|
Posted on 19.12.08 by Matt @ 1:20 am
Newspapers are mental. After two years (yes, it's been that long) of media-related 'scandals' about vote rigging or Manuel-gate, I think we've reached a new low. No, not of broadcast media's decline in standards but in the barrel-scraping of our print friends. In the last 24 hours, The Telegraph, The Metro, The Mail, The Sun, and the Birmingham Post amongst others have all reported on the 'story' of some DJs on Burn FM in Birmingham having a joke and stating, incorrectly of course, during some, no doubt, hilarious DJ banter, that Des O'Connor's daughter has acted in pornographic films. Burn FM, of course, isn't really on FM and is actually an internet streaming station. My spies tell me that there were only 28 people tuned in on the internet listening at the time of the incident. So, a load of newspapers, combined circulation of millions have highlighted a silly prank that virtually no one listened to and brought it to a much wider audience, causing, I imagine, much more distress to the daughter and the national treasure. The mock shock of the papers (and their gleeful desire to repeat the details) is much worse than the behaviour of some over-excited student DJs. Remember you can get these straight to your inbox by entering your email address at the top right of this page. The RSS link is up there too. Tags: radio Comments: 4 Comments
|
Well said! Student Radio is one of the few places where the future of radio talent get the creative freedom to practice and perfect their craft. True, you’ll get a few inappropriate and not necessarily funny comments on the way – but they’re not being serious about it and often to a minimal audience.
The real offenders here are, like you say, the Newspapers and probably the one in 28 people who thought they could cash in on a tongue-in-cheek comment.
Comment by Stewart Paske — December 19, 2008 @ 1:31 am
I’m not saying that it’s okay to get away with libelling someone. However the newspapers gleeful coverage is sickening.
Comment by Matt — December 19, 2008 @ 1:35 am
Ah, of course. Sorry if I made it sound otherwise. Libel is never right, especially if its broadcast.
But it’s shameful – the big bad bullies of the media playground picking on student radio. Not cool.
Comment by Stewart Paske — December 19, 2008 @ 12:43 am
And I’m sure the Daily Mail would have given equal weight to the story had it been Des O’Connor’s disabled son.
Comment by Olly — December 19, 2008 @ 9:52 am