BBC screws British bloggers (again)
Over the past few years I have grown ever more incredulous about the way that the BBC has consistently stolen from, patronised and generally belittled blogs, especially British ones. There seems to be a pervading belief within Shepherd's Bush that the corporation is the British media and that the rest of the people who strive away working in commercial sectors are just basically there to do their research. Bloggers, as this post highlights, are beneath contempt and clearly don't have worthwhile opinions.
The latest example of this arrogance is this week's Panorama expose of the way in which some of Primark's suppliers were employing child labour to finish their very competitively priced garments. It was gritty Panorama stuff, highlighting an injustice and sparking a debate about the ethics of the fashion industry.
Yet while the programme highlighted low pay and child labour the programme makers seemed to have no ethical qualms about screwing British journalists.
Researchers from Panorama contacted the Catwalk Queen team (btw Catwalk Queen is the UK's most-read pure fashion website - compare it with Vogue, Cosmo and the others etc on Google Trends) and asked if they could film the team talking about why and how Primark had become so popular in the UK. The Panorama team then spent three hours filming at shiny offices, which basically cost Shiny nine hours worth of blogging.
The team's opinions were widely used throughout the show and in many ways their views held the piece together. However while every other single person on the show received a credit along with their work title (Mary Portas got a plug for her business, Yellowdoor, twice), the Catwalk team were not credited in any way. Instead only their names were used and they were billed as fashionistas or Primark fans.
The BBC also used some, admittedly fair low quality footage of the opening of Primark's store on Oxford Street, as well as some other CQ fashion reviews. However instead of crediting Shiny Media or Catwalk Queen it was billed as being courtesy of YouTube.
Basically the Catwalk team was featured on the programme because they are intelligent and articulate professionals who spend their life tracking high street fashion trends. They are also among the most popular fashion bloggers outside the US. To not credit them is not just incredibly condescending but also denies millions of viewers a chance to read their other opinions on fashion.
As for crediting the footage to YouTube, I'd like to see the Beeb use ITV's footage, some of which is on YouTube, on one of its programmes and then credit it to YouTube. In case the Panorama team is still confused - YouTube is a popular video hosting site - companies don't cede copyright of their footage the minute they put their video on the site.
Panorama could have made amends by placing a link to Catwalk Queen alongside quotes from the team on one of its web pages. Yet all it has done, after some serious nagging by the team, is to put a link to Catwalk Queen on the Primark debate page. There's no mention of the fact that it is the blog of the team that were featured so prominently in the programme.
The BBC, which in case you have forgotten is funded by all of us, should have a responsibility to work alongside and nurture young British media talent. Instead it seems to constantly patronise them.
As for Shiny I think the company should send the Panorama team an invoice for nine hours lost work.
Overall the whole episode has left a very bitter taste in the mouth at Shiny. While Panorama, and the rest of the BBC, should be praised for exposing dubious ethics in the fashion industry, it might want to take a look at its own ethical code once in a while too.
Ashley
Very good point Ashley - it's appalling they were not credited in any way, shape or form, and that it's yet another notch on the wall of unethical actions undertaken by the Beeb.
Posted by: Katherine Hannaford | June 25, 2008 3:53 PM
Well said Ashley. The beeb should know better!
Posted by: 555 | June 25, 2008 4:22 PM
I send invoices and they pay.
Posted by: Guido Fawkes | June 26, 2008 12:39 AM
Feeling your pain - not the first time, though, that a media co has swept in for footage only to claim that it doesn't quite fit with their production whim of the moment...
Posted by: Ewan McIntosh | June 26, 2008 2:14 AM
Grrr to the Beeb.
Sorry to hear they screwed you lovely Shiny Media :(
Posted by: nuttycow | June 26, 2008 12:26 PM
How does the closing statement suggest bloggers are beneath contempt and don't have worthwhile opinions?
He wrote: "So if you want to find out what they asked him and what he told them, keep an eye on the bloggers."
Read bloggers he closed with. But maybe only those who can struggle to the end of posts.
Posted by: Gordon | June 26, 2008 12:41 PM
Hi Gordon
It is just the rather condescending tone of the piece that I object to.
Btw I got this from Sandy Smith, editor of Panorama and I am very grateful he has apologised.
"Hi, I'm the editor of Panorama. Looking back we should have given the girls an onscreen credit as well because their contribution was excellent. This was overlooked in the final stages of a long and complicated investigation. Panorama has a new multiplatform editor, a bigger and better website on the way precisely because we recognise the new talent and opportunities out there. Didn't get it right this time, sorry to all at Shiny and Catwalk Queen".
Posted by: Ashley | June 26, 2008 12:45 PM
I hope you're going to contact the Beeb and complain.
Posted by: Anne | June 27, 2008 12:32 AM
Hi, I'm the editor of Panorama. Looking back we should have given the girls an onscreen credit as well because their contribution was excellent. This was overlooked in the final stages of a long and complicated investigation. Panorama has a new multiplatform editor, a bigger and better website on the way precisely because we recognise the new talent and opportunities out there. Didn't get it right this time, sorry to all at Shiny and Catwalk Queen.
Posted by: Sandy Smith | June 27, 2008 5:46 PM
Although it might have been an oversight there is still an 'us and them' attitude amongst many journalist who work within MSM.
Recently the BBC covered the story of a man who was stopped at Heathrow Airport for wearing a Transformers t-shirt where one of the characters was holding a gun.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7431640.stm
Aside from the stupidity of the airport authorities the article featured a link to BAA, but didn't link to the site of Brad Jayakody the guy concerned and who naturally wrote all about the story.
http://www.theedgeofmadness.com/index.php?title=no_t_shirt_no_flight
Hopefully attitudes will change as more journalists use blogs as both a tool and a source.
Posted by: Craig McGinty | June 27, 2008 6:06 PM
Interesting. Especially since a journalist at the BBC once told me they used Shiny blogs every day to source stories!
Posted by: Charlotte H | June 27, 2008 8:16 PM
Just saw the link to my blog in my referrals.
I'm the guy who who's blog you're talking about (yes the one with the t-shirt).
The BBC contacted me and asked to do a story with me. They interviewed me separately for that piece (both online and for the tv news).
For that incident, "The Sun" and "BBC" both contacted me directly and did an interview, getting my permission to do so.
Here's the quick blog post I did about the BBC interview when it happened.
http://www.theedgeofmadness.com/index.php?title=more_t_shirt_stuff
I'm completely unfussed about being linked back. My blog is a personal blog, and in the 5 odd years I had it before this story, I made all of 10 cents from it.
Posted by: Brad | July 4, 2008 11:47 AM
Watched the documentary and never knew the involvement of Catwalk Queen and Shiny Media until reading this post. Glad you've battled through and got your credit, all be it sadly to the people who venture on to these pages.
I guess the same can be said about Radio 1 who use Perez Hilton. Why not something British like hecklerspray, Holy Moly or Popbitch? Whilst those sites are very popular, they aren't as big as Hiltons site. But to be fair, they have not become a parody of what they set to do: Report on celebrity folk being idiots and becoming one themself like Hilton has done.
Posted by: Phil | July 10, 2008 6:58 PM