Bad, Bad. Really, Really Bad

When Michael Jackson died, many were shocked. Me included. But perhaps for different reasons. As the news broke on that fateful night, the poverty of the BBC’s response was marked. What has always impressed me aboutthe Beeb is the place it takes in the arena of news gathering. In fact, in the past, the BBC was the lead other news channels followed. But it seems this is no longer the case.

Jackson’s death obviously caught everyone napping, but that’s how news works. However, the BBC’s output toddled behind TMZ like a puzzled child. Indeed, at one point, their coverage consisted of the TMZ homepage and a caption saying the site was reporting Jackson’s passing. They also took a feed from an American news helicopter. However, most news / celeb websites were doing the same thing. If I had I chosen to, I could have monitored TMZ and reported their headlines myself, which is not news gathering.

It was as if the Beeb were paralyzed. Scared they would confirm the death and get it wrong. When the LA Times committed themselves, the BBC simply reported they had so. Perhaps they couldn’t believe the King of Pop had really gone. So, where was the inside track and the exclusive insights? Everything the Beeb put out was available to me on a simple desktop computer.

So one of the world’s most respected broadcasters is now waiting for handy websites to feed them the story. And their hacks will only stand by it when sufficient numbers of lesser outlets have already done so.