SC
I'm at a loss to understand why you insist that this is a non-story. If you take the time to examine the facts and the timeline of how the situation played out then your argument is weak:
1) Moat was released from prison having posted messages to his Facebook account warning that he would do something.
2) The day after his release, the prison contacted Northumbria Police and warned them that Moat had made threats against both his ex-partner and the police.
Whilst the threats on his Facebook account did not, in themselves, warrant national media coverage, the fact that the police failed to act upon a warning from the prison authorities demonstrate a lack of judgement and a failure of procedure on their part. Once this became clear after the shooting incident, it ceased to be a regional story, as you yourself have stated, and became instead a national story. This is borne out also by the fact that the IPCC announced that they would be investigating the circumstances of Moat's release, the actions of the police in its response and the shooting. At a time when HM Government is to press on with plans to introduce wholly-elected civilian chiefs of police and merge police forces, this could prove to be an important moment.
3) Last Saturday morning, Moat shot his ex-partner and her current boyfriend, who later died form his injuries.
4) The following night, having failed to be caught, Moat shot a police office and fled the scene.
5) Police announced that they had obtained a letter from Moat, detailing his grudges and that he was specifically targeting the police.
6) Moat continued to evade capture and crossed Northumberland, carrying out an armed robbery in the process.
In light of these incidents, I fail to see how you can conclude that this is a) a non-story, or b) a regional story at best. There was a systemic failure of policing from the outset of this case that resulted in the death of two people (the police officer in question and Moat) and endangered the lives of the public (as became clear when his threats towards the 'wider public' were publicised). It should not be forgotten that Moat was armed and at that point the threat and the significance of the situation increases exponentially.
Let us not forget either that - over the course of the operation - resources from 14 separate police forces were sent to Northumberland to assist in the operation, including from the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Metropolitan Police. At a time when police forces the length of the country are constrained by a lack of funding and function with limited resources, this was a significant step. In addition, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had diverted its own resources and made available to Northumbria Police tactical air support - namely a Tornado GS4 - to conduct reconnaissance over the area. That decision was not taken lightly and demonstrate again how the situation had escalated far beyond any notion that it was a 'non-story'.
Under those circumstances, the broadcasters were right in their decision to cover the story in the manner in which they did. Where I and a number of people on this forum have been critical, however, is in some of the decisions taken by (chiefly) Sky in covering this story. It is questionable as to whether or not there was a need to despatch two of the main anchors to the region as early as they did; I, along with others, have argued that the same level of coverage - including interviews - could have been achieved through increasing the number of correspondents in the area and by down-the-line interviews, etc. The coverage provided by the BBC - as pointed out by a number of people on here - excelled that of Sky News; it was balanced and reasoned and did not speculate upon the case given the dearth of information available. If Sky were correct in their decision to anchor, then I'm aghast that there was not more criticism on here of the BBC's lack of an anchor on the scene.
Where people have been critical of Sky's coverage is in the decision to send Kay Burley to the region. Whilst I do not doubt that she is a face of Sky News and undeniably one of their more experienced anchors, she is a lightning conductor for criticism and, frequently, this is justified. However unwarranted or not it may be, she has developed a reputation for being a) over the top, b) tactless to the point of being rude, and c) dramatic in her presentation. Having seen Sky's coverage this morning, with Anna Botting on the scene, I am left to wonder why she was not sent to the region earlier. Equally, having listened to Martin Stanford anchor Sky's coverage last night, I too am bewildered (as some others are) that he is marginalised on a 30-minute broadcast and why Kay Burley was brought