The quality of writing on the BBC News website

[Bence Fekete]

Just watched the BBC one o'clock news leading with Boris' idiotic care-homes comments then clicked on the BBC news website and not a peep.

Is the website behind tv, or has there been a 'phonecall'?

Just checked. They ran with it earlier at 9am, at 1:00pm, but by 1:50pm it was completely dropped for Sunak's insulation announcement (which is tomorrow). Hmmmmmm

We're totally fucked.

[Ambient Sheep]

Yeah, touchingcloth is right about the Lando Norris thing.  I noticed the same thing last night: no age given whatsoever, thus rendering the article laughably hopeless.

Then I noticed that, despite also being filed under the BBC's F1 section, it was originally a Newsbeat story.  Suddenly all became clear, if no less forgiveable.

The updated version is still rubbish.  Such records are usually recorded in years and days.  For the record (no pun intended), consulting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_driver_records#Youngest_drivers_to_score_a_podium_finish tells us Lando was 20 years and 235 days.  Overall third, behind Max Verstappen (18y 228d) and Lance Stroll[nb]Of all fucking people![/nb] (18y 239d).

The next youngest British driver isn't shown; the tenth youngest overall was Ralf Schumacher (21y, 287d) and Hamilton didn't reach F1 until he was 22.

Working it out though, he was born 7th January 1985, and according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_career_of_Lewis_Hamilton#2007_season:_A_record-breaking_rookie_year, he finished third on his debut at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix, "becoming the 13th driver to finish on the podium on his debut".  That race was held on 18th March 2007, which would have made him 22 years and 70 days.

There you go, Christian "Newsbeat" Hewgill, done your homework for you.

[Ambient Sheep]

Just checked. They ran with it earlier at 9am, at 1:00pm, but by 1:50pm it was completely dropped for Sunak's insulation announcement (which is tomorrow). Hmmmmmm

We're totally fucked.

If you mean this:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53315178
then it is still on the front page, albeit tenth, after Sunak, 80% asymptomatic CoViD, Johnny Depp, Eric Joyce, more CoViD, pubs closing again, Tom Hanks, Kasabian guy and Grenfell.

Agree that that's not high enough.

[Bence Fekete]

Ah thanks, yeah, I noticed it was back or maybe I'd missed it the second time. It was shocking/disturbing to see it happen all while the TV bulletin persued a separate agenda.

[touchingcloth]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53325388

Police also found a building in Rotterdam, which they believe was another criminal basethought [sic] to be a base in Rotterdam.

So how many bases was that? Three hundred thousand and thirty four, nine hundred and seventy four thousand, I assume. All your basethought.

[touchingcloth]

Hagia Sophia: Pope 'pained' as Istanbul museum reverts to mosque

They've had a couple of articles up today with headlines like this, and initial paragraphs which carry the omission forwards. The reality is less that they've turned a museum into a mosque, but a church into a museum and then the museum which used to be a church into a mosque. That clarifies it more, but without knowing that the headline just makes it sound like the pope is being vindictive.

[FredNurke]

Church > mosque > museum > mosque again

[bgmnts]

Read about this a few days ago. Is sad that a museum is a mosque now but Turkey still deny the Armenian genocide so can't expect too much from them.

[Norton Canes]

Final five minutes then. Liverpool have had 19 shots on goal to Arsenal's two.

Make that 20! Sadio Mane fires wide after a good ball in behind from Andrew Robertson

Some confusion over the term 'shot on goal' it would seem there

[Twonty Gostelow]

Some confusion over the term 'shot on goal' it would seem there

Yes, why not just 'shot'?

Remember the BBC Live Text: Joe Hart takes the goal kick. Woooooooooh you're shitaaaahhhhhhhh? Two minutes later it was gone.

[BlodwynPig]

Some confusion over the term 'shot on goal' it would seem there

the video gamification of football continues. All meaningless crap anyway.

Most of the stories on BBC Sport are clickbait too. Pointless hyperbolic emotion-tuggers

[Bazooka]

Will Gompertz required to have himself photoshopped into the shot of a film he reviewed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53398715

[BlodwynPig]

Will Gompertz required to have himself photoshopped into the shot of a film he reviewed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53398715

Balderman?

[Barry Admin]

There was a story this week where they illustrated it by photoshopping a mask onto someone as well... It was weird and unnecessary.

