Here's the video of one of the worst pieces of journalism I've seen in many years: BBC journalist Ben Brown questioning Jody Macintyre, the disabled students dragged out of his wheelchair twice by the police during the student demonstrations.
It's not bad simply because I side with Macintyre. It's bad because Brown - in his desperate belief that confrontational interviews constitute news - uncritically reproduces police talking points and finds himself uttering Chris Morris-style claims such as that in the title of this post.
Stumbling and Mumbling very elegantly explains the underlying dynamics of the exchange. It's not that Ben Brown himself is a particularly idiotic individual - instead, it's because he comes from and works within an institution and a culture which privileges an authoritarian perspective.
1 comment:
"Were you trying to throw anything at the police?" has got to be the stupidest question I've ever heard on a news interview. Perhaps he thought he had some sort of wheelchair mounted trebuchet.
There seems to be a real lack of analysis on the consequences of these fee rises on the TV.
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