Ofcom chair Michael Grade says TV has become ‘exploitative, patronising and cruel’
Michael Grade, the chair of broadcasting regulator Ofcom, has said TV has become “exploitative and cruel”.
In a new interview, the peer and former chair of the BBC board said: “The exploitation dial has been switched up more and more for ratings. It makes me mad. I really don’t like it or enjoy it.
“Television has also become patronising in the sense of: ‘This will do for the audience.’ No mind at work behind it. No real craft thrown in. Just bread and circuses.”
The BBC has always been patronising, but I'm not so sure about bread and circuses. Bread and circuses without the bread perhaps, but lots and lots of clowns.
2 comments:
Yes, it has always been exploitative. I remember the old TV game shows patronising and gently mocking contestants who were a bit "simple", as my parents termed them. "Double your Money" and "Take your Pick", etc. And of course, there were the jokes about gays, ethnic minorities, and nationality which wouldn't pass muster these days. They've just changed the targets.
The main issue is that the longer TV has continued as a medium, the more formulaic it has become. Boredom is a bigger disincentive for me than shock or disgust. Looking back over my life, it seems that TV has always been run by vaguely unpleasant and self-obsessed people.
Sam - with hindsight it's surprising how patronising TV people managed to be. Ordinary people were gently mocked as a matter of course, their foibles and limitations parodied and exaggerated in game shows, comedies, drama and soaps.
"Looking back over my life, it seems that TV has always been run by vaguely unpleasant and self-obsessed people."
That's what I see when I look back.
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