Peter Viney's Blog

The Conspirator

25/07/2011 by Peter Viney

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Setting A Good Example

19/07/2011 by Peter Viney

Article by Peter Viney in English Teaching Professional, issue 75, July 2011 on the craft of creating good example sentences.

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The BBC’s need to do outside broadcasts for no reason has reached ridiculous levels. Last night’s main news (late Sunday night) went over live to the political editor Nick Robinson standing in the street outside 10 Downing Street in a coat holding a microphone. Number 10 was in darkness at 11 pm Sunday night. They can only do a report with the word “Prime Minister” in by having someone stand (in the rain if necessary) outside the building. A few years ago a blank studio wall, or even a still photo would have sufficed. Meanwhile another outside broadcast team was standing outside the deserted 11 pm Home Office building for a report on what the Home Secretary had said. Not that anyone would have recognised the building as “The Home Office” or cared. Then they moved to Robert Pester in the studio. All three reports could and should have been in the studio, Having two outside broadcast teams working on Sunday evening is a total waste of money. If they mention “Parliament” we go over to someone standing outside parliament (whatever the weather is like). The same with number ten. It’s inane. Poor Nick Robinson as political editor must spend his life outside closed buildings staring at an outside broadcast team.

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Never Buy The Sun

11/07/2011 by Peter Viney

The link takes you to Billy Bragg’s topical song, Never Buy The Sun, recorded on Saturday (this is Monday), and directed at the News International affair … phone hacking, bribing police, covering up.

For background, after the Hillsborough stadium disaster, The Sun newspaper accused Liverpool fans (Scousers) of urinating on the dead and picking pockets. These lies were swiftly withdrawn and they admitted they were total fabrications. To this day, so many years later, The Sun sells very few copies in Liverpool 12,000 a day, which is ludicrously small for a city of the size. Independent newsagents still refuse to stock it.

“Tonight” the BBC early evening news magazine in the 1960s had a topical song every night. There was Robin Hall & Jimmy McGregor, Leon Rosselson, and the one I remember best, Cy Grant. Cy Grant had it easier because he did a daily topical political calypso (so didn’t have to think too hard for a tune). When I first heard “while calypso singers laugh at him” I thought Bob Dylan might be referencing Cy Grant … he’d spent time in England.

Then David Frost took up the idea on “That Was The Week That Was” with Millicent Martin singing a topical jazzy song weekly. It’s a tradition that’s got lost, but goes back to Shakesperean England where topical ballads could get you arrested.

I was taken with Billy Bragg’s immediate musical response, as this Sunday we declined to buy The Sunday Times for the first time in years, and decided to let our iPad App for The Times lapse. The only way the public can react is not buying their stuff.

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