BBC decision to stop airing the daily briefings

[Srictlybakeoff]

Just as things start to get more worrying again, the BBC have decided to stop showing the First Ministers daily briefings. There is an implication that the decision is political. It seems o me to be a very biased move.

Huh, where are you getting 47 'recoveries' from?!

I agree fully @frasersmummy. The First Minister has been loving the opportunity to proselytise about how there are still x number of cases but she is keeping us all safe from evil. In contrast to big bad Boris who only cares about the economy.

She has been far less keen to talk about how there are only 8 people in ICU across the whole country, yet it will be illegal for DC to play with 3 friends in the park from Monday.

It also is really dismissive of viewers who cannot access the information digitally

It is still on the news but it will be concise instead of filtered through the rambling.

Exactly Strictly, yet the Labour Lord (I forget his name) and some Tories showboating over twitter that they ' got the daily updates stopped being shown' on the BBC as they were ' party political broadcasts'.

As far as I could see - and I will admit I didn't see it every day - the only party politics I could see going on was someone doing their job pretty well in one country while others, from a different party, didn't do their jobs very well in another and ducked out of the limelight as soon as possible. If by some weird and bizarre fluke of electoral gerrymandering Ruth Davidson had been standing every day where Nicola Sturgeon is now this wouldn't be called partisan propaganda but 'strong, responsible governance'.

The stench of double standards - but that's the BBC for you.

@Scotslassie1
www.travellingtabby.com/scotland-coronavirus-tracker/

this is a really informative site and all the information is gathered from the scottish govt I believe

Amadeus my DF not my husband so the assumptions you made of what I can and cannot do for him are totally irrelevant. I would not patronise him either. He can access news in the media of his choice which happens to be television.
Well he could previously.

The only illogical response was yours.

Loving all the SNP supporters showing how much they care about the frail and elderly. I would say that it is a very tiny minority of people who won’t be able to access the FM daily broadcasts online, so no point in pandering to a small group of people who can access the info in other ways. Lidlfix, your attitude to older people is extremely patronising, we are not all stupid and unable to think for ourselves or need to be spoon fed information. I’m sure your father is perfectly capable of accessing whatever information he wants whether or not there is a daily TV briefing, he’s not a baby. I am going to bed now and am leaving this thread.

Just wanted to add that the content of a briefing doesn't have to be overtly political to still be political. NS gets to choose which "facts" are presented and how they are presented and also gets an opportunity to be in front of the viewing public every single day and this is not also afforded to any of the other parties or indeed any partisan groups.

Is there any reason, if it's just presented facts, that the other parties shouldn't take a turn at doing the briefing as long as they are as non political as the FM? Or maybe given to senior civil servants/experts who must also undersatnd the justification for actions as I'm sure they are asked to brief ScotGov?

Given that we've all voted to be represented by someone in Holyrood, shouldn't the 53.5% of the population who didn't vote SNP be allowed to hear the facts from the people they voted for?

So let's put Douglas Ross or is it Baroness Ruth - I really don't know who is in charge of the Tories at the moment?, and Richard Leonard on rotation?!
Again, it helps a lot of people to be able to actually see the leader of the country talking about what's happening.
It's always happened during times of crisis. I would have no problem with, and would like, the UK Government to give up- dates on television.

If the PM spent EVERY day on a podium reading a script of figures I'd think WTF guy , people are losing their jobs, the economy has tanked get out there and do something. Nichola hangs about the studio doing this and she is a hero, who's doing everything else?? Or is Scotland so industry free that it's not affecting work and businesses?

The briefing is pointless. The Westminster one stopped weeks ago.

By all means televise the briefings where there is a major announcement. But the daily 45 minutes is totally OTT and excessive, especially when it finishes at 1pm and there's a news bulletin 30 minutes later. Even if you don't have notifications binging on your phone or access to the internet, any major developments will be covered on the news channel, radio, main news bulletins.

There have never been more ways of getting your news.

And yes, we are heading into a 6 month period running up to a Scottish election so allowing one political party 5 x 45 minutes a week to state their case on the main TV channel with no challenge from opposition is just wrong.

as someone who is deaf, there are indeed other ways to get the information in BSL. The scottish government facebook page for example could have a video, in addition to a simple text post saying here are the new rules. As a PP said - just give a press release to all the papers and news channels. It was definitely becoming a daily PBB so the BBC have done the right thing.

Does anyone know if it'll still be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland?

So the UK Gov shouldn't go ahead with their updates that they're re starting in the near future? You'll all be complaining about those being unfair and need to be stopped?

They do a daily press release! Ffs and she doesn't spend every day on a podium?! Three days a week.
Instead we'll now have Bargain Hunt: Battle of Britain. That's a big FU to the Scottish Gov if ever there was one.

Scottish Government didn't really help their case yesterday by sidestepping the question on Lanarkshire at the lunchtime briefing. They must have already known they were going to announce the extension of local restrictions.

One of the reasons the UK wide briefing stopped was because the Speaker kept pointing out that making announcements via briefings was disrespectful and undercutting the Democratic Parliamentary process. Difficult to see why the same does not apply to Holyrood.

Watching the briefing is the only time I ever use the bbc, I got an iPlayer account so I could do it at work too. Won't be tuning in to whatever they replace it with!

You watched the briefings at work? The mind boggles.

in addition to a simple text post saying here are the new rules

Outside of covid and politics no one can deny a briefing is a much more effective way of communication of an ongoing situation than "a simple text".

No one is forced to watch the briefing and the key arguments against seem to be:

Westminster stopped weeks ago - that was their decision, not enforced by the BBC, a public service, and many argue communication from Westminster is poor.

It is a PPB - only when media ask questions on issues not related to covid.

It is SNP - they are our current government. I don't support the torys but still believe they should be holding regular UK briefings

It will be covered in news/media - With added bias/opinion and not as effectively getting across what the government is advising and asking people to do, again no one is forced to watch the briefing.

It is quite sad we have become a country that wants to, or allows the BBC to, censor our governments (Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish or UK) from making information accessible and clear during a pandemic for political reasons. I wonder if any other countries in the world are asking their leaders to stop giving them information?

What other countries are broadcasting a briefing every day?

WeAllHaveWings that is not what happened yesterday. The briefing contained a bland nothing statement. The pertinent changes in Lanarkshire were announced AFTER the close of the business day on Friday. No briefings all weekend and therefore no awkward follow ups.

That is the complete opposite of clear and transparent communication direct to the public.

@ShamPayne

You watched the briefings at work? The mind boggles.

Why?

I was out of work for a few months but now wfh. I time my lunch every day so I can watch the briefing. I like to know what’s going on. What’s so mind boggling?

@Straven123

If the PM spent EVERY day on a podium reading a script of figures I'd think WTF guy , people are losing their jobs, the economy has tanked get out there and do something. Nichola hangs about the studio doing this and she is a hero, who's doing everything else?? Or is Scotland so industry free that it's not affecting work and businesses?

At least she’s visible. Where the fuck is Boris?

And again I am not an NS fan and don’t vote SNP or for independence

I was also wondering that Wings- if any other countrie's public broadcaster has stopped public health updates after pressure from opposing parties. I doubt it.

Sorry didn’t realise you WFH. Also didn’t realise anyone was still watching them.