Autumnwatch 2016 to be broadcast live from RSPB reserve Arne (1 Viewer)

[Telephoto Paul]

Neither of those would help increase the diversity away from Old Middle-Class White Men (and our wildlife really does need the support of non-middle class white people).

The way she's been used in previous series, I can't help but feel Liz might be first in line. However between the BBC cost costing and the fact the diversity issue has gone public, I won't be surprised if they now decided to go with just two lead presenters plus guest presenters as required.

 

[Telephoto Paul]

Made a last minute decision to pop down to Arne for the afternoon to have a nosy. Over most of the reserve, signs of the Beeb were minimal but it was certainly busier than last time I went and there were a lot more RSPB volunteers around.

I spotted more than a few pop-up hides in unreachable locations with lenses pointing out of them, and lots of remote gear setup on some of the remote scrapes. Eventually came across the broadcasting units and crew, tucked away in the farm buildings near the Church corner. But never saw any faces I recognised.

I'm sure this thread will be pleased to hear there will definitely be coverage of rutting deer (specifically Sikas).

 

[Euan Buchan]

20 mins to go

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

I also like yolo Williams if that's how it's spelt haha

Iolo

 

[Farnboro John]

Neither of those would help increase the diversity away from Old Middle-Class White Men (and our wildlife really does need the support of non-middle class white people).

The way she's been used in previous series, I can't help but feel Liz might be first in line. However between the BBC cost costing and the fact the diversity issue has gone public, I won't be surprised if they now decided to go with just two lead presenters plus guest presenters as required.

Frankly, I think the diversity problem on this is as insoluble as the NHS's one about blood and organ donation, on which they have been appealing to the shortage communities for ten years or more with pretty much no success: what the BBC and conservation organisations need to concentrate on is not alienating the audience/support they do have - that is, us middle-aged whites, not all of whom are men.

And my objection to Liz Bonnin is simply that whatever she is like as a scientist, she is a rubbish wildlife presenter. And I will not accept that there should be a compromise on that simply for diversity reasons - ever.

John

 

[IAN JAMES THOMPSON]

I've been pretty disappointed by Autumnwatch this time, with no live wildlife webcams on Autumnwatch at all just like Winterwatch the last 2 years and there appears to be no Autumnwatch Unsprung this time as well. Pretty disappointed by that. I presume it's because of the cuts overall at the BBC.
Ian.

 

[John Cantelo]

Apparently, the new presenter is someone called Gillian Burke about whom I know nothing other than what's in this report from a distinctly dubious source - https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowb...artin-hughes-games-replaced-by-gillian-burke/

 

[Euan Buchan]

I've been pretty disappointed by Autumnwatch this time, with no live wildlife webcams on Autumnwatch at all just like Winterwatch the last 2 years and there appears to be no Autumnwatch Unsprung this time as well. Pretty disappointed by that. I presume it's because of the cuts overall at the BBC.
Ian.

I agree good show but miss the extra stuff on Red Button & Unsprung.

 

[John Cantelo]

I did wonder whether the failure to mention the widely reported disappearances of "radio tagged" Golden Eagles at all - surely both highly relevant and germane to the tagging project - indicates a worrying level of self-censorship by the BBC. So much for the Countryside Association's claims that Packham has 'used his position' at the BBC. Much the same happened on Countryfile not so long ago when a long item on Mountain Hare failed to mention that they suffer near or actual extermination on heavily 'keepered grouse moors. OK it's not a news programme but it should give us the whole picture which includes systemic persecution.

 

[Sandra (Taylor)]

I did wonder whether the failure to mention the widely reported disappearances of "radio tagged" Golden Eagles at all - surely both highly relevant and germane to the tagging project - indicates a worrying level of self-censorship by the BBC. So much for the Countryside Association's claims that Packham has 'used his position' at the BBC. Much the same happened on Countryfile not so long ago when a long item on Mountain Hare failed to mention that they suffer near or actual extermination on heavily 'keepered grouse moors. OK it's not a news programme but it should give us the whole picture which includes systemic persecution.

