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Hunt is right in only one respect "he who pays the piper" and that "who" is ultimately us and at the moment on both radio and tv the BBC are serving up tripe to racing fans.
In the "who" I presume you mean the licence payer.
Whilst those who contribute to this forum are onviously racing fans, and therefore somewhat biased in this respect, I strongly suspect the overwhelming majority of licence payers could not give a toss about what is happening on a stretch of grass in the depths of Berkshire.
Indeed there are even followers of horse racing, who contribute to this forun, who could not give a toss.
Whether we like it or not racing is a minority sport and it has to fight for airtime.
Yes I would love to see all six races covered each day, same at Cheltenham – but it ain’t going to happen.
John, did you, or Cornelius, suggest to the producer that he/she was perhaps trivialising the sport?
Colin
Paul
Cinema is also a minority activity. So are most things….
Firstkly, i think the point Venusian is making is that it was the trivialising and perhaps even slightly sneering coverage that gets backs up
Would they treat the "sport" of Formula One in the same way?
No. Because they have shlled out a huge sum of tax payers money to cover that "sport", they treat it with reverence. And that is a minority "sport" that only appeals to slack jawed acne ridden nerds who laughably think cars spewing filth and creating a racket is "glamorous"
TBH I’m surprised that John could talk on Friday following the commentary for Yeats’ win on Thursday. I almost crashed the car, such was the excitement being transmitted.
When I saw the replay later on, it was certainly nothing like I had expected.
Cinema is also a minority activity. So are most things….
Would they treat the "sport" of Formula One in the same way?
Maybe, maybe not; but the store of both of the two activities listed above is rather higher than racing’s at Five Live at present, and not just in the eyes of those that work there. Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode did, after all, win a Sony Award this year.
Given which, there was always the chance that the Edinburgh Film Festival, and these two decorated broadcasters’ appearance at it, was going to be accorded more time and reverence than Ascot on the day, for all that it’s certainly a shorter-established (and may ultimately prove to be a more transient) event than a race meeting two years shy of its 300th anniversary.
Whether that necessarily justifies the approach which was taken with the races that did feature, theatrical yays and boos and all, I’d personally doubt. Unless there is a huge following of racing among the more hardcore film fans out there of which I’ve hitherto been unaware, it seemed as incongruous to have them interacting with the feed from Ascot to any extent as it would to have split the audience of a Star Trek convention into eight groups before the commentary of the Olympic 1,500 metres final.
It certainly doesn’t justifiy the more personal diatribes aimed at John Hunt and Cornelius Lysaght on this thread, however; and it would perhaps be useful to consider whether the greater editorial intervention that mercifully prevents Five Live from heading too far down the (at its worst) "slap the wife, send ’em back" tone of the evidently more hated TalkSport also runs the risk of giving rise occasionally to something as peculiar – and infuriating for the hardcore racing fan, I don’t doubt – as yesterday’s episode.
Messrs Hunt and Lysaght will have been no less working to instruction as my colleagues did on Timeform Radio this week when covering Royal Ascot to the exclusion of quite a lot (if not everything) else, and as we also do during Cheltenham meetings. Editorial mores hold sway, however much sympathy there will have been for the emails (and there may well have been some) registering disappointment that the lesser meetings run on the same day have had to be overlooked.
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Never listen to the afternoon film section as to be blunt it bores me to death, couldn’t think of anything more tedious than here two old buffoons waffle on about old films and the odd new one. The Bollywood section at 3am in the morning is far better as is the World Football Phone-In with the likes of Tim Vickery (much underused on 5Live) at a similar hour.
Alas it seems all the good stuff they have is done afterdark
Alas it seems all the good stuff they have is done afterdark
Have to agree with you there "Up All Night" is a hidden broadcasting treasure – .it almost makes sleepless nights worthwhile.
Alas it seems all the good stuff they have is done afterdark
Have to agree with you there "Up All Night" is a hidden broadcasting treasure – .it almost makes sleepless nights worthwhile.
Seconded without reservation. The weekly world music reviews find particular favour with me.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Its interesting to gauge the reaction to what we did yesterday. My Mum’s friend heard it and thought it was all great fun. She even remembered Ghaanati’s name! A respected Racing Post journalist thought it was a shambles. At the end of the day, a not altogether inaccurate commentary was delivered under one off circumstances.
We thought that in honour of Iasylos’ Golden Jubilee attempt today we would perhaps have the sound of smashing plates to accompany every mention of his name. A recorded Red Arrows flypast for JJ The Jet Plane mentions would also be appropriate, no?
For my final thoughts, I will quote the originator of this thread who wrote, back on 13th May, "This otherwise dismal recession provides an excellent opportunity to make positive, radical changes to the sport." Thats radical with a small "r" clearly. I know I have taken that quote out of its original context but we really don’t like change in this great sport of ours, do we?
There is a difference between ‘change’ and something that is certain to attract ridicule.
You haven’t answered the question about whether you expressed doubts about the idea?
Whatever the relative popularity of cinema and racing it shouldn’t have been too much to expect a few minutes of professional racing coverage in a three hour programme.
Whatever the relative popularity of cinema and racing it shouldn’t have been too much to expect a few minutes of professional racing coverage in a three hour programme.
I didn’t hear it so wouldnt presume to comment but I think that much of the issue lay in the attitude displayed by the above quote. Why is it that we (racing) EXPECT professional racing coverage. We need to EARN it & do something to accomodate it. Just because we love racing it doesn’t mean that everyone else does!
A theoretical scenario to illustrate the point….If the BBC had said " we will cover each race in its entirety, without interaction or interference from the studio BUT you must change the off time/running order to fit our schedule and hold the off until we are ready"…what would be our reaction. Similar indignation I imagine.
Couldnt the balance be redressed by having someone in the studio shouting "w*nkers!" every minute during the British Grand prix?
Would be entirely appropriate too
Alas it seems all the good stuff they have is done afterdark
Have to agree with you there "Up All Night" is a hidden broadcasting treasure – .it almost makes sleepless nights worthwhile.
Seconded without reservation. The weekly world music reviews find particular favour with me.
gc
Agreed – I’ve yet to find where my favourite Mexican pop band "RBD" are in the local HMV – doesn’t seem to be "World Music" though
Doten Adebayo is a legend and his wife is an amazing singer
Irish Stamp,
You can listen to a lot of their tracks free of of charge on "Spotify".
Regards – Matron
I believe there is a music thread under the ‘Lounge’ section – some people may still be interested in the original post?
Firstly, John, well done for coming on here and fighting your corner, although I feel you are defending the indefensible.
Reading between the lines of your posts, I infer a certain sense of shame and regret on your part, something which I welcome.
I’m as desperate as anyone, more desperate really, to see radical changes in our sport (although given the make-up of the various committees, 50 Brians and 1 Briana, I’m not expecting much), but these changes ought not to involve treating the public like idiots or the sport as some kind of pantomime prop.
Have you ever seen or heard any sport, "minority" or otherwise, being subjected to such on-air humiliation, especially by those who ought to be trying to promote it? Your commentary on the Gold Cup was superb, and really conveyed the excitement and significance of this iconic race, what on earth came over you on Friday, you must know better than that (Lysaght is of course a lost cause).
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