Friday 21 November 2008

Sachsgate the Update

It's the story in the British media that just keeps on giving. Some weeks after comedian Russell Brand and TV host Jonathan Ross made sexually explicit phone calls to the home of actor Andrew Sachs, the BBC's governing body, the BBC Trust, has reported its view of the whole debacle.

The chairman of the Governors, Sir Michael Lyons, has made it clear that Brand/Ross overstepped the mark of taste/decency, but that this outcome was predictable. The people at fault primarily were those in production and editorial clearance teams who failed to stop the broadcast. Interestingly, Brand's show was produced by his own production company, and the Trust has also said that the BBC must review its working relationships with presenters who front shows made by their own outfits.

Additionally, the Trust recommends tightening up disciplinary procedures against those who fail to follow editorial guidelines.

One final point - the Trust also announced that senior BBC executives would be foregoing their bonuses this year. I was surprised to read that they get bonuses at all. Isn't the BBC supposed to be a Public Service Broadcaster? Since when did market forces capitalism creep into Broadcasting House?

Lord Reith, the founder of the BBC, must be turning in his grave.



2 comments:

Dan Felstead said...

My son who is 23 is in his 2nd year of Radio and Television at our local university. I have told him about your blog and he plans to take a look as well. This is an area of interest to me also. Anything technology related is amazing. It gives photographers and writers like you and I an venue we have never had before. I am linking my site to your blog if that is ok with you. You are going to be my connection to the tech world and media from across the pond! Thanks for a great site and the advice you have given over the last two days. I take it very seriously and appreciate the help. You obviously know what you are doing!

Dan

Sacha van Straten said...

Hi Dan,

I'd be delighted to chat to your son if he has any particular questions about British media.

I began in radio, moved to studio based TV shows, then became one of the first videojournalists in the UK, before moving into mainstream directing, and finally playing around with web TV and iTV.

I've been starting to experiment recently with the digital ISO settings on my Canon 450D camera. I've been able to get some great tonal output in low light situations that way. Once I've finished fiddling with the RAW files I'll mail you a couple of compressed JPEG versions. I'd be grateful to know what you think.

S