[Captain Z]

There was an article on professional spectator Gareth Bale the other day titled "Why is Gareth Bale Behaving Like he is at Real Madrid?". Cue lots of wags in the comments saying "He's behaving like he is at Real Madrid because he is at Real Madrid", and someone pointing out that the better headline would have been "...behaving the way he is at Real Madrid".

[Icehaven]

Will Gompertz required to have himself photoshopped into the shot of a film he reviewed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53398715

That's just fucking weird. Do his reviews always do this? I could see the (still tired and hacky) logic if he was put as actually taking part in a scene, like running away from Godzilla or something, but just having him lurking in the background is bizarre, even more so when it's such a mundane looking shot.

[Zetetic]

Do his reviews always do this?

Mostly, it looks like, but not quite consistently enough for it to feel like "a thing".

[pigamus]

The egomania there is quite astonishing. Does he think he's a thing?

[Zetetic]

It's "thing he's a thing".

[idunnosomename]

worst wimblewrong match ever

[touchingcloth]

There was an article on professional spectator Gareth Bale the other day titled "Why is Gareth Bale Behaving Like he is at Real Madrid?". Cue lots of wags in the comments saying "He's behaving like he is at Real Madrid because he is at Real Madrid", and someone pointing out that the better headline would have been "...behaving the way he is at Real Madrid".

I saw that headline. I don't know the person, but I read it as "why does he behave as if he plays for Real Madrid?" rather than what it sounds like it was actually about.

Mostly, it looks like, but not quite consistently enough for it to feel like "a thing".

That's the same article, but there is prior art:

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53193643



https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52506143



https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53065380



https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52966881



It's not just film scenes, either. Here he is in The Night Watch:

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52657164



Or on a Grayson Perry urn:

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51215734



His reviews of Guernica and Schindler's List were frankly offensive.

[Icehaven]

Again, creepy as. When I said about it making marginally more sense if he was put as doing something in a scene like running away from Godzilla I was going to say something more topical like being in the Eurovision audience in that Will Ferrell film but that seemed even more ridiculous. Having him lurking backstage is just...brrrr.

[Captain Z]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53670199

Headline: "I Hated My Flat During Lockdown"

Ah, probably something a large percentage of the general population will be able to identify with...

Story: Woman realises after a few weeks of lockdown that her soulless glass box in central London is a soulless glass box. Has now moved to a 5-bedroom country house in Hertfordshire instead, at a speed which suggests that neither money nor selling the original flat was any object. The end. Sponsored by Rightmove.

[BlodwynPig]

Just like the Observer supplements in the late 90s, middle-class beige aspirationalism. Rotten crap. They just can't help themselves. YOU TOO COULD BE LIKE THEM...BUT YOU WONT

[thenoise]

"boy whizzes car round bends really good"

The BBC, 2020

To cut down costs they write the pidgin site first then run it through google translate.

[BlodwynPig]

BBC Golf Bogeys at the last.

The Englishman, 29, shot a six-under 64 to sit two shots behind China's Li Haotong, who took the lead with a five-under 63 at TPC Harding Park.

Great stuff from the pre-eminent source of all your golfing news. *for non-golf fans, a six under 64 would mean a par score of 70, so a five-under would be 65 not 63* Small peanuts, but common and symptomatic of the malaise.

[idunnosomename]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53670199

Headline: "I Hated My Flat During Lockdown"

Ah, probably something a large percentage of the general population will be able to identify with...

Story: Woman realises after a few weeks of lockdown that her soulless glass box in central London is a soulless glass box. Has now moved to a 5-bedroom country house in Hertfordshire instead, at a speed which suggests that neither money nor selling the original flat was any object. The end. Sponsored by Rightmove.

clap for our asset managers

[Annie Labuntur]

I meant to post this one back in May but I forgot.

The second paragraph is unbelievably inept, meaningless to anyone not familiar with the show. It's as if the writer thinks they're on a fan site.

[idunnosomename]

Wait was he killed by a van or what. What the fuck

Ok they changed it since but still not good. Who is Edward? Who cares?

Boyce, 30, played Tyler in Twilight, the character who almost crashed his van into Bella before Edward stopped it with his bare hands.

[BlodwynPig]

That is pathetic. I knew it would come to this years ago. I looked at the younger generation and said "one day they will be writing the news". And here we are.