I agree with your comments, John. This programme could be used to bring the persecution of eagles/hares etc. to a wide audience and it is an opportunity to discuss this in depth. When mountain hares are shown in their habitat all I can envisage are the photographs of hundreds of corpses of these creatures and their grinning killers. Has Chris been gagged perhaps? All the time he was sitting by the golden eagle nest yesterday talking about how it could be tracked now for 5 yrs+ - I just kept thinking that chance is a fine thing! Let us hope that juvenile is with us for years and is given the chance it so deserves.

Sandra

 

[John Cantelo]

I agree with your comments, John. This programme could be used to bring the persecution of eagles/hares etc. to a wide audience and it is an opportunity to discuss this in depth. When mountain hares are shown in their habitat all I can envisage are the photographs of hundreds of corpses of these creatures and their grinning killers. Has Chris been gagged perhaps? All the time he was sitting by the golden eagle nest yesterday talking about how it could be tracked now for 5 yrs+ - I just kept thinking that chance is a fine thing! Let us hope that juvenile is with us for years and is given the chance it so deserves.

Sandra

In the case of the eagle, I can understand not pointing the finger directly at grouse shooting interests and even getting someone else on the team other than Chris Packham to comment to avoid any perceived conflict of interests. However, not mentioning that tagging has shown that eagles are disappearing in strange circumstances is highly suspect particularly since they mention that as a female it will wander widely and anyone with any knowledge will think "chance would be a fine thing!" No such excuses for Countryfile/Mountain Hares as by not mentioning the massive cull shows clear bias by omission.

 

[pe'rigin]

It’s a difficult balancing situation for the BBC here; they are making a popular programme for the masses that has a wide appeal for all ages and interests. Continuous persecution mentioning and foretelling the possible survival chances for the eagle probably will not linger long in the memory of the majority of the viewing audience. I don’t feel the BBC should always perceive that everything is hunky dory with the UKs wildlife, but the Beeb are not alone in portraying the ‘glass half full’ scenario to their audience, wildlife Charities and Trusts are equally guilty.

That’s where I feel the problems lies, the majority of people within this Kingdom, are just not bothered, no matter how much information you give them. You may consider the Hen Harrier petition a success, but the response was a tiny fraction of the UKs total population.

We might consider that discussing in depth the plight of our raptors on autumn watch important, but for vast majority of ordinary viewers it isn’t. Its not that I think they don’t care, its simply in their lives the issue isn’t paramount.

 

[Jhanlon]

It’s a difficult balancing situation for the BBC here; they are making a popular programme for the masses that has a wide appeal for all ages and interests. Continuous persecution mentioning and foretelling the possible survival chances for the eagle probably will not linger long in the memory of the majority of the viewing audience. I don’t feel the BBC should always perceive that everything is hunky dory with the UKs wildlife, but the Beeb are not alone in portraying the ‘glass half full’ scenario to their audience, wildlife Charities and Trusts are equally guilty.

That’s where I feel the problems lies, the majority of people within this Kingdom, are just not bothered, no matter how much information you give them. You may consider the Hen Harrier petition a success, but the response was a tiny fraction of the UKs total population.

We might consider that discussing in depth the plight of our raptors on autumn watch important, but for vast majority of ordinary viewers it isn’t. Its not that I think they don’t care, its simply in their lives the issue isn’t paramount.

That may well be true but our 'un-greenest government ever' have their vile tentacles spread far and wide and it's not long ago that there was a real stand-off between the government and the BBC. It may be the BBC making these decisions but they could be under pressure from the Conservative government who as we all know are well-funded by rich landowners and the shooting elite.

Look what happened with Prince Harry and the shot hen harrier. This is not an issue those in power want airing. There may be public indifference but they don't raptor persecution getting too much coverage as the majority of rich toffs don't think it should be a crime. There's plenty of evidence available and this is precisely why the government continually side with the shooting community - eg their very recent response on the suggested moratorium on limiting the shooting of snipe, golden plover & woodcock and why they will not introduce vicarious liability for landowners when their gamekeepers break the law.

