Frankly, I'm Disgusted ...

[Arthur Little]

... at the apparent lack of up-to-date coverage by the major British Television channels in the aftermath of the worst tropical storm to hit the Philippines' Capital in 40 years.

In common, I expect, with millions of other viewers here in the UK, I tuned into the BBC News at 10 o'clock ... fully expecting to hear updated reports from Metro Manila in the devastatingly destructive wake of 'Typhoon Ondoy' ... only to find the airwaves dominated by Gordon Brown's "latest woes". And, on switching across to ITV, it was the same "story".

Now, I realise Sunday news bulletins - like bus and train services here on the Sabbath - are somewhat condensed compared to what we're accustomed to receiving on weekdays. But surely the scale of havoc wreaked by natural disasters [wherever they occur on the planet] ought to be infinitely more worthy of mention than *politics. *Enough said!

All I CAN say is, it's scandalous! My thoughts and prayers are therefore with fellow forumers and/or their families whose lives have been severely disrupted by the sheer magnitude of yesterday's flash floods.

[Northerner]

Personally, I am not surprised! But then the news rarely counts human suffering as news worthy these days. Jade Goody's death got far more attention than countless tragedies happening around the world.

And to be honest, it is a sad state that we are in when the news is more concerned with how long it took Gordon Brown to get a meeting with President Obama than the plight of thousands of people. But it has been this way for a long time now! I often use Al Jazeera for my news (as well as others) Purely to see what is happening in the world as our media has gotten far too celebrity focused, or dumbed down as people like to say.

But there should be a telefon event or something! But then the Philippines does not seem to matter to the powers that be!

[joebloggs]

up late again Arthur, doing the night shift

well the beeb showed alot of it this morning, haven't watched the news since thou.

looked really bad thou

how many appeals will there be for aid for them thou ?

[aposhark]

Hello Arthur,

I gave up on the TV news years ago, they all seem so preoccupied by irrelevances.

I use the internet now, we can get news from all over these days.

This link looks interesting as it has eye-witness comments.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/8276970.stm

[Arthur Little]

Hello Arthur,

I gave up on the TV news years ago, they all seem so preoccupied by irrelevances.

Wise man ... very true!!

[Arthur Little]

I use the internet now, we can get news from all over these days.

This link looks interesting as it has eye-witness comments.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/8276970.stm

It IS indeed! Thanks, Mike.

[Arthur Little]

i dont think you can blame the BBC... when i lived in manila, they did not show much of the 7/7 bomb that went off in london or the 3/3 train bomb in madrid. although things that happen in the USA had a lot more coverage. just tune into ABS CBN news to see what is happening..... If you have lived in the philippines you should know that there is always 1 disaster after another, 1 coup after another, ... World news has to be world news, there are plenty of other sites you can go to in asia that will give you more information, In the uk if you have sky there are over 25 different news channels, plus the internet....

Guess I didn't switch on early enough; as Joe says, the Beeb covered events a fair bit in the morning ... but it must've been when I was at Church, because I missed them.

Even so, you'd think they would've made at least SOME passing reference to them again in the evening.

I DID live in the Phils ... for 3 months ... whilst awaiting my wife's visa being processed. But I rarely watched TV in all that time, so cannot really comment.

And, not being much of a telly fan - apart from certain programmes and, of course, important news items - I only have one [Freeview] Sky channel.

Anyway, Welcome to the forum, Mike (from Mallorca?)

[pennybarry]

Try to watch Philippines news channel.
http://www.gmanews.tv/index.html
Goodluck Arthur!

[Arthur Little]

Try to watch Philippines news channel.
http://www.gmanews.tv/index.html
Goodluck Arthur!

Thanks, Penny ... Welcome back; hope you'd a lovely holiday!

[johncar54]

The coverage on Aljazeer (Sky 514) has been quite full.

[donrobert]

well... they just dont care about developing countries... :(

[pennybarry]

Thanks, Penny ... Welcome back; hope you'd a lovely holiday!

Yes Arthur! I had a great holiday and start saving now to go back!

Goodluck watching Pinoy TV

[laurel]

... at the apparent lack of up-to-date coverage by the major British Television channels in the aftermath of the worst tropical storm to hit the Philippines' Capital in 40 years.

