Chile miners: Too much coverage on the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú?
Many of you have followed the media story of the week – perhaps even of the century so far – the rescue of 33 Chilean miners.
Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne faces the media pack. Picture: Getty Images
Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú head of Global News Peter Horrocks hailed the coverage as "the most remarkable display of vibrant journalism across the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú’s services".
To find out more about the scale of the media operation, I spoke to Eva Salinas, who reported on the events at Camp Hope, for her newspaper, the Santiago Times, who told me that the media coverage of the story was almost as much of an event as the story itself.
Please let us know whether the coverage was overkill or just right, and whether the media should leave the miners alone now.
Future of the World Service
It’s clear from the Over To You in-box that many of you care passionately about the future shape of the World Service.
With the UK’s public spending cuts about to be announced, and savings already underway at the World Service, you have been offering us some interesting ideas about how to fund your favourite radio station.
From Kenya, Dr Unyime Nseyo described the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú as ‘the UK’s cultural link to its old and new worlds’,
From Finland, Neil Smee said the World Service "has always been my companion".
In the UK, listener Jonathan Meldrum describes the World Service as "an iridescent jewel among radio stations".
So if the UK government’s money for the World Service is going to be reduced, are there other funding models which might apply?
Some people suggest listeners might pay for a service which they value so highly, so this week on Over To You we asked Michael Goldfarb, a former London correspondent for National Public Radio in the USA, whether the NPR model might work? He had a pretty direct answer – and it wasn’t positive!
Rajan Datar is the presenter of Over To You.
Over To You is your chance to have your say about the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú World Service and its programmes. It airs at 00:40, 03:40 and 12:40 every Sunday (GMT).
Comment number 1.
At 16th Oct 2010, dennisjunior1 wrote:Rajan:
Cuts to the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú World Services would be a tragedy to those of us that like Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú and the services, that are provided....
--Dennis (MCC) in Rochester, New York --
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Comment number 2.
At 18th Oct 2010, GerryBerlin wrote:The Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú's idea of what constitutes "balance" is laughable at the best of times, but your report today on General Pinochet takes the biscuit. The main speaker talked about him as if he were a nice old uncle he dotes upon, the presenter used the tone of voice that used to be reserved for the queen mother, and the conclusion that any crimes he may have committed were a "matter for Chile" ignored international law and the British courts mentioned in your report that upheld it, before he was let off on "health" grounds. Why didn't you mention the families of his victims, some 600 of whom still don't know where the bodies of their murdered relatives were dumped? That might have been more appropriate than your description of the cheering crowds that met him at the airport on his return.
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