oh BOO FLIPPING HOO

[brett53]

caution one of my rants imminent

you know i REALLY should stop watching the news mornings - whats got my goat on the BBC today ?? - an item ( first up ) on the problems with euro star and the snow recently - not so much that the trains had stopped - but an interview with a gent who got stuck because of it at euro disney and was moaning about the cost and "inconvenience "

well sorry but hardly headline news content in my book , when there are many in the UK and else where struggling with fuel poverty - and would probably LOVE to be able to swan off to eurodisney at any time - but have OTHER priorities like eating and warmth

i don't know if any of you have noticed but news channels always seem to focus on "non stories" like this - but do they ever go to poor people and report on their PROBLEMS ?? - RARELY IT SEEMS - oh yea we hear about people who get themselves into problems through their own faults - such as drug abuse or multiple kids etc - but WHAT of the ordinary folk who are struggling to survive ?? - usually a cursory comment or two at best

and have you also noticed a LOT ( well the majority actually ) of interviews with "families" are always ones who are seemingly "well to do" with nice houses and We sell total junk, we will rip you off, we are scammers and 2.4 well behaved , frequently "private school " children - in other words the ideal family - how often do reporters go to a sink estate or an old persons home where they are struggling to keep warm in front of a one bar fire ??

as to any sort of "ish " coverage - guess our efforts ain't news

so wada you all think - is there a "bios" with news coverage towards the better off in the world ??

or is it me getting even MORE paranoid

apologies for the rant - but items like this annoy me like soooooooooooo much

[Evelyn J]

I agree!!!!!!!!!!! I get sooooooo fed up with the NONE news items when there is so much that is news worthie, and just a note on fule poverty and the big hoo harr about it last year, for as long as i can remenber as soon as my kids have gone to school my heating has to go off and i sit in the cold, i am disabled and the cold dose me no favours at all but i have no option because we live on benifits and i cant aford the gas, but im not middle class so knowone gives a monkeys, and i am obviously on benifits because i'm a lazy begger so i get what i deserve.

OOOOH youve got me on a rant now!!!

Eve

[crowsashes]

we do get winter fuel payments but ONLY if is below zero for several consecutive days, so this year i have recieve just one, for £20 which hasnt even covered the cost of gas to heat my home for the winter, ive had to have the heating on more and have even had to put fleece up at the windows in the lounge as its was so cold, me and the little one even slept down stairs a couple of nights as we could get the lounge really warm.
the blankets have been out all winter compared to last.

brett did you watch 'tower block of commons' think it was on channel 4, it really did portray those on benefits in a bad light! since when can every family on benefits afford to buy those branded nappies begining with a 'P' and £40 odd on fags my sons lucky enough to get generic nappies! and we have to go without 'wipes' 90% of the time. not to mention those smoking drugs it really did make me angry watching it!

maybe they should do a show on us lot here on benefits and how we struggle to heat and get a balanced diet? but then that would look like a sob story and the series makers cant be seen to show those on benefits struggling, after all we are scroungers

[brett53]

ah THAT Susie depends WHERE you are - if referring to "cold weather payments" they can be a joke as people on dartmoor used to not be "entitled" as the reference reading was taken in Plymouth some 1000+ foot lower and about 3 overcoats warmer - whether that's changed no i don't know as i am now in Plymouth and only need 2 overcoats

but seriously - there are a LOT of especially older people and some on benefits of course ( as not all spend it on the mythical booze and drugs much beloved of the gutter press and ignorant people ) who HAVE to manage with a single bar fire or none at all - as they don't fit the "criteria" for ANY winter fuel or cold weather payments ( its a sort of no mans land where one is "too rich " for payments & too poor to actually afford fires on all day ) - believe me there are a lot of peeps in this quandary - despite the governments protestations to the contrary

like wise as has been mentioned - the disabled - especially those suffering from arthritis and any form of respiratory tract problems ( covers a multitude of sins ) - NEED warmth - yet they DO struggle to keep warm !!

like wise all these schemes to improve insulation - well fine if you "qualify" - but if you live in a pre cavity wall house - that's out and if like here one only has single glazed windows - there are no grants for installing double glazing etc - in fact ,again its the old catch 22 situation of no mans land - and frankly as i have mentioned else where storage heaters are a waste of time as they cost an arm and a leg to run - but many like me cant afford to have gas installed

but do the beeb or any one else focus on this state of affairs ?? - nah - which is what makes me so mad when i see better off people winging on TV because their non essential "holiday" was disrupted

so BOO flipping HOO indeed - i am not SO bad off by SOME standards - but even I am having to struggle this year - my heating bill just to stay reasonably warm is horrendous - hence my next project - some form of alternative heating system - using scrap wood of which there is a plenty if you look round /scavenge a bit

but like everything in life its mind over matter - they ( the better off ) don't mind and the rest of us poor sods don't matter

strewth - i must be getting a social conscience

[brett53]

we do get winter fuel payments but ONLY if is below zero for several consecutive days, so this year i have recieve just one, for £20 which hasnt even covered the cost of gas to heat my home for the winter, ive had to have the heating on more and have even had to put fleece up at the windows in the lounge as its was so cold, me and the little one even slept down stairs a couple of nights as we could get the lounge really warm.
the blankets have been out all winter compared to last.

brett did you watch 'tower block of commons' think it was on channel 4, it really did portray those on benefits in a bad light! since when can every family on benefits afford to buy those branded nappies begining with a 'P' and £40 odd on fags my sons lucky enough to get generic nappies! and we have to go without 'wipes' 90% of the time. not to mention those smoking drugs it really did make me angry watching it!

maybe they should do a show on us lot here on benefits and how we struggle to heat and get a balanced diet? but then that would look like a sob story and the series makers cant be seen to show those on benefits struggling, after all we are scroungers

yea i did and it served nicely to reinforce the "stereotype" of those on benefits - so the majority can carry on with the illusion that we are all scroungers and nare-do-wells - when as you and i both know we and many others are just decent folk struggling to survive

typical bios - but then when did the press ever let the truth get in the way of a good story ???

