I watched that the other night. James Murdoch's speech at the very end is chilling. His father's retirement will not purge the company of evil, regardless of the extent of his personal responsibility.
I have just read that CVC, owners of Formula One Management, run by Bernie on their behalf, have called a summit meeting in September, chief among its topics being "bribery allegations distracting from one of the sport's most exciting seasons". This article makes for very interesting reading, especially when you add this to all the criminal investigations ongoing into the activities of NewsCorp, the still mysterious nature of the deal our esteemed BBC has struck and the business partners it has chosen to make it with. It also offers explanations as to why the Sky deal will not increase audiences and, very interestingly, why there has been such a wall of silence and an absence of critical coverage of the deal. http://www.pitpass.com/44421-Sky-gets-off-to-an-inauspicious-start Incidentally, former BSkyB employee and current BBC f1 boss, Ben Gallop's blog has now been pretty much buried by the BBC. Nevertheless, complaints are still streaming in, if at a slower rate than before. Can I urge anyone who cares to vent their fury here? It may seem pointless as 8000+ complaints later, there has been no response as yet. However, people can use the url in letters of complaint to MPs, Ofcom, BBC Trust etc. as an easy reference for the recipient to gauge the strength of feeling on this issue. For this reason, the more comments, the better.
Got something from Nigel Farage's office (MEP), but it's better than nothing... Dear Mr******* * Thank you for writing to Nigel Farage about the BBC's abandonment, to pay-TV, of coverage of Formula-One motor-racing, which appears to be part of the EU's initiative to get rid of state-broadcasters, along with everything else pertaining to the nation-state, so that it can reign supreme over (or in cahoots with) a claque of dependent media. * Poor old Beeb! How it strives to suck up to the EU - and yet Brussels is constantly forcing HMG to curtail its funding of the BBC as "unjustified state-aid"! * However, the BBC's EU-sycophancy goes deeper than mere dependence on EU-goodwill (and conditional grants and loans from the EU as well, in fact) There is a convinced political correctness (please see attachment) among staff at the BBC. Judicious, selective appointments have seen to that, in the last few decades; and motor-racing is not exactly "comme il faut" among such people, who have carbon-footprints on the brain and wish us all to be obligatory passengers on public transport (fully EU-privatised, naturally) * The BBC's abandoning F1 is therefore part of a pattern and a process, which is intended to continue until we attain the EU's global Utopia (dystopia, more like) in which citizen-units (no longer individuals) do as they are told by bureaucrats from Pole to Pole. * As a member of the EU's so-called "parliament", Mr Farage knows very well how the EU creates an appearance of democracy, while carefully expunging all traces of it from decision-making. His media-activities are his only real opportunity to exert influence, and that influence is bent entirely towards the only possible solution to the pattern and process I have mentioned, namely, the ejection of the EU from Britain and the EU's eventual abolition. * We shall not again have proper, democratically-controlled public services, run for public benefit, until this solution is applied. When it is, we should see F1 back on a reconstituted BBC, which honours its charter (political neutrality) and gives the public what it wants and needs. * Yours sincerely * Andrew S. Reed * Office of Nigel Farage, Brussels www.ukip.org*** www.ukipmeps.org**** www.express.co.uk Would of posted this on the BBC F1 blog that has over 8,000 comments, but sadly it's blocked again for the 3rd time...
Had a few days for this awful news to sink in and have decided am not going to turn my back on F1, although I am most definitely not getting SKY. I think there's a good chance I am going to attend my first GP for 6 years next year to make up for the TV coverage being ruined, will have spare change from whatever the Murdochs are charging for their TV service and what I won't be paying for.
Williams chairman Parr tells fans to support cost-cutting ideas in Formula 1 Some twisted reasoning here. F1 will cost more to watch as it will help cut costs..... What?
That is utterly outrageous. He is telling me to shut up and pay so that he can continue failing at his job, keeping his team at the back of the field? What an arrogant, ignorant, ****ty attitude. Unbelievable. Between him and Whitmarsh I'm seriously starting to consider whether I want to continue being treated like a sucker by these bastards. Formula 1 can be fun, is often great entertainment and occasionally provides sublime drama but it's not worth this kind of abuse.
