Kicking the BBC is meat and drink to the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre and his obedient hackery at the Daily Mail, and likewise, spinning the results of their handiwork is the stuff of routine for their tedious and unfunny churnalist Richard Littlejohn. So when a job advert apparently seeking a weather forecaster who was disabled came along, they were all over it. Sadly, the dishonesty required to stand up the story was all too obvious.
Meteorology, Guv? Issa bit like weather, innit?!?
“Weather presenter wanted, no qualifications necessary, must be disabled: BBC posts advert to find new forecaster and the only requirement is a disability” was the headline on Jenny Awford’s awful article. It went on “If you're looking for your first break as a weather presenter on national TV but have no relevant qualifications or experience you may be in luck … The BBC is on the hunt for a new face to present daily weather bulletins - but the only requirement is you must be disabled”.
That went up on Mail Online at 0918 hours yesterday. Eighteen hours later - time enough for a fact check to have been carried out - came Dicky Windbag’s magnificently bigoted headline “Disabled BBC weathermen? Bring back the bouncing dwarf”. Not that he’s prejudiced against those with disabilities, you understand.
Dicky Boy is in his element: “You might have thought that a complete lack of any relevant expertise or qualifications might be a bit of a drawback for anyone planning a career as a weather forecaster. But in the brave new world of the BBC, ability to actually do the job comes a distant second to having the right politics, gender, skin colour, sexuality, religion or disability”. And why does he think that might be?
“The Corporation is obsessed with quotas - except at senior management level, which consists almost exclusively of white, predominantly-male, middle-class, Oxbridge-educated Guardianistas … They salve their own consciences and shore up their lavishly-rewarded, privileged positions by imposing strict ‘diversity’ targets on the lower orders, even if that means hammering square pegs into round holes”.
He never did make the grade at the Beeb, did he? But enough of this Gobshite-masquerading-as-man-of-the-people horseshit, it’s time to apply that fact check that always seems to elude Littlejohn. We can do this as the job advert that precipitated Dick’s latest pack of lies is available online (see HERE). “The BBC Academy is running a free training opportunity to provide an introduction to the world of weather presenting to help men and women with a disability feel comfortable appearing on television” it tells.
What about getting to present the weather forecast? Well, er, it’s not quite that simple: “You will be eligible to apply for future vacancies in the team”. Ah. After all, the heading on the advert - “BBC Weather Presenting Training” - does tend to give the game away. This is not about giving an unqualified person entry into a job just because of their disability.
It’s only a pity that Littlejohn never had the training course. The one on fact checking.
Pity he wasnt there the day they were handing out empathy, compassion or decency as well.
ReplyDeleteLittle John the things you write
ReplyDeleteMake me feel that they're made to bite
Little John the words you use
Make me feel that they are used to abuse
But then we know, your Dacre's trained hit man
And furthermore the Beeb, for kicking, is your tin can
But everybody's kickin' sand
Even politicians
We're living in a plastic land
And the media are playing their hand
Doot do do l'il Dickie
Living in the U.S.A.
Deep do do it like Lou Lou
Must write about the poor UK
Where would be be if he went in for fact checking? On the receiving end of a vagina monologue, that's where.
ReplyDeleteHis little helper, Nick Ferrari, did a whole hour on it yesterday on LBC. I turned him off and when I turned it back on about an hour, he was still at it. I don't think he'd had so much fun since his bit on a Jamaican criminal who apparently alleged he was Gay to avoid deportation (and, to coin a phrase, "I am not making this up").
ReplyDeleteYou might have thought that a complete lack of any relevant expertise or qualifications might be a bit of a drawback for anyone planning a career as a journo. But in the brave new world of the Daily Hate, ability to actually do the job comes a distant second to having the right politics, gender, skin colour, sexuality, and being a complete tosser.
ReplyDeleteWhy let the truth get in the way of a good story? You don't even have to read beyond the first line of the job description to get the facts, pathetic, but why should we expect anything different from the daily hate?
ReplyDeleteCan't believe Windbag is still harping on about Guardianistas. That was done to death back when he was a Murdoch poodle.
ReplyDeleteHaving people like him on the books is a bit like ordering crap TV programmes. Ring up and buy it by the yard.
Last person to remark on the lavish rewards and privileged positions of others, I'd have thought.
I'm afraid everybody from both sides has missed a simple point.
ReplyDeleteWhy does the BBC bother training anyone to present weather forecasts? The forecasts come from the Met Office and are now wrong so often they may as well just have a webcam watching some pine cones hanging outside!
Perhaps training people to actually forecast might be something for them to consider.