I would suggest you use the hashtags #BBCAutumnwatch or #Autumnwatch to voice your concerns as there is always a lot of interest on Twitter and Joe Public deserve to know the full story. Whether any individuals choose to do anything about this is another matter but it's very easy to retweet messages so it could spread the word and it keeps the issues relevant. They sometimes even get coverage in the 'leftie' press such as The Mirror.

 

[John Cantelo]

It’s a difficult balancing situation for the BBC here; they are making a popular programme for the masses that has a wide appeal for all ages and interests. Continuous persecution mentioning and foretelling the possible survival chances for the eagle probably will not linger long in the memory of the majority of the viewing audience. I don’t feel the BBC should always perceive that everything is hunky dory with the UKs wildlife, but the Beeb are not alone in portraying the ‘glass half full’ scenario to their audience, wildlife Charities and Trusts are equally guilty.

That’s where I feel the problems lies, the majority of people within this Kingdom, are just not bothered, no matter how much information you give them. You may consider the Hen Harrier petition a success, but the response was a tiny fraction of the UKs total population.

We might consider that discussing in depth the plight of our raptors on autumn watch important, but for vast majority of ordinary viewers it isn’t. Its not that I think they don’t care, its simply in their lives the issue isn’t paramount.

It may be "a difficult balancing act for the BBC" but I'm not asking for a full length enquiry, just a mention that there's a significant problem here which, in part, tagging has a role. The Beeb certainly doesn't seem to worry about balance when screening loving items on gamekeepers for Countryfile (or regurgitating clips from the dire propagandist 'Clarissa & the Countryman') The BBC also has a duty to 'educate and inform' so the attitudes of the average viewer is, to a degree, irrelevant.

 

[Farnboro John]

It may be "a difficult balancing act for the BBC" but I'm not asking for a full length enquiry, just a mention that there's a significant problem here which, in part, tagging has a role. The Beeb certainly doesn't seem to worry about balance when screening loving items on gamekeepers for Countryfile or regurgitating clips from the dire propagandist 'Clarissa & the Countryman') The BBC also has a duty to 'educate and inform' so the attitudes of the average viewer is, to a degree, irrelevant.

Agreed. Part of balance is showing the things that are unpalatable to the murderous rich and their amoral hired thugs as well as the things we middle-class liberals dislike.

John

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Proof of the pudding would be if (heaven forfend) the show's very own tagged bird went awol up Monadhliath way how that would play out on screen...

 

[John Cantelo]

Proof of the pudding would be if (heaven forfend) the show's very own tagged bird went awol up Monadhliath way how that would play out on screen...

The same thought went through my mind ....

 

[Himalaya]

I think the problem with the Watches are that there are too many presenters. Agreed Martin was given a clown like role and one that annoyed many if us. When it aired a few months ago that Martin was no longer going to be on I actually felt a bit sad even though I did not like how some of his segments were presented.
The whole diversity issue must have been on the BBC's mind for a few months. Remember the conversation between Chris Packham and Benjamin Zephania - surname probably spelt incorrectly. One of the issues Chris mentioned was the black if ethnic minorities at nature reserves as visitors.

Diversity is important but not for Box ticking exercises. Being a British born Muslim of Pakistani origin it is hard not to miss the fact that ethnic minorities in Britain do not show that much of an interest in nature as a the white British do. I am not sure if that is because of the lack of ethnic presenters in Spring watch. I personally do no think that I can't relate to someone because they are white and middle class because if my background. I think I would have much more in common with Chris Packham and lots to talk about than say someone of a similar ethnic background like the Boxer Amir Khan from Bolton unless he us a closet birdwatcher and nature lover.
There is a bit of a class issue as when you have the bits from the general public who says it is an Urban or Suburban garden yet they get x y x species in it. When you see the the garden it is the size of 3 football pitches.
I think a good segment would be at least one of the main presents going round inner city areas and doing brief chats interviews about nature and wildlife.

 

[Farnboro John]

Watched the Edible Dormouse segment the other night and had a growing feeling that I recognised the tree!

John

 

[Himalaya]

Managed to watch the first programme today on IPlayer, had to buy a TV license though - it was good. I hope they broadcast Winterwatch form here? Is Dorset really the warmest part of the country?