In common, I expect, with millions of other viewers here in the UK, I tuned into the BBC News at 10 o'clock ... fully expecting to hear updated reports from Metro Manila in the devastatingly destructive wake of 'Typhoon Ondoy' ... only to find the airwaves dominated by Gordon Brown's "latest woes". And, on switching across to ITV, it was the same "story".

Now, I realise Sunday news bulletins - like bus and train services here on the Sabbath - are somewhat condensed compared to what we're accustomed to receiving on weekdays. But surely the scale of havoc wreaked by natural disasters [wherever they occur on the planet] ought to be infinitely more worthy of mention than *politics. *Enough said!
All I CAN say is, it's scandalous! My thoughts and prayers are therefore with fellow forumers and/or their families whose lives have been severely disrupted by the sheer magnitude of yesterday's flash floods.

I started a thread some time back regarding lack of coverage, and i understand and respect all the replies both in that thread and the ones here..........Yes there was coverage and for a time about the Manila flood but I agree with Arthur. Given the scale of what happened the news was little more than lipservice, I know that in other countries the news may also be unbalanced regarding other countries, but we have always prided ourselves on the way we report world events...we have the BBC world service, but if you go to their website I cant find any special category for Asian news, Africa yes, Europe yes.....but no Asian....... Just an observation

[gWaPito]

i dont think you can blame the BBC... when i lived in manila, they did not show much of the 7/7 bomb that went off in london or the 3/3 train bomb in madrid. although things that happen in the USA had a lot more coverage. just tune into ABS CBN news to see what is happening..... If you have lived in the philippines you should know that there is always 1 disaster after another, 1 coup after another, ... World news has to be world news, there are plenty of other sites you can go to in asia that will give you more information, In the uk if you have sky there are over 25 different news channels, plus the internet....

life is very cheap outside the west...you live, you die. No dwelling, just get on with what's left of your life

[IainBusby]

Hi Arthur,
It seems that the only news channel that always covers events in the Philippines is Aljazeera http://english.aljazeera.net/ . The flooding in the Philippines was the lead story on there for at least 3 days and is still being covered extensively.

Iain.

[Dedworth]

I started a thread some time back regarding lack of coverage, and i understand and respect all the replies both in that thread and the ones here..........Yes there was coverage and for a time about the Manila flood but I agree with Arthur. Given the scale of what happened the news was little more than lipservice, I know that in other countries the news may also be unbalanced regarding other countries, but we have always prided ourselves on the way we report world events...we have the BBC world service, but if you go to their website I cant find any special category for Asian news, Africa yes, Europe yes.....but no Asian....... Just an observation

There is a section for Asia news.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/default.stm

3rd down left hand side click Asia Pacific on that page it says that "Philippines battles flood chaos" was the most popular story from Sunday, Mon was Australia uranium dust, Tue Pacific Tsunami.

I agree with your sentiments though when there's an earthquake in Pakistan for example aid pours out of the UK & EU, special appeals are launched etc

[laurel]

Hi Dedworth, sorry i didnt make my self clear I was referring to the BBC worldservice website http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ i cant see section for asia as an entity. Anyway just an observation, think we need to pray for all those in Phils Indonesia etc ,

[MarBell379]

i dont think you can blame the BBC... when i lived in manila, they did not show much of the 7/7 bomb that went off in london or the 3/3 train bomb in madrid. although things that happen in the USA had a lot more coverage. just tune into ABS CBN news to see what is happening..... If you have lived in the philippines you should know that there is always 1 disaster after another, 1 coup after another, ... World news has to be world news, there are plenty of other sites you can go to in asia that will give you more information, In the uk if you have sky there are over 25 different news channels, plus the internet....

Whilst these were pretty major happenings, they do pale into insignificance with the scale of whats happened in Manila.
I agree completely that the lack of cpoverage has been scanadalous, and have been doing my bit by adding clips and licks to charitys collecting relief money on my facebook page. (If we're not happy with the amount of coverage, we CAN make a difference with this sort of thing).
Personally, I'm even MORE appalled at the pitiful amounts pledged in relief money. I'm not even sure the UK has offered, and the USA only gave $50,000 - not enough to rebuild more than 3 or 4 homes even in Philippines!

