I'm surprised people haven't called for London Live to be broadcasting live from the scene all day, that they didn't have a team in place to roll through the night and there was no news special this morning. Sound familiar?
Slightly off topic, but I really don't get London Live. I'm not a Londoner, but it seems like a half-hearted attempt at a channel which doesn't quite seem to get anything right. I understand they may have limited resources, but I really wonder what the point of the channel is as I can't really imagine people tuning into London Live for most news stories. Particularly so, as from what I can see, their pretty poor performance covering most (even London based) stories. I'm not that familiar with the channel, so it may just be a perception I've got of it but I don't really see how it's still running.
Had this not been in London, would the BBC, Sky and ITV have gone so much with this story? I very, very much doubt it.
Bear in mind the BBC initial coverage was actually anchored in Manchester.
But very quickly taken over by London. What if this was in say York or Exeter? 2 hours to get someone there? It wouldn't have been wall to wall because it couldn't have been wall to wall.
How many 24 storey tower blocks with up to 600 residents are there in York?
Answer: None.
You've been trying to make out this coverage is over the top all through this thread. If it happened in any other city with an equivalent building, it would have been given just as much coverage - and rightfully so.
Whatever you think of Nigel Farage, his politics, beliefs, views - I have to say for someone who isn't a trained journalist he did a fantastic job on his LBC radio show tonight covering the fire. Yes he has a production team behind him - but in terms of delivery, linking to the pieces and getting the best out of callers on the air, he really did do a good job tonight.
I've just waded through the comments as only come on here at night and have to say Victoria Derbyshire has come in for some uncalled for knocking.
I was watching her this morning and think she got the tone completely right. She seems to add a more human side to it all not being a usual news presenter. There is a humanity to her but with the seriousness needed too. It makes a nice change sometimes.
Praise to all news coverage on such a tragic day. I thought Julie's sign off at the end of News At Ten once again reflected the tragic events of the day.
How can the News Channel go to Business Live?!? There has been a significant update from the Fire Brigade Commissioner in the last few minutes, including the fact the edges of the building are now structurally unsound, but Ben Thompson and Sally Bundock appear on air. The News Channel ought to be on rolling news continuously in my view. I have actually switched over to BBC One, to watch Breakfast.
This story is going to become one of the most significant events of this decade.
I wouldn't go that far. It's a tragic disaster but unlike some other recent news events it's not got the same political ramifications.
In historic terms this is on the sort of scale of the Kings Cross or Bradford City fires - shocking, tragic and significant in terms of changing and improving safety, but not a massive historical event.
Incidently, it's odd to think now that those two fires were only a few years apart and around the mid to late 80s there was also Hillsborough, Herald of Free Enterprise, Clapham, the Putney gas blast, Manchester and Kegworth air crashes, Marchioness and others. These sort of big accidental disasters are thankfully rare these days
This story is going to become one of the most significant events of this decade.
I wouldn't go that far. It's a tragic disaster but unlike some other recent news events it's not got the same political ramifications.
In historic terms this is on the sort of scale of the Kings Cross or Bradford City fires - shocking, tragic and significant in terms of changing and improving safety, but not a massive historical event.
Incidently, it's odd to think now that those two fires were only a few years apart and around the mid to late 80s there was also Hillsborough, Herald of Free Enterprise, Clapham, the Putney gas blast, Manchester and Kegworth air crashes, Marchioness and others. These sort of big accidental disasters are thankfully rare these days
Not forgetting Buncefield.
There are also similarities to the Enschede incident in 2000 although more people were injured and it covered a larger area.
I seem to recall during the Enschede incident, it was the same day as the Eurovision Song Contest final and there wasn't a televote from the Netherlands. The first news that something catastrophic had happened to the European audience was the person who was supposed to read out the televote explaining an 'incident' had happened.
Last edited by Worzel on 15 June 2017 10:27am - 4 times in total
I have to throw in my tuppence worth regarding Victoria Derbyshire's handling of this tragedy, and a few other brief thoughts.
I absolutely congratulate her on allowing those affected to say how they actually FEEL - not just about the incident itself, but about the general injustice in society which they feel is a fundamental part of this story. Her interviews with the gentleman with colourful language yesterday, and with the lady who talked about 'revenge' today were very telling of the anger felt by many sections of our communities. Whether their opinions are justified or not, it's how they feel - and it's that 'perception' which is perhaps the biggest problem faced in our society. Many other journalists would have stopped these interviews of placed caveats on their opinions. Victoria didn't, and I think that has to be commended in these circumstances.
This is an absolute disaster. I can't help but feel that the image of the burned, charred remains of that tower block will become a symbol. Whether its a symbol of bureaucratic failure, professional incompetence, austerity or social injustice, this will be a terrible symbol etched in our memories.
