Surely the first response
would be to blacklist anyone blabbing secrets so they get no further work from the Beeb?
A ban on the use of Twitter and other public forums is being considered by BBC bosses, in an effort to prevent stars and writers from talking about details of the broadcaster's confidential upcoming productions online. The Guardian, which cites senior sources, reports that BBC execs are mulling over the possibility of tweaking …
They do it on programmes too. I actually complained about them giving so much free advertising to them when their mandate supposedly prevents it and the response I got was that they were unaware that they were giving them advertising and so didn't have to do anything about it.
Though they could throw in a few daft ones...
Strictly Sharia - where the audience phone in to determine which parts get lopped off which body....I can think of a couple of people I'd like to see as contestants there....
Taliban X Factor - where each Terry has five minutes to demonstrate their individual talents
Footballer and Actor Whodunnit? - where the studio audience tries to determine which footballer has had relations with which skank and how much cash changed hands,with your genial host Max Clifford.
Super Injunction - where the six celebrites in the panel dance round the subject without revealing names..a kind of 'whats my line' show but with more lawyers.
Anything with Jordan - a new dating show, like Mr & Mrs but no longer than 24 hours duration.
A return of Professor Brian Cox and his Orchestra performing hits from such timeless classics as 'slap my beeyatch cap in do ass' and other Transatlantic favourites.
Shirley the Beeb have it written into the talent's contracts that they are not allowed to blab ahead of PR announcements? If they do then it shouldn't be a problem, if they blab the Beeb should sue them. If OTOH the Beeb don't have this stuff already written into the contracts then it needs fixing.
Changing the contracts to ban talent from using twitter, etc. is half arsed since it doesn't stop them from telling a friend who then tweets it or just plain blabs to the press. A contractual obligation to discuss it with nobody until the beeb allows it would make much more sense. OTOH it wouldn't have got the Grauniad a headline involving the word Twitter.
You let it slip on Twitter, you get replaced. Job done.
Let's be honest, which of Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Sting, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant can you not do without? Sting at least has some musical talent, but he's no actor. And the other three would have problems talenting their way out of a wet paper bag - can't sing, can't act, can't dance and can't write.
I really have problems understanding why the BBC hires the people it does. "The Office" would have been a moderately funny one-hour stand-alone show. As a series, it sucked donkey balls - and everything Gervais has done since has been immeasurably worse. But they still keep paying him to do stuff! Then there's Russell Brand, the antidote to comedy - even if he's given a funny line, he'll make it awful. And Chris Moyles, the reason Radio 1 listening figures take a nosedive weekday mornings. And Jonathan Ross, the reason Radio 2 listening figures take a nosedive weekend afternoons. Being an boring, arrogant arsehole doesn't somehow make you "edgy".
Rather than see this as a bad thing the BBC (which is not funded by advertising) should embrace social networking and use it as an unofficial method of advertising things.
The fact that celebrities have litterally millions of followers should be a great source of viewers, the bbc cant advertise like other channels do, they cant justify spending the licence payers money. So rather than banning social networking just issue some guidelines so not to spoil viewing pleasure.
I dont want to know the script but if i know someone is doing a new show im more likely to watch it if its on twitter these days.
Come on bbc embrace dont scold