BBC Scaremongering again

[selectortone]

The BBC started their 6pm news broadcast tonight, in their headline report about shipping container hold-ups at the port of Felixstowe with the words "Don't panic buy".

Unbelievable. That really worked with the panic buying at the pumps didn't it? That was totally unnecessary, totally irresponsible, totally manufactured by the media. Now they want to extend that to toys for Christmas. Don't these people have any social responsibility at all? I've been a robust defender of the BBC all my life, not one for complaining, but I have to say, I'm really, really disappointed AGAIN with the BBC.

It'll be toilet rolls again next - You watch.

 

[Spectric]

This is the latest in marketing strategy, if you want to boost sales to try and recover losses due to covid last year then all you need to do is feed the media with fake news and let them and the broadcasters do the rest, it is a lot cheaper than tv advertising. Now the public being gullable will act like sheep and panic buy. That guy talking about toys for christmas on the news, no not nice shinny new woodworking toys but kiddie toys, showing some plastic thing that the asians have made from our old plastic waste and that it cost him £7 just for shipping and it currently sells for £15 but will soon be going up to cover cost, people will see this and panic buy kids toys and it is the BBC who did the advertising for free under the guise of news.

 

[D_W]

They're learning the same thing everyone else has learned - it's more profitable to make people upset and try to extend the irritation than it is to avoid it or provide "news", which would be defined as information that you didn't yet know.

I realize it's hard for you to get out of supporting them, but we opted out here by not listening to radio news, not subscribing to cable and not watching any network television news. It's always had a negative bias, but the way it fuels controversy now is too irresponsible, and it's not as if you need to watch or listen to it to see any of it (you literally will get news links in web email at this point - or as reference links off to the side). And they will cover any of the updates that are of any substance (like when the FDA suggests a booster and for what groups, etc, or like yesterday, when the FDA released an alert that people over 60 should stop taking small aspirin to reduce heart attack risk because it increases other risks).

 

[selectortone]

This is the latest in marketing strategy, if you want to boost sales to try and recover losses due to covid last year then all you need to do is feed the media with fake news and let them and the broadcasters do the rest, it is a lot cheaper than tv advertising. Now the public being gullable will act like sheep and panic buy. That guy talking about toys for christmas on the news, no not nice shinny new woodworking toys but kiddie toys, showing some plastic thing that the asians have made from our old plastic waste and that it cost him £7 just for shipping and it currently sells for £15 but will soon be going up to cover cost, people will see this and panic buy kids toys and it is the BBC who did the advertising for free under the guise of news.

Indeed. That doesn't, however, absolve the BBC from their responsibility, as a public service broadcaster, to report the news objectively and not indulge in red-top scaremongering. They are either very naive or complicit. Either way, It's not what I pay my licence fee for.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I did see a billboard outside a pub - Drink now, beat the beer shortage.

 

[hog&bodge]

Mmm think I will go out now and get a frozen turkey,frozen sprouts,frozen..well you get the message.lol

 

[Cabinetman]

Mmm think I will go out now and get a frozen turkey,frozen sprouts,frozen..well you get the message.lol

And hope the electricity doesn’t run out lol. Be an early Christmas if it does.

 

[AdrianUK]

Bought me some of those old fangled strings coated in thick wax last week.

Not due to anything the media put out, rather, because once I heard the statement from the government energy minister that there’d be no energy shortages this winter, I thought, we could be off again on another rollercoaster ride of government induced of fubar, not our fault, it’s behind you, no one told us, and general firefighting.

I say, be prepared, look ahead, plan for the worse….hey, I could be in government….now, where’s those matches

 

[hog&bodge]

I watched a doc once called "Little Dieter Needs to Fly"
He always had a large blue barrel 220L of honey and the same full of rice.
Due to shortages during the war and he kept it up after the war till he passed away.
Think you could call him an early prepper

 

[Terry - Somerset]

The media are responsible for creating and perpetuating the problems they report.

In a few weeks the headlines will morph into:

• distressed kids upset Santa can't deliver the overpriced, plastic plaything
• parents stressed being unable to meet kiddies needs
• sobbing mothers only ably to cook nut roasts not turkeys
• everyone blaming Brexit - probably even the Brexiteers
• why hasn't Boris appointed of a minister for xmas, or fired him/her if already in post

 

[Trainee neophyte]

...once I heard the statement from the government energy minister that there’d be no energy shortages this winter...

Never believe anything a government says until it has been officially denied.

I've been amusing myself by looking at the other side of BBC's anti - China propaganda - their grey filtration to be precise.

 

[fixit45]

It could be that the government is complicit in these stories. Because of lockdown people were not using their cars and transport was at a standstill causing a massive build-up of fuel in storage and a drop in taxes for the government. But when panic buying occurred it meant two things fuel production could start again and the government gets an enormous cash injection.

 

[alz]

The BBC have done the scare stories over toys to turkeys, now they are on to chicken prices going up 10%.
As a retired journalist, I remember how the BBC was looked on as a pretty pathetic operation that simply lifted most of its regional coverage from the local newspapers. Made one smile when their reports would begin "..the BBC can reveal."
Make it a subscription service and give people the right to choose an unbiased and reliable set-up.

