Saturday, September 08, 2007

I wanted to be a programme planner, but unfortunately I have a degree.

Interesting. From BBC News:
The BBC has scrapped plans for Planet Relief, a TV special on climate change.

The decision comes after executives said it was not the BBC's job to lead opinion on climate change.

Celebrities such as Ricky Gervais were said to be interested in presenting the show, which would have involved viewers in a mass "switch-off" to save energy.

The BBC says it cut the special because audiences prefer factual output on climate change. Environmentalists slammed the decision as "cowardice".

[...]

[Said an unnamed BBC spokeswoman:] Our audiences tell us they are most receptive to documentary or factual style programming as a means of learning about the issues surrounding this subject, and as part of this learning we have made the decision not to proceed with the Planet Relief event.

Instead we will focus our energies on a range of factual programmes on the important and complex subject of climate change. This decision was not made in light of the recent debate around impartiality.
I would be surprised and impressed if they did switch to "factual style programming." Not factual programming, mind you, but factual style programming. Still, that's a start.

Maybe they just realized something.

Or maybe they just realized that promoting a mass switch-off would be bad for ratings, if that mass switch-off included switching off the telly.

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