[Big Al]

caution one of my rants imminent

you know i REALLY should stop watching the news mornings - whats got my goat on the BBC today ?? - an item ( first up ) on the problems with euro star and the snow recently - not so much that the trains had stopped - but an interview with a gent who got stuck because of it at euro disney and was moaning about the cost and "inconvenience "

well sorry but hardly headline news content in my book , when there are many in the UK and else where struggling with fuel poverty - and would probably LOVE to be able to swan off to eurodisney at any time - but have OTHER priorities like eating and warmth

i don't know if any of you have noticed but news channels always seem to focus on "non stories" like this - but do they ever go to poor people and report on their PROBLEMS ?? - RARELY IT SEEMS - oh yea we hear about people who get themselves into problems through their own faults - such as drug abuse or multiple kids etc - but WHAT of the ordinary folk who are struggling to survive ?? - usually a cursory comment or two at best

and have you also noticed a LOT ( well the majority actually ) of interviews with "families" are always ones who are seemingly "well to do" with nice houses and We sell total junk, we will rip you off, we are scammers and 2.4 well behaved , frequently "private school " children - in other words the ideal family - how often do reporters go to a sink estate or an old persons home where they are struggling to keep warm in front of a one bar fire ??

as to any sort of "ish " coverage - guess our efforts ain't news

so wada you all think - is there a "bios" with news coverage towards the better off in the world ??

or is it me getting even MORE paranoid

apologies for the rant - but items like this annoy me like soooooooooooo much

Calm down dear, calm down... you'll have a coronary...... you are right of course but then the BBC is a rolling news chanel and the news keeps on rollin. rollin' rollin....

Did you know that Alaxander McQueen had diverse clients to his fashion empire such as Mickael Gorbochov, The Prince of wales, lady Ga Ga and Bjork ???

You wouldn't have known about that if he hadn't topped himself yesterday ( in time for the news bulletin) ... sorry it's rolling news now....

One other thing you may not have noticed. BBC Breaking news is always AFTER Sky news "breaking news"...

[brett53]

ohhh i get that wound up i could tear paper

sky ?? - don't mention sky to me - but that's another rant for another time ( i limit myself to one a day - its my new year resolution )

[shiela_robins]

It's all about them making money dear. Well that's usually about it IMO. They write/show stories that sell or what they think is keeps the public interested. The reality might be too depressing to feature. It's sad...

[Flo]

i don't know if any of you have noticed but news channels always seem to focus on "non stories" like this - but do they ever go to poor people and report on their PROBLEMS ?? - RARELY IT SEEMS - oh yea we hear about people who get themselves into problems through their own faults - such as drug abuse or multiple kids etc - but WHAT of the ordinary folk who are struggling to survive ?? - usually a cursory comment or two at best

Just sometimes they get real people with real problems who don't do drugs, smoke, drink, go on holiday, live in big houses, have 17 kids and whatever.

I've done my stint on fuel poverty in the papers and on the telly a couple of years back and set the town off by its ears for a week on the matter. Sure, it's my fault that I didn't set aside a decent private pension so that I could afford to turn on the heating. But I come from a generation where we believed that if we paid our national insurance and taxes, then we would have a decent pension that would cover our needs in later life. By the time we worked out that this was a load of tosh that we were being fed by the government, well it was too late for many of us to do anything about it.

Heaven help the unemployed and those on low wages today who can't save up for themselves for a decent pension. The present government run up debts will ensure that two generations of pensioners who may well have been essential members of society - the dustbin men, the shop assistants (yeah we do need them), the care workers and others such on the minimum wage will be just as badly off as some of us are now. Through no fault of their own. You can't save for a pension on a minimum wage believe me - been there and failed to do it.

But will it make news? Nope of course it won't because the poor are usually too scared to rant, rave and make a noise about what is going on. Or they are not articulate enough to make good, news worthy soundbites. A few of us are able to stand up, speak up and refuse to be down trodden. Not enough of us.

To quote someone else's signature on here - come the revolution. For nothing else will change the news headlines.

[liskeardjane]

Brett and others, BBC is a state run organisation and dances to the government's tune and the others just tow the same line, no wants the truth about poverty - our own mothers his and mine, only get any heating as we pay their bills or they would have to chose food or heating!!! old folk in this country get very very little (p.s I wish they would come and live with us but they like their independence!!!!) It's no wonder they put out daft news and don't go looking for the hard hitting political journalism, otherwise they get accused of being left wing/right wing/sitting on the fence......!

[Andy Hamilton]

You should all read a book called flat earth news . It really is an eye open to how the news really works. It is all about money, but not in any way against the poor. It is about getting the cheapest stories as possible. Most of which originate from an agency called the Press association. or through PR companies selling their wares. The BBC tend to cover what the nationals cover and the nationals only carry a very small percentage of home grown stories.

Also a news story that happens within a few miles radius of the studio is far more likely to be covered than one the other side of the county. Whats more news stories that might see the news company sued are far less likely to be covered as they cost too much.