 

[Stevekane]

ITV were at it as well, 10.00pm news was Gas Shortages, apparently we only have a 1 week reserve compared to other countries 10 weeks in hand, we reley on the ships arriveing with it just in time,,,except their diverting to china.
So dont bother with the frozen turkey etc unless you can cook it over all the wood you've been saving up! In fact there is an idea for a TV program “Your BBQ Christmas Dinner” have the housewives fav Gino and Gorden prancing about ,,,then they would really be “cooking on gas” or possibly not!!
As for toy shortages,,also mentioned for good measure, I have to say that from where Im sitting a tremendous shortage of Chinese plastic crap would I think be a positive thing both for people struggling with bills and the planet.
Anyway Im off to “gas up”some balloons,,,Im storeing them with the bathfull of diesel I bought last week,,and the frozen sprouts (which miraculously produce their own gas when eaten)
Merry Christmas,,
Steve.

 

[ChrisMa]

The BBC (and many other MSM channels) are activists in Social Engineering. They are not the news channels they used to be.

And we are forced to pay for it via the TV license.

 

[Spectric]

Indeed. That doesn't, however, absolve the BBC from their responsibility, as a public service broadcaster, to report the news objectively and not indulge in red-top scaremongering. They are either very naive or complicit. Either way, It's not what I pay my licence fee for.

I think it is a case of an organisation getting to big for it's boots, they now see themselves as more than just "the BBC broadcasting company" and are often biased rather than just a place news and facts are delivered without opinion. The idea of a license fee today is outdated, as has been said before a company or business if viable should be capable of standing on it's own without support and you should not require a Tv license because you own a Tv. This new Sky Tv should open up debate, no dish or aerial so not receiving through transmission over a carrier wave, only via broadband and I assume only Sky channels so how will the BBC look upon this?

 

[Terry - Somerset]

The licence fee dates from a time 6+ decades ago when ownership of 425 lines was a luxury affordable by only a few. There was no commercial model - how to monetise TV through advertising and sponsorship. There was only one channel.

Fast forward to today - several hundred accessible channels - Freeview, Netflix, Sky, Disney etc. Much of it trivial rubbish, but there are some hidden gems. The only rational for a state funded broadcaster is:

• an organ of state control and opinion forming (not an attractive Orwellian thought)
• delivery of that which the commercially funded sector is unable or unwilling

The BBC had a reputation for impartiality in news reporting, high quality drama and factual programming. All three have been compromised. There is no remotely convincing rationale for funding second rate, me too, programming.

The license fee serves only to perpetuate outdated broadcasting culture and practise, and should be scrapped. Remaining costs of a much reduced BBC focussed on its unique capabilities should be funded either commercially or through general taxation.

 

[angelboy]

....This new Sky Tv should open up debate, no dish or aerial so not receiving through transmission over a carrier wave, only via broadband and I assume only Sky channels so how will the BBC look upon this?

This is where the ******** starts - The BBC still require a TV licence if you're viewing any live broadcast. That's not 'live' as in the events are happening right now, but simply the tv channel broadcasting a feed of shows that are being broadcasted at that moment. So even if Sky is not using a dish or aerial they're still broadcasting live by the definition the BBC use so they can still charge you.

Total ********!

I dumped my TV licence last October and only view Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime. I'm allowed to watch catch up services from ITV, Channel 4 & 5 as well. I find I still have plenty of things to watch but one thing I don't bother with is the news - and I must say, I'm so much happier for it.

 

[Jacob]

The licence fee dates from a time 6+ decades ago when ownership of 425 lines was a luxury affordable by only a few. There was no commercial model - how to monetise TV through advertising and sponsorship. There was only one channel.

Fast forward to today - several hundred accessible channels - Freeview, Netflix, Sky, Disney etc. Much of it trivial rubbish, but there are some hidden gems. The only rational for a state funded broadcaster is:

• an organ of state control and opinion forming (not an attractive Orwellian thought)
• delivery of that which the commercially funded sector is unable or unwilling

The BBC had a reputation for impartiality in news reporting, high quality drama and factual programming. All three have been compromised. There is no remotely convincing rationale for funding second rate, me too, programming.

The license fee serves only to perpetuate outdated broadcasting culture and practise, and should be scrapped. Remaining costs of a much reduced BBC focussed on its unique capabilities should be funded either commercially or through general taxation.

Channel 4 seems a good compromise - state funded but independent. But they are planning to privatise it as C4 news is a bit too radical - not overtly but just by serious questioning. It makes up for the very establishment stance of the BBC.
The thought of having them all run for profit is appalling - that's why print media is so bad.

 

[Spectric]

That is total ******** but what people have come to expect from the BBC. So the BBC can charge you to watch someone elses channel, they need a radical shakeup so lets start with ditching that license fee.

I'm allowed to watch catch up services

If the BBC can stretch rules then in theory all streamed services are catchup because the signal is not used at the point of being received, it is buffered before being used so you are really watching catchup.