It is often said that the BBC Today programme sets the agenda for the rest of the day’s news. Well, how right they are and what an interesting example this is of somebody getting caught off guard and lulled into a false sense of security!
All week the programme has had a different guest editor each day. Yesterday (31 December) it was the turn of the author PD James. The programme ended with her having a nice chat with the UK Justice Minister and former Home Secretary Jack Straw. He commented that he did not believe police in the UK were weighed down with paperwork and those who complained about spending hours filling in forms were just being inefficient and actually quite liked being in a nice warm office rather than out catching criminals…..Oh dear. Well, the story has just run and run and is still being covered today.
Lessons learned: It doesnt matter who is interviewing you, be on your guard just as you would with the most fierce interviewer. It reminds me of the time former Prime Minister Tony Blair was caught off guard by a member of the public on the subject of waiting times for doctor appointments.
Or is the lesson learned that our spokespeople have become so trained, often by the very journalists that will be asking the questions, that it has all become a bit of a game and it is the citizen journalist getting the best stories!!
