BBC flayed for Diamond Jubilee coverage
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The BBC has been roundly criticised for a series of howlers and tepid coverage of a pageant on River Thames on Sunday, with a leading television personality asking:
"Has the BBC ever presented a more mind-numbingly tedious programme in its history?" � As celebrities and readers heaped criticism on the BBC, the public service broadcaster said it was "very proud of the quality and breadth" of its seven-hour coverage. It said nearly 12 million people watched its coverage of the pageant.
A BBC spokesman said: "The pageant was a broadcasting event of unprecedented scale and complexity".
But viewers and commentators listed several inaccuracies in its coverage, including referring to Queen Elizabeth as 'Her Royal Highness the Queen', instead of Her Majesty; the bow of the royal barge mistaken for the stern; upriver being confused with downriver.
The headlines today attacking the coverage said it all: 'The BBC pageant backlash: Viewers attack inane stunts and blundering presenters' (Daily Mail); 'The BBC's reputation is sunk in The Thames' (The Telegraph), 'BBC blasted for Thames Pageant coverage' (The Times). Writer and television personality Stephen Fry wrote: "Has the BBC ever presented a more mind-numbingly tedious programme in its history? 'HRH the queen' said the first ignorant presenter. HRH?" �
The BBC was criticised for allegedly treating the pageant as a party rather than a formal commemorative event. Peter Sissons, a respected newsreader who retired from the BBC some years ago, called the coverage 'a disaster', and said the way the pageant had been handled would "do huge damage to the BBC's reputation for being able to handle the big historic occasions".
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