BBC "Photographer of the Year 2007", any idea what happened?

[disneyry]

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6723211.stm"> BBC Link

"suspended following concern over a series of editorial breaches" <a/>

[bobatkins]

Just follow the link in the article.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6904516.stm

[beepy]

I read the article - and I really think I'm missing the story... Lots of details and events - but

I'm sitting here going "Huh?"

[pjmeade]

It was discovered that many phone competitions on TV were "fixed". As I understand, PR companies or the stations themselves were "providing" winners for telephone competitions even before competition closing dates had been reached and that members of the public had continued to phone in, stumping up their cash for nothing.

 

When the BBC discovered that there had been irregularities in the children's program Blue Peter, it was all too much and they closed down all competitions. So, even though the Photographer of the Year competition was free, it's been closed down. Only this week, another lapse was detected at Blue Peter. A phone vote to name their new cat was rigged. It turns out that Socks wasn't the viewers' favourite after all.

 

To understand this, you must realise that Blue Peter is pretty much sacrosanct, on a par with the Queen's speach or the Pope's Easter address or similar institutions.

[ilkka_nissila]

It's a pity. I liked the photo competitions.

[steve_dawson1]

It's not that anyone really cares whether the cat is called 'socks' or 'Cookie', but that the BBC and other media organisations rely on people believing the stuff they put out. If we know their integrity is such that they will fix the phone competitions, why should we believe them when they talk about Iran or Iraq or anything? Small bit of cheating to start with but might have serious consequences, especially in a time when TV is losing out to other media.

[steve_dawson1]

BTW wasn't Bill Clinton's cat called 'Socks'? Wonder what this says about the BBC?

[akajohndoe]

Faux News buy Blue Peter as well as the WSJ?