THE NEWS JUST GOT OWNED
01.29.10Watch this immediately. In this two-minute video, Charlie Brooker, a British journalist/comedian (they have looser boundaries over there), absolutely DESTROYS the formulaic way TV news reports are created.
If my ability to read a watermark is correct, this aired on BBC Four. I didn’t even realize there was a fourth BBC. How many BBCs do those Brits have, anyway? Is there a BBC Eight yet? I guess they probably wouldn’t nickname it The Ocho, huh? England doesn’t exactly have a swelling tide of Mexican immigrants to influence its dialect. Hmmm, what’s the Hindi word for “eight”?
(thanks, RoboPanda!)
![[avatar]](http://p.uproxxcdn.com/global/images/default-avatar.jpg){kind=avatar}
![[image]](http://cdn.wg.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2011/11/panda-journalism-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.wg.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2011/11/brinicle-150x150.jpg)
Having worked as a TV news reporter I found Charlie’s piece very amusing – some of us have long believed reporting like this is a rubbish way to do things!
But even if a journalist wants to tell stories in a more authentic and engaging way, the constraints of the so-called “house style” in many news organisations make it difficult to achieve.
What’s needed is a massive culture shift and a complete re-think of what we understand quality broadcast news reporting is.
And guess what? That’s exactly what’s happening, though you’d never believe it from what we’re still mostly seeing on TV.
Anyway, the new digital technologies, and shake up of “old school/old mainstream” journalism means new platforms and styles of “news” storytelling can now emerge.
Let’s hope fresh and appropriate ways of funding appear too, so we can kill off this dreadful formulaic reporting and delivery, and clear the way for more natural and interesting ways to treat stories and content.
Much love,
Ian Aspin. http://www.twitter.com/ianaspin
Brooker’s You have been watching is brilliant too
it’s from his bbc4 show NEWSWIPE. he also does SCREENWIPE where he reviews TV content. a bit like you matt, only funny.
but if you do want a show that is so fucking sharp, watching it is like having a razor blade slice open your japs eye, then brooker’s your man.
O.K. England, I luv ya and all. I mean, thanx for the country and thanx for bein buds and all, but, your white women are disqusting.
This reminded me of the Concentric Circles piece featured on The Onion a couple of years back. Generic disaster reporting at its finest.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/breaking_news_series_of
No no no Tim, you have it wrong. You lot are the fatties, we are the ones with bad teeth.
seriously Tim? How about… they went outside?
How’d they find so many fat people?
@palehos – oh so very true. our European brethren are nowhere near as afraid of titties as on this side of the pond. if the janet nipplegate had happened over there, well it’d blend right in with most children’s programming. i’ve been to a bunch of different countries over there, and among the little things i find trippy is how much more neked their Mtv is. throw in the joyful cursing on BBC’s The Office, Extras and Torchwood.. and me likey.
the Hindi word for eight is curry.
He’s no Margaret Cho.
@ Leapin- Sorry didn’t mean to college up my comment, was tryin to sound learn-ed. Don’t worry, these colors don’t run fella!
@ Chazz – “innocuous” and “ribald” aren’t words we use here in Amurica buddy. If you don’t like it then you can just GIT OUT!
@ILovePaleHose – here stations get banned for showing a nipple, they get to show Lucy Pinder nude in the papers…but it’s not all bad! We’re getting gay guys making out on commercials during the Superbowl!
//backwards progress
U-S-A! U-S-A!
@Lenny: Agreed fuck those limey assholes and their rapier wit. Did you hear about this? According to the Fort Wayne Herald a local couple celebrated their 50th anniversary at the Hyatt hotel with a big farty!! (cue chuckling from my black band leader)
Random typos that give otherwise innocuous news stories a ribald turn- now that is what I call humor.
This was too smart for me. MORE JAYWALKING AND FUNNY NEWS HEADLINES PLEASE!
Though I hear they do have a channel devoted strictly to teaching Brits how to make chicken vindaloo so they don’t have to eat fucking kippers every day.
Trust me, nobody would be able to pronounce eight in Hindi. I was going to tell you but I can’t even transcribe it in English.
I have worked in television for over ten years, and This Video = F’ing Perfect.
Erm….we have *checks television* five plus BBC HD that I can find far. Most of them don’t come on until 4pm though.
BBC1 and BBC2 are terrestial, while the others are satellite.
As for this, Charlie Brooker is a pretty good writer as well. Enjoy his articles at the Guardian.
@SmartAlex – don’t forget them putting hot topless chicks in their newspapers. That’s a definite win.
“The News Just Got Owned”
*takes huge bong rip*
Just got owned? Don’t be naive, man. The “news” has been nothing but a subsidiary profit center for global conglomerates for decades.
*exhales*
Hmmm, what’s the Hindi word for “eight”?
I believe it’s Manjula.
Yes, but can the Brits keep fucking that chicken?
and virtually all Canadian AND American newscasts just got pwn’d..
Gotta love the Brits and that dry sense of humour..