[Arthur Little]

Hi Arthur,
It seems that the only news channel that always covers events in the Philippines is Aljazeera http://english.aljazeera.net/ . The flooding in the Philippines was the lead story on there for at least 3 days and is still being covered extensively.

Iain.

Thanks for the link, Iain.

[miss.piggy]

just like you Arthur, I was watching the 10pm BBC when I first saw the coverage, but it was dead short, even less than a minute! It's a bit disappointing when you want to see and know more. Hey ho...i've just searched on the internet instead and phoned relatives and friends.

[ron]

Its a pity that we dont receive BBC WORLD NEWS tv . like in the rest of the world. I know BBC news 24 do link up with the world news service but i dont think its enough. id really like to see bbc world on sky Ron

[Arthur Little]

i dont think that is a true statement, in the UK we give a lot to developing countries, we also have charity shops on the high street like Oxfam, help the children etc, who collect a lot of money for developing countries. The British the world over are known as a caring race. I also have British Friends in the philippines who are fund raising, and collecting for the victims. This statement is uncalled for....... If you want to blame someone then surely it should be the filipino government , who have allowed these people to live in these shanty towns, and inferior housing for so long,, ... They have not tried to help these people out of poverty...and we all know that when this is all over. those poor people will re-build there ram shackle houses on the same sites... The government have not built any low cost affordable housing for filipinos, and if you have to blame somebody, then you should look at how your own governement misuses the large amount of funds that are sent home to the filipinos by OFW, and also the funds earmarked for development, before daring to point the blame at the UK

The Uk gives a lot of taxpayers money to developing countries, contrary to the philippines, who do not provide any housing for working class filipinos.... As we all know there are a lot of rich people, making a lot of money in the philippines , out of the poor, they use them to work in there factories and homes for a pittance, and maybe now they will contribute some money, once all this blows over, nothing will change. If you have visited the philippines , you must see the injustice between the rich and the poor..... Yes this was a natural disaster.. but if the government started rebuilding manila, and helping the poor build proper homes on proper sites, there could have been a lot less damage..... OFW should insist that the government improve the lifes of all filipinos

Whilst no-one would dispute that there's a great deal of truth in the statements contained in your two latest posts, I do think you're rather missing the point I was trying to make in starting this thread ... about the pitiful amount of news coverage by OUR main TV channels ... and say what you WILL to the contrary, it DOESN'T detract from showing the British media in a "bad light".

And although it had not been my intention originally, to lay the blame - for what WAS, after all, caused by a catastrophic "freak of nature" - at ANYONE'S "doorstep", it soon became patently obvious that the sheer scale of the disaster deserved far, far greater reportage than was accorded to it from a highly developed nation like our own with a significant Filipino population. God alone knows the anguish suffered by these people, as they anxiously waited in vain for news of their loved ones back home in the areas worst affected by this calamity.

Little wonder, then, that others here were prompted to express their feelings about an apparent lack of concern from the Western World in general, and the UK in particular!

[Arthur Little]

just like you Arthur, I was watching the 10pm BBC when I first saw the coverage, but it was dead short, even less than a minute! *It's a bit disappointing when you want to see and know more. Hey ho...i've just searched on the internet instead and phoned relatives and friends.

*Precisely the point I'd been trying to get across, Olivia! ... I'd even go a step further by saying it's a horrendous state of affairs.

[somebody]

The BBC on the World News service mentioned by Ron had bulletins on all over the weekend.

Channel four news, the news version on More 4 and BBC 4 im sure will have more infomation possibly Newsnight. Been out of the country for the last few days so cant tell you.

Often the best source of world news I Have is Friends from the Various countries affected many are experts on what happens in their own countries as you would expect but often know little of what happens here in the UK or eleswhere to their motherland

The truth is many people simply are not intrested in what doesn't happen in their own neighbourhood The world over, for every one person i meet in the UK or abroad who will show intrest in the world and whats happening and a knowledge of the rest of the world. Plenty more who dont have a scooby doo or even worse are misinformed

If we are directly not involved many people will moan that the news is on about the same subject if its repeated to often.