Yep, I've been thinking the same, especially about Whitmarsh, but this Parr comment just shows how out of touch F1 is from its fan base. I know they live in a bubble but they should try seeing it from the fans' side. We see many millions on display every race but they want more and it's going to come from us, we who have nothing in comparison to them anyway. Still, I'll have no problem boycotting Ferrari Regarding Whitmarsh, it did seem that he'd been assured that we'd see deferred races in full, which is some excuse, but he's still performed a spectacular volte-face about Free to Air F1. I really respected Whitmarsh but I don't right now.
Good post Max; the link is important for people who want to smell a few more of the ingredients to the stench. And although not mentioned, I cannot help noticing a hint of Briatore mixed in for good measure. (This is instinct based on what I know of the man and his dealings with the various power-mongers of F1, who will very shortly include the Murdochs and their cronies). Genji's idea of boycotting India's opening GP The morality of what is happening to the local farmers and original land-owners is exactly in-tune with what should now be expected - with money riding rough-shod across all and sundry - but unless this is a concerted effort agreed by all F1 fora, it is doomed to failure because an inaugural event (particularly one of such a high-profile country) it would normally expect to boost viewing figures in any case. Any boycott needs to be very thoroughly thought through and planned as a wholly concerted effort. Making a mistake on this would be the worst thing for the objecting F1 fan, because it would likely render any repeat action impotent through a lack of faith and conviction. P.S. On a personal note, due to existing commitments, I would be unable to participate in boycotting this event in any case, although that in itself is no reason for my objection.
Good post Max; the link is important for people who want to smell a few more of the ingredients to the stench. And although not mentioned, I cannot help noticing a hint of Briatore mixed in for good measure. (This is instinct based on what I know of the man and his dealings with the various power-mongers of F1, who will very shortly include the Murdochs and their cronies). Genji's idea of boycotting India's opening GP… The morality of what is happening to the local farmers and original land-owners is exactly in-tune with what should now be expected - with money riding rough-shod across all and sundry - but unless this is a concerted effort agreed by all F1 fora, it is doomed to failure because an inaugural event (particularly one of such a high-profile country) it would normally expect to boost viewing figures in any case. Any boycott needs to be very thoroughly thought through and planned as a wholly concerted effort. Making a mistake on this would be the worst thing for the objecting F1 fan, because it would likely render any repeat action impotent through a lack of faith and conviction. P.S. On a personal note, due to existing commitments, I would be unable to participate in boycotting this event in any case, although that in itself is no reason for my objection.
Absolutely, a boycott or any action taken needs to be carefully considered because, as you say, it may do harm rather than good. I'm trying to formulate a letter to MPs, select committee, BBC Trust, Dept. of CMS etc. but one which cannot be fobbed off easily, as many people who complain have experienced so far. So, I figure it's important to ask the right questions in the right way. The standard response from the DCMS is, apparently, F1 is not a protected sport and the BBC is an independent body so we can do nothing. To this end, I intend to make a four-fold complaint: 1. Why is Formula One not protected as a 'Crown Jewel' sport? 2. The potentially anti-competitive nature (EU law) of the deal and the possibility of a conflict-of-interest pertaining to a BBC employee involved in the deal. 3. The attitude of the BBC towards its paying public regarding this deal: the lack of effective channels of complaint and inquiry; and the BBC's role as a publicly-funded, public service broadcaster. 4. The absence of mainstream media coverage of the furious public response to this deal, particularly when compared to that of other recent BBC scandals. Now, if anyone can tell me if they think this is the right or wrong way to go, and why, I'd appreciate any input whatsoever. Any additional ideas will also be gratefully received
Thanks, that's good to hear. I've never done this kind of thing before so I thought I'd take my time and try to get it right, after all everyone's on holiday right now, it seems. Of course, I'm going to flesh these points out quite a lot. I'm hoping that if I ask enough questions, one of them might stick.
