The BBC Breakfast Formula...

Usually constants in life are a comfort, especially as there are fewer and fewer of them over the years.

But there is one constant that's a minor irritation: The BBC Breakfast formuala. More specifically the way it deals with personal tragedies.

I don't have a television at home, so I don't get to watch BBC Breakfast regularly, I mean it's not the kind of thing I'm going to choose to watch live on iPlayer, and I'm certainly NOT going to rewatch it!

I mean I COULD watch it live on the laptop, I could rewatch it, but I suggest if that's you, I suggest therapy is what you need.

No, the place for BBC breakfast is on a TV, in the background, while you potter around getting ready for your day.

I only get this when I'm staying in a hotel for work, which is actually more now than ever, so I've watched more maybe than I should have (I probably need therapy.

But anyways, what I've come to realise is that besides the 30 minute cycle: national news, local news, sport, weather, then a couple of interest items, then repeat, quite often ONE of those interest items will be a personal tragedy featuring the surviving relatives of someone who has died from a preventable cause.

For example, someone dies as a result of a drink driving accident, their wife and brother will be on the sofa giving their obviously understandably biased views on the matter...

The Formula...

1. Summarise the relevant news link. In the example above the criminal is sentenced to a relatively short jail term and has his driving licence revoked for 20 years.
2. Introduce two guests who 5-10 years ago had a close relative who was a victim of a similar crime.
3. Two presenters are very sympathetic and must use the word 'unimagineable' to describe their loss at some point.
4. The historic victims relatives talk about their case and are asked for their views on the punishments.
5. The historic victims relatives always think harsher punishments are necessary, in this case a lifetime driving ban.
6. Visitors are challenged at some point with the phrase 'some people might argue that... insert counter point view' probably the phrase 'fair enough' will be used to describe the actual punishment received in the case under discussion.
7. The relatives will invariably be running some sort of charity or campaign group they talk about this.
8. Thank the visitors.
   9, Cut back to lighter item or whatever else in the above cycle.

Pointless Journalism....?

I mean I should punish myself for watching this nonsense!

What is the point in having an entirely one-sided non-debate about criminal justice...?

No broader context, no objectivity, no input from the other side, it's just ultimately making the case for harsher punishments and giving the victims entirely what they want.

That's not necessarily the point of a justice system. I mean especially in the case of drink driving and death, no one INTENDS to kill anyone else when they get in a car and drive it drunk.

It's entirely the kind of topic that is worth debating, but not just 10 minutes from one side!

Maybe a plus side is the emotional appeal of the affect on victims, it might stop a few potential drink-drivers.

But the formula's not the problem!

However it's not so much the formula I have an issue with, it's the fact that it's INVARIABLE.

This is always the way BBC Breakfast does it, it's churnalism, lazy, the same old thing time and time again.

It's also easy, no conflict to deal with.

But it's dull, really, really dull!

Slapping myself now!

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