13/05/2008

Uninformed TeleVision

I’ve just got back from a trip to Belfast to take part in a discussion/debate programme for UTV, the Irish version on ITV for PetrolPrices.com… only to discover from the footage that it was virtually pointless:

Late & Live, UTV, 12/05/08

Ok, so I’ve been quoted as Brendan, not quoted at all, quoted as an ‘industry analyst’ but ‘consumer advisor’ is a new one. Not mentioning PetrolPrices obviously makes the trip a complete waste of my time work-wise, but it was fun to go! The other guests on the show, Late & Live (not a porn show, no), were really interesting to chat to, and it was good experience doing another studio interview… but the best part was the amaaaaaaaaaaazing meal I had. And it was nice to hear my surname pronounced properly for a change.

On the plus side, I came home to see an article I’ve been working on with the Sun published:

The Sun, 13/05/08

Again, another example of newspapers not writing their own content – I wrote those tips. At least I can say my work as been published in the Sun now! Now it’s out I’ll email it out as a press release and put it up as a blog to get the most out of one piece. Or perhaps a new page on the site since it’s not time sensitive or topical info. It’s the type of thing which will make good radio discussion I think.

30/04/2008

Forget top slicing, I can save the BBC money

So, my BBC South East Today interview in London yesterday was, predictably, outside in the wind and rain, though not as bad as my first interview. luckily you’ll never see it because it wasn’t recorded :)

But, the point of the story is that the journalist who interviewed me should be sacked. In an attempt to avoid not knowing the answer to a question like on GMTV last week, I asked what the questions might cover. Her response, and I quote, “oh I don’t really know. To be honest, I didn’t write the questions and I haven’t even looked at them. I don’t know anything about the story, I’ve just come down to ask the questions.”

Great help. Not only was it annoying because it meant that I had to think on my feet when she asked something I didn’t know, but mainly it winds me up that the BBC employ such useless people when there are so many people who would kill to have her job.

Before I started at Fubra, Brendan told me that journalists are inherently lazy and all need to be shot. Or something to that effect. And I stood up for them, arguing that the majority properly research and balance stories, and that he was being unfair. Having been on the receiving end of calls from journos asking how many litres are in a gallon (what, Google too difficult?), asking for info I already sent them but they couldn’t be bothered to read, and generally not appreciating the jobs they’ve got, I have to say I tend to agree with him.