TV I stopped being able to watch the mainstream of BBC Breakfast months ago. Once I've watched the 8am news headlines it's off to the 8:10 shouting match, sorry interview on Radio 4's Today. It's simply because with the exception of the sadly rarely appearing Kate Silverton, the standard of presentation is appaulling, I mean just awful. A typical example is offered by Suw who gives a blow by blow on a particularly poor interview with Dr Brian Cox on the occasion of his Horizon programme in which they completely fail to ask a single intelligent question and manage to spend much of the time off topic.
It used to be that even in this Breakfast slot there would be an attempt to entertain and educate but apparently thats no longer the imperative, and in cases such as this it doesn't seem as though a researcher has been anywhere near the presenters before the slot leaving Bill and Sian to proceed on their wits with predictable results. The contrast is pretty clear when one of the correspondents, be it weather, sport or business take over with Declan Curry in particular not afraid to ask difficult questions of whichever poor business spokesman has been sent to excuse their company's massive profits. His only missteps have been in relation to internet related companies, but then the whole of the mainstream media is still having difficult catching up to that.
A fair contrast can be found at the other end of the day. The One Show's content isn't all that different and yet Adrian and Christine manage to carry it off proceeding with wit and always seem engaged with the subject, treating it with the requisite seriousness when required. The other night when Beadle's death broke during the programme they were able to break off briefly from script to discuss the subject intelligently something BBC Breakfast always seem to find difficult, even though they're supposed to be amongst other things a news programme. Why should it be up to radio to provide intelligent discussion in the morning or should I just give it all up and listen to Chris Moyles like the rest of the country?
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