News Reporting - Teeside chemical plant
This is probably the same rant as I've made several times before at the standard of news gathering from the BBC (and most others). The following statements are taken from a report was made following this morning's explosion at a chemical plant in Cleveland.
"One resident near the scene of an explosion at a chemical plant claimed they were living on a "time bomb". John Jackson, from High Clarence, near Billingham, lives just a few miles from the site and said he heard the explosion as he went to bed. He also lives close to a series of oil refineries at Seal Sands.
He said: "We're living on a time bomb here and we are stuck right in the middle of it."
Mrs Jackson said: "We're not going to move. We've got the grandkids round here. You're only going to get killed once. If it is going to happen, it is going to happen. At least we'll all go together."
Why on earth does the opinion of one uniniformed person who just happens to me a neighbour of the site make it to be a headline. Have a brief statement at the end of a factual report saying "local residents are worried and some have voiced concerns for a long time", but don't have an entire article on this person's views, which is given the same priority as the actual report itself.
The BBC needs to learn to present fact and opinion as separate and clearly defined items. At the moment, opinion is presented as fact - the above report suggests very strongly that there have long been problems at the site and it is badly run, without any evidence to back this up.
"One resident near the scene of an explosion at a chemical plant claimed they were living on a "time bomb". John Jackson, from High Clarence, near Billingham, lives just a few miles from the site and said he heard the explosion as he went to bed. He also lives close to a series of oil refineries at Seal Sands.
He said: "We're living on a time bomb here and we are stuck right in the middle of it."
Mrs Jackson said: "We're not going to move. We've got the grandkids round here. You're only going to get killed once. If it is going to happen, it is going to happen. At least we'll all go together."
Why on earth does the opinion of one uniniformed person who just happens to me a neighbour of the site make it to be a headline. Have a brief statement at the end of a factual report saying "local residents are worried and some have voiced concerns for a long time", but don't have an entire article on this person's views, which is given the same priority as the actual report itself.
The BBC needs to learn to present fact and opinion as separate and clearly defined items. At the moment, opinion is presented as fact - the above report suggests very strongly that there have long been problems at the site and it is badly run, without any evidence to back this up.
posted by Jonathan | Thursday, June 01, 2006
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