It does it with ads, with drama, with the aforementioned weather girl, and relentless news bias/activism.

You find it provoking. I don't. I think many don't.

I think many are initially taken aback a little, but then just get over it and listen to what he has to say, which is how it should be.

There's no wrong and right in this.

Although I would say you're wrong   .

[cotton]

Whereas I think Kuenssberg is an excellent political editor, I would of preferred to have seen Norman Smith get the job instead of her though, or Vicky Young who I find is one of the best reporters in getting what she is saying across in a clear and concise manner. The best person for the job is what I want to see, be that a man, a woman or a transsexual.

PC certainly is a problem generally in my view, its stopping honest debate on the main channels with some being too scared to be honest in case they suffer a backlash and get sacked.

While i like Julian Clary im not sure id want him presenting the news 

[David1970]

The 'various reasons' you mention have a lot to do, firstly, with context. A former DG was earning 800k per annum, if you recall. Secondly, the 'market' for top talent is small. It's either the BBC, ITV or Sky. That's it. Chris Evans isn't going to go and work for North Norfolk Digital, so if he's being paid millions to keep things 'competitive', that's bollocks.

The top end of management and so-called talent at the BBC routinely earn 300k-400k and beyond. It has no relation to the real world.

King Knut soccer players are worse when it comes to over inflated wages.
I suppose the government could could bring a kind of wage control, what do you think King Nut?

[winkywanky]

King Nut I was responding to yet another new thread you have started. You could have cut out the long winded body of the text and just posted the last line. The last line express your general feeling of bewilderment at the modern world.

The BBC TV should be privatised, and encoded like SKY TV so those who want it can pay for it and those who don’t want to watch it don’t pay.

King Nut have you ever thought of watching Gold TV, full of old repeats just up your street and not bewildering.

Many would disagree with that, especially when told what the actual consequences would be. Things are never as simple as they seem.

I think what definitely does need to happen, is for there to be a big and open public debate about the way forward for the BBC.

[David1970]

Many would disagree with that, especially when told what the actual consequences would be. Things are never as simple as they seem.

I think what definitely does need to happen, is for there to be a big and open public debate about the way forward for the BBC.

Lots of people moan about paying the BBC licence, if they don’t want that’s fine but they don’t get the BBC TV, it gives them a choice. If you could buy different channels BBC,1, 2 or 4, I personally would only choose BBC4.
Why not privatises all BBC radio stations, selling them off to the highest bidder, they are part of the licence fee, this would make money for the exchequer.

[Squire Haggard]

She's not alone in sounding inane when she shouts questions at passing politicians, when its obvious that they are not going to answer. I wish they would tell them to stop being so inane. Dominic Cummings did a couple of months ago, to his credit.

Her well connected background grates with me as well. I would rather see someone with an ordinary background get the job.

''Kuenssberg was born in Italy in 1976 to Nick and Sally Kuenssberg.[3] Her father is a businessman and her mother worked in children's services and received a CBE for this in the 2000 New Year Honours.[4][5] Her paternal grandfather was Ekkehard von Kuenssberg, a co-founder, and president of the Royal College of General Practitioners.[6] Her maternal grandfather was the Scottish high court judge Lord Robertson and his brother Sir James Wilson Robertson was the last British Governor-General of Nigeria. Her older brother David is executive director of finance and resources at Brighton and Hove City Council.[7] Her older sister Joanna Kuenssberg is a former diplomat, having served as high commissioner to Mozambique.[6]

Her father worked in Italy for British company Coats Viyella for a number of years.[8] Kuenssberg grew up in Glasgow, with her brother and sister,[9] and attended Laurel Bank School, a private girls' school.''

External Link/Members Only

[King Nuts]

The top end of management and so-called talent at the BBC routinely earn 300k-400k and beyond. It has no relation to the real world. It's all very well saying that, but TV bears no relation to the real world, a bit like (but not nearly as bad as) footballers.

Well, don't you think that the BBC at least needs to bear some relation to the real world, given we're all forced to pay for it on pain of imprisonment?

[King Nuts]

She's not alone in sounding inane when she shouts questions at passing politicians, when its obvious that they are not going to answer. I wish they would tell them to stop being so inane. Dominic Cummings did a couple of months ago, to his credit.

Her well connected background grates with me as well. I would rather see someone with an ordinary background get the job.

''Kuenssberg was born in Italy in 1976 to Nick and Sally Kuenssberg.[3] Her father is a businessman and her mother worked in children's services and received a CBE for this in the 2000 New Year Honours.[4][5] Her paternal grandfather was Ekkehard von Kuenssberg, a co-founder, and president of the Royal College of General Practitioners.[6] Her maternal grandfather was the Scottish high court judge Lord Robertson and his brother Sir James Wilson Robertson was the last British Governor-General of Nigeria. Her older brother David is executive director of finance and resources at Brighton and Hove City Council.[7] Her older sister Joanna Kuenssberg is a former diplomat, having served as high commissioner to Mozambique.[6]

Her father worked in Italy for British company Coats Viyella for a number of years.[8] Kuenssberg grew up in Glasgow, with her brother and sister,[9] and attended Laurel Bank School, a private girls' school.''

External Link/Members Only

You say all this as if it's a bad thing. But these posh girls can be quite naughty. Dirty, even. I wonder if she is.

I might look at her in a different light now.

[David1970]

Well, don't you think that the BBC at least needs to bear some relation to the real world, given we're all forced to pay for it on pain of imprisonment?

King Nut the answer is scrap the licence fee and privatisation, would you not agree?

[smiths]

I don't think anyone here knows what the workload is of the average BBC reporter. Yes, you could cut them but then you'd inevitably lose reach and coverage, and have to rely more on regurgitating stories from other big providers like Reuters.

You want to save the Red Button, but then you want to stop putting the licence fee up. You can't have both, you can't have something for nothing, and infation in the TV sector is higher than inflation on the outside.

It's easy to cherry pick stuff you don't like and say get rid of that, don't put the licence fee up. But then everyone has different ideas of what they want from the BBC.

It's easy to say (and many do) that Gary Lineker earns this, and John Humphrys earns that, and certainly there have been excesses in the past, for various reasons. A lot of these are contracts for 2/3yrs which have to be honoured until they expire, and then renegotiated. AFAIK they are working hard on this, which is why you don't see big stars/presenters exclusively on the BBC any more, a bit like Lineker doing ITV and BT Sport as well as the BBC.

At the end of the day the BBC has to be at least somewhat competitive in salaries to get the best talent in front of the camera, and it's also true to say that many of them will actually work for less on the BBC, purely to be there. That's more common than people know. Of course that may just be a career move in itself, to get better exposure, nevertheless it happens a lot.

I could have both if the BBC did what I want, cut loads of these reporters as a start, I would also like to see loads of others get the chop.

[winkywanky]

Lots of people moan about paying the BBC licence, if they don’t want that’s fine but they don’t get the BBC TV, it gives them a choice. If you could buy different channels BBC,1, 2 or 4, I personally would only choose BBC4.
Why not privatises all BBC radio stations, selling them off to the highest bidder, they are part of the licence fee, this would make money for the exchequer.

This is all about viability in the public's eyes. If you sell off the 'profitable bits' you consign the less populist bits to being almost a backwater. It would be a downward spiral. It wouldn't be the BBC any more. Although you couldn't consider it on the scale of importance to the NHS, it's not life and death, nevertheless it is a big part of the national fabric, changing it radically would be a very big thing.

It is a classic example of everyone of everyone paying a little bit, just for it to be there for everyone. If enough people really get their £150's-worth out of it in some way, then by and large it is justified.

It's also true to say if it didn't exist already, you wouldn't invent it right now. But that's not an argument to get rid of it either.

It's a very big debate and I'm by no means an expert.

There needs to be a public consultation.

[winkywanky]

I could have both if the BBC did what I want, cut loads of these reporters as a start, I would also like to see loads of others get the chop.

But I don't want it (because I think the quailty and depth of reporting would suffer), and I pay my licence fee too. So there  ).

There's plenty of stuff I think is crap, it doesn't mean it shouldn't be there, nor that there should be less resources thrown at it.

[smiths]

smiths: I would of preferred to have seen Norman Smith get the job instead of her


But that would be blatant nepotism...I'll get me coat...

Yes you got me, he is in fact my brother.

[winkywanky]

She's not alone in sounding inane when she shouts questions at passing politicians, when its obvious that they are not going to answer. I wish they would tell them to stop being so inane. Dominic Cummings did a couple of months ago, to his credit.

I'm not sure exactly how old you are or your physical condition, but if Dominic Cummings had had his way with the govt's Coronavirus response, you might well be dead by now.

The guy is a clever, radical and out-there thinker, he's a disruptor. He has his place, to come up with new and exciting ideas...what if we did this...

But he's someone who needs to be used with caution.

[catweazle]

There needs to be a public consultation.

To a small degree, it's started. A couple of months ago (pre lockdown) a researcher from Mori polls knocked on my door, doing a survey on a range of subjects.

A chunk of this mixed survey was about funding the BBC. (Something like: " which of the following would you definitely choose and which would you not choose: pay £8 a month, pay £12 a month, pay 15 a month or have adverts on the BBC?") (I'm paraphrasing there I don't recall the exact figures, but there were five or six similar questions with different amounts)

[smiths]

The 'various reasons' you mention have a lot to do, firstly, with context. A former DG was earning 800k per annum, if you recall. Secondly, the 'market' for top talent is small. It's either the BBC, ITV or Sky. That's it. Chris Evans isn't going to go and work for North Norfolk Digital, so if he's being paid millions to keep things 'competitive', that's bollocks.

The top end of management and so-called talent at the BBC routinely earn 300k-400k and beyond. It has no relation to the real world.

On the big salary point if it were up to me I wouldn't renew big salary deals, I would get new blood in prepared to work for a fraction, at least initially. IF a programme is good I think fans of it or many fans would continue to watch or listen to it if a big name leaves.

Des Lynam was THE main man once, well he went and the BBC got Lineker in to present, I would get rid of Lineker when his contract expires and give someone else a chance, as long as they are prepared to work for a lot less than he gets. I couldn't care less if its a big name or not.

[winkywanky]

 

To a small degree, it's started. A couple of months ago (pre lockdown) a researcher from Mori polls knocked on my door, doing a survey on a range of subjects.

A chunk of this mixed survey was about funding the BBC. (Something like: " which of the following would you definitely choose and which would you not choose: pay £8 a month, pay £12 a month, pay 15 a month or have adverts on the BBC?") (I'm paraphrasing there I don't recall the exact figures, but there were five or six similar questions with different amounts)

[smiths]

But I don't want it (because I think the quailty and depth of reporting would suffer), and I pay my licence fee too. So there  ).

There's plenty of stuff I think is crap, it doesn't mean it shouldn't be there, nor that there should be less resources thrown at it.

Yes well that's your business, i post what I want to see obviously. I pay the licence fee BUT its now for less than it was before, BBC 3 is now online only which doesn't interest me and they were and maybe still will get rid of the red button which i know some disabled and elderly support groups lobbied the BBC about which is why they are holding a review of it instead of stopping it as planned this January. Its all of course about how the BBC spend the licence fee, for a start the over 75 arrangements should go back to being a direct government responsibility not the BBCs in my opinion.

On another point i would like to see all utility company standing charges like Electric, Gas, Water and BT line rental abolished so users only pay for exactly what they use. Put the unit prices up but with a regulator who puts the interests of users first, but that would cost the user only what they have used, not what they have used plus a fixed amount.

[smiths]

She's not alone in sounding inane when she shouts questions at passing politicians, when its obvious that they are not going to answer. I wish they would tell them to stop being so inane. Dominic Cummings did a couple of months ago, to his credit.

Her well connected background grates with me as well. I would rather see someone with an ordinary background get the job.

''Kuenssberg was born in Italy in 1976 to Nick and Sally Kuenssberg.[3] Her father is a businessman and her mother worked in children's services and received a CBE for this in the 2000 New Year Honours.[4][5] Her paternal grandfather was Ekkehard von Kuenssberg, a co-founder, and president of the Royal College of General Practitioners.[6] Her maternal grandfather was the Scottish high court judge Lord Robertson and his brother Sir James Wilson Robertson was the last British Governor-General of Nigeria. Her older brother David is executive director of finance and resources at Brighton and Hove City Council.[7] Her older sister Joanna Kuenssberg is a former diplomat, having served as high commissioner to Mozambique.[6]

Her father worked in Italy for British company Coats Viyella for a number of years.[8] Kuenssberg grew up in Glasgow, with her brother and sister,[9] and attended Laurel Bank School, a private girls' school.''

External Link/Members Only

Whereas her background makes no odds to me, i couldn't care less, loads and loads of people get jobs due to being well connected, the old school tie network. What interests me is how well they do the job once doing it. She does an excellent job in my book and isn't afraid to ask difficult questions putting politicians on the spot on occasion.

[smiths]

I forget to say in my view Andrew Neil is THE best political reporter/journo on TV, the why is because he does his homework usually and can catch a politician who isn't completely on top of their brief out. And he will push and push them for a direct answer a number of times before moving on. Designed to show them up for what they are doing, purposely avoiding answering the question/s. Sadly is on TV less nowadays but is no youngster. Neil is in the Brian Walden mould for me but sadly doesn't get the same long in-depth time to interview as Walden used to get, which suits politicians down to the ground. However, in a half hour one-to-one he can expose some politicians, Boris was too scared to face him during the GE campaign, no doubt on Cummings advice, good advice from their point of view, he could of lost votes with a Boris gaffe, Cummings steered him well into saying very little and a resounding majority was the outcome.

And i couldn't care less about Neils connections to Murdoch.