Phones, letters, e-mails
| 10:51 UK time, Thursday, 27 July 2006
Among the audience response received by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ in the past 24 hours were many calls praising the documentary The Boys Who Killed Stephen Lawrence, though some callers thought too long had passed since the original events. There continue to be calls about Middle East coverage, alleging bias on our part in both directions, and also some calls complaining about the amount of reporting on the subject.
Comments
The Boys Who Killed Stephen Lawrence made some very important points and helped to create some overdue clarity around the known facts of this case. Unfortunately the production and its promotion seem to have been heavily influenced by the tabloid style of ITV's "Tonight with Trevor McDonald" and other hyperbole laced docu-tainments, and Mark Daly was presented in an unflattering light as a wannabe Roger Cook without the bravado.
I imagine that focus groups have told the producers that they need such programmes to be repetitive, suspenseful and stylised in order to keep them engaged. I imagine also that for the expense of the investigation, the running time had to be a full hour, despite there not really being enough material for it, and that is why we kept getting the video montage sequences, and the crescendo repetitions. And I'm sure that the personalisation of the reporter's experience - "I discovered...", "By now I was convinced..." - was an attempt to improve the connection with the audience.
If so, then can I be a quiet voice calling for you to try less hard, to work on presenting the facts, uncovering the truth, and helping your viewers to understand the topic rather than emotionally respond to it.
Still, setting aside the production, I did think it was a good programme. Thanks.
Too long since the events?!
I presume those callers would have forgiven and forgotten long ago if their child was murdered and due to a corrupt, racist police force, no-one was ever convicted.
I know I'lll get lynched for this but why does so much ´óÏó´«Ã½ staff time and LF payer's money get spent dealing with vast numbers of complaints:
"alleging bias on our part in both directions"
when no answer given will ever convince the complainers that there is no bias?