madcomments

Interesting perspective, Branwell, but not sure I agree entirely. The BBC could have moved to suspend Ross and Brand earlier to stop the media witch-hunt. This would have stopped the front-page ‘heads must roll’ cries today, for example.

They should have taken Ross and Brand out of the firing line sooner. When you consider the ‘guns’ are The Sun, Daily Mail, Times, Telegraph and the BBC’s own comprehensive news service, that’s quite a fearsome firing line to be in!

If the BBC had said instantly, this was inappropriate, both presenters are suspended while there is a four week review process and the results will then be made public, this would have meant the BBC would appear proactive and in control rather than on the back-foot. It would have bought the cooling period that Tim Davies was asking for. It would have allowed a thorough review behind the scenes and the opportunity to properly present and plan the process outcome.

However, I do think the BBC of all broadcasters are in the toughest position with the press because everyone has an agenda against them linked to the license fee. There is also a particular resentment about the salaries paid to high-profile stars like Jonathan Ross. This was also an issue that could and should have been dealt with better, earlier and with more resolution than how it has been handled.

The BBC needs to develop a quicker, more immediate response mechanism as a business to these types of crisis because the way it talks about thorough and fair reviews is not what an upset public want to hear.

For whatever reason, the BBC hasn’t been able to move as fast as the rest of the media so they look like they’ve been forced into this action, rather than being on the front foot. As the Public Service Broadcaster, the company’s values (which are the nation’s values) are the most important thing to preserve and whenever they have potentially been damaged they need to be seen to do everything they can to address this as quickly as possible. The values, I would say, are bigger than any individual presenter. Occasionally, presenters step out of line, this is more acceptable in the commercial media sector but not at a media business owned by the nation.

Searches for tickets to Russell’s live show ‘Russell Brand – Work in Progress’ which starts in January have been pretty slow according to ticket price comparison website SeatChoice.com so being front page news won’t do his ticket sales any harm at all. In fact they said they’ve noticed a slight increase in activity already. To put his popularity into some perspective, they’re currently getting about 50 times more enquiries for ‘French and Saunders - Alive’ than they are for Russell’s show so he could certainly do with the extra exposure!

Hi Matt - good points all and the BBC has to up its ability to respond effectively and timely. But I feel that the BBC has to be careful not be drawn into a knee jerk response either. We expect “Auntie” to act in a calm and considered manner and not in a frenzed and hectic way.
As I mentioned, I think Brand will come out of this with his bank balance and credibility among his fan demograhic enhanced - his book is taking off again, his C4 show has good ratings and his forthcoming tour, which apparently was not selling well, is picking up. Ironically, it’s Ross who has lost the most and I am reassured that his pay is being docked.

I’m not encouraging knee-jerk reactions. To give you a comparison in footballing terms…

Last weekend Rooney got a yellow card, then kissed the Man U badge in front of the Everton crowd. Man manager par excellence, Fergie, immediately subbed him before he got a red card. Thus saving Rooney from countless following headlines about his poor self-discipline.

Brand and Ross got a yellow card last Sunday in the Mail on Sunday when the story broke. The BBC left them on the pitch and unfortunately by Wednesday there was no choice but to accept red cards for the talent (and sadly talent behind the scenes).

We’re now in the middle of a media storm. Like it or not, this is turning into a debate about what the BBC represents to us as a nation, with an intense spotlight on its comedy output. Let’s just hope we don’t lose our sense of humour in the process

One thing’s for sure it’s been a source of heated debate here in the office this week!

And I thought the Aussies were the prudes? But then again, it wasn’t all that long ago that Britain was in uproar over the use of the word “bloody” in an ad campaign!
The poor BBC - although late at attempting any sort of damage control - they thought they’d finally hit the jackpot with these two comedians who could’ve reversed the corporations stuffy image. No such luck. But while the complaints have rolled in and apparently topped 30,000 I wonder how many people that actually viewed/listened to the prank complained.
Would loyal Russell Brand viewers complain about him and his lewd comments? I doubt it - that’s why they tune in in the first place.
Some may have been shocked about Ross’s involvement, but then again he is the guy who accused Heather Mills of actually having two legs!
Suspending the pair, I think, will ultimately lead to more embarrassment. I can’t imagine what Ross will have to say upon his return and for Brand - well I think he’s just found himself a never ending source of material and the BBC won’t come out looking like the good guy caught up in an accident.
The prank was perhaps a bit stupid and not well planned or played out, but frankly, I’ve seen and heard worse and the fact that the media has nothing else to report on is even more embarrassing.