BBC America: It's a bit like New Coke.

The BBC is great at many things. First, their attention to international news outweighs American counterparts. The reason of course is financial. American broadcasters did not see the benefit of the many foreign bureaus they use to have spread throughout the world. Americans just don't really care about news too far from home. At least in-depth news. When was the last time the networks did a story on Kenya or Darfur or Uganda? Been a while. Americans also love icons. And so it seems BBC America has to sell the hosts to the American people like the other American networks.

For me, it doesn't work. The real BBC you can watch overseas is hard hitting, thorough and not watered down. The hosts are generic reporters who do not get publicity for sitting in a chair.

That's just my view on it but I like the BBC News I get overseas to the America version. They seemed to have crammed the two hosts into a closet in Washington and the news comes to us Americanized. We already get that. Why they don't just give us the news from overseas befuddles me. I think it would be a real wake up call and would provide better news.

Instead the weaker version is just as good as a local affiliate. Again, just my opinion.

However, at least we get the BBC. In any form it is better than nothing.

Scottish Media: STV

If you have been on the blog or on this site, you will notice that STV video is seen more than the BBC's. Well the reason, is that it is easier to retrieve. The BBC for some reason seems to be more difficult to download. Nevertheless, the STV stories are quite good and comparable to US local news in their coverage. I had a chance to spend a day in the STV newsroom and went out on a story. The police were going to evict a family because they were a nuisance to the neighborhood and suspected drug trafficing was also a reason.

I learned quickly that STV news crews are no different than the news crews I have spent my career with. They complain about the assignment desk, the stories, and just about everything you would hear in a US news van.

Scottish TV is part of the ITV network or Independent Television network. They are not publicly supported, although they do receive some funds. They remain financially fit by commericals and selling air time. Just like in the US. In Scotland, radio is more popular than TV...why? It's free to have a radio but you are taxed to have a television. I had to pay close to $300 to get a TV license for the year. If you look at it as paying for cable, the overall costs are about the same in the US, however...in the UK you need a satellite dish to get Sky channels and they contain all the sporting events. Satellite dishes are more popular than cable in the UK. Bottom line, owning a TV in Scotland can get very pricey. That's why most people watch their sports in a pub. Look out America, someday we will have to pay to watch the NFL. It's coming.

Scottish Media: Channel 4

The first thing you may notice as a tourist is the difference in television news. They do not have local affiliates and the main news comes from England. In Scotland there are two news organizations on television, STV (Scottish television) and BBC Scotland. They compete like our local affiliates but they must cover an entire nation.

The other media from England provides various other news organizations. There is the BBC, Sky News and Channel 4. Channel 4 is renown for its in-depth news. I met Jon Snow at the university and he was quite a nice fellow. I had no idea who he was but was told later he was the news anchor for Channel 4. After I figured that out and listened to his speech, I was a bit ashamed. He is the equivalent to our Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw or Peter Jennings. He covered the Iran Crisis in the 1979 for ABC because American Journalists were not allowed there for obvious reasons.

If you watched any of the Bhutto assassination coverage from the States you may have seen the graphic, Channel 4 exclusive. Well Channel 4 kicked butt with the story and if you see their version of the story you will be better informed. Click here to see the story.


Overall, the news in the United Kingdom is much better. They spend more time on a story and it is rare to see ridiculous teases about sexy co-eds or some stupid thing that we get in the United States. The reason: commercialization. The US needs ratings to make money. The United Kingdom puts a limit on the number of commericials and give government funding. The media is public funded. It makes a big difference.

The full link to the story:
Channel 4 - News - Pakistan's Bhutto killed in attack