So promised the announcer of Radio Four. But what did we get?
First, an “East Anglia” which turned out to be everywhere in the much larger East of England Region, and specifically Northampton, Milton Keynes, Luton and Stansted (which I’ll grant you, although I bet that plenty of Norfolk, Suffolk or Cambridgeshire people wouldn’t).
Then Scotland, which turned out to be Melrose, right on the border. Now, I have argued in the past for better coverage of the Borders, Highlands and Islands, as also of North, Mid and West Wales, and of the North, the Midlands, the West Country and East Anglia. But even so.
And finally, “the North”, which turned out to be West Yorkshire, as far south as you can go and still lay any claim to being in the North. At least, on the eastern side of the country; there was loud guffawing in these parts when Labour North employees were sent to fight a by-election in Cheshire. But then, West Yorkshire was as far west as the BBC went in its coverage of “all parts of Britain”.
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OK, I'll bite. How many reports from which parts of the country would have sufficed to give fully representative coverage?
ReplyDeleteWell, a lot more than that.
ReplyDeleteIf they are going to use that term, then one from each of the 12 regions, at least.
But better that they don't use the term. It only shows up, as so much does, that the BBC has no idea what the first B in its name stands for.
At least 12 separate reports saying: "It's snowing, roads are bad, schools are closed"? Or it just won't be representative?
ReplyDeleteThat is some exceptionally dull radio right there.
They wouldn't have said any such thing. Several, probably the majority, would have said that the given part of the country was coping perfectly well with the annual heavy snowfall at the start of February.
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