Bernie Newnham

This from a Jan 2016 edition of “Private Eye”. I think it means a TC1,2,3 salesperson.

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Birtspeak is a very long running column which carries examples of mad BBC quotations. It originated – not surprisingly – by quoting Mr – sorry, Lord – Birt’s pronouncements. Everyone thought that would go away with the man, but it turns out not to be true, hence Birtspeak 2.0.

Albert Barber

But does anyone understand it?

Chris Booth

Back in the 1990s,  Post Production & Graphic Design issued a multi page “Mission Statement” following several re-organisations.

Copies were issued in the Tea Room and we all sat down and read it in silence.

After ten minutes solid reading, the whole room looked up, and, as one, said “What the f**k does that mean” – it was totally unintelligible!

Albert Barber

Also by the way, in similar vein but about Radio and how they say “…Thank you, Brian, and now from me Fred Blogs over to you Brian….Thank you Fred etc…" to each other so many times –  and some of the odd news items etc of the (radio) world.

Hugh Sheppard

Indeed Albert is right about all this. Is a word of thanks sufficient to a weatherperson for filling their slot?  NO!  Of course not!  It has to be “Thanks very much” or – my own bȇte noire – “Thanks very much INDEED”.  Not that I can complain as much as I used to, having nailed most of the “Today” programme presenters individually, who really have taken it on board, but I’ve not yet had a word with Peter White of “In Touch” and “You and Yours”.  I otherwise admire him as a broadcaster – indeed without needing to qualify that with any allowance for his being blind.

And while we are on the subject of executives …

Noel Edmonds as a mock BBC executive (30 May 2016) tells viewers “… By watching Noel’s House Party and telling your friends about it, you are reminding them of a bygone age when we of the BBC had an entertainment department! This was closed down when we ran out of ideas of how to entertain the public in a way in which they found entertaining….”

Pat Heigham

When Noel says: “…Some clueless executives are dragging the BBC down. They have no idea what makes good TV or what people want to watch…. ”

– this reminds me that it’s not just BBC execs who suffer from creative blindness. I believe that MGM’s head people wanted to drop “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz”.

Alec Bray

And over at Paramount, they wanted to drop “Flash Bang Wallop” from the film of “Half a Sixpence”.