Well, it had to happen sometime.
Two English media personalities who have their own shows on BBC have been suspended and had their shows taken off air until further notice. So what exactly was(were) their crime(s)?
Well, this suspension "follows a series of calls made by the pair to actor Andrew Sachs on Brand's Saturday night programme." What exactly was the nature of the calls? The two left messages on Sachs' answering machine feature Ross swearing and Brand claiming that he slept with Sachs' grandaughter. Ok, rude- but not unheard of on TV. Plenty of media personalities swear on TV and make outrageous claims, and most of their audience realize that they are simply joking around. I suppose the question is more about the fact that they physically called the actor and left the messages on his machine, not the actual content of their statements. Of course, the fact that they publicized their prank on TV is also factor.
The actual calls made were very disrespectful, Sachs did not need to come home to listen to such messages but neither does anyone who is prank called by anyone. And I'm sure Sach's grandaughter, Ms Baillie, didn't appreciate the comments either. But honestly, when you or someone you know closely is in the public eye, you expect things like this to happen on occasion. Brand and Ross don't exactly claim their programs to be mature-minded and polite.
On the issue of the calls having been recorded on the show, well, people would have found out about it anyway. Still, it was unacceptable of Brand and Ross, in my opinion, to entertain their audience by leaving lewd messages on Sachs' answering machine. The issue, in my opinion, is more that Brand and Lewd somewhat made a profit of the whole issue. They engaged their audience by being disrepectful to Sachs. Though, I have to admit that I hear people doing this all the time on the radio, just not to famous actors. Radio personalities call various people and either leave rude messages or give them false imformation to frusterate them. So Brand and Ross are definately not the first to prank call someone and broadcast the call, nor, I'm sure, will they be the last.
Sachs' was quoted as saying he was "not surprised" by the suspension of the two hosts but also added: "I am not going to take it anywhere. I'm not out for revenge." Sachs actually comes out as the least irked by the prank than anyone involved, save for Brand and Ross of course. His grandaughter said that the pair should "pay for what they've done with their jobs" and claimed that her grandfather was "really upset and says he wants the whole situation to end". She also added that the pair were "beyond contempt," and "It was bad enough that they recorded these things on my grandfather's answer machine but astonishing the BBC saw fit to broadcast it when they could have stopped it." Ms. Baillie actually raises an interesting question on whether or not it is the responsability of the broadcasting network to moderate what the TV personalities say. Whatever your take on the question, I'm pretty sure that Brand, Ross and any of the people at BBC who viewed the program before it was aired never thought it would create such a big issue. Media personalities make fun of public figures all the time. This time it may just have been a shade too far over the line, which may indicate that clearer boundaries may need to be set for these hosts. After all, all they're really out to do is entertain their audience and make money off their programs, obviously they thought the joke would appeal to much of the public. I don't think the call was made with malicious intent to hurt Sachs or his family.
Still, BBC director general, Mark Thompson apologized to Sachs and his family, publically calling the broadcast a "gross lapse of taste by the performers and the production team".
So, how far SHOULD media personalities go? How far CAN they go before their actions are questioned? I don't know but I'm sure Brand and Ross are asking themselves the same questions right now.
Here's the article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7696714.stm
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1 comment:
I thought that this was a very interesting article. The media is pushing the limit and should know when enough is enough. I think that it was an extreme action to take their show off the air, but the main reason for taking the show off the air is because they publicized their prank on television. If the prank wasn't on t.v. then the show might have been suspended until further notice. Ross and Brand shouldn't have left those rude messages on Sach's answering machine, there was no need for them. But wouldn't you think that if they were leaving the messages to Sach's, on television, then they would think that there wouldn't be some kind of punishment? That there was a voice in their heads that said "And if we go through with this, what's going to happen?" I think that this article is a good story that can be debated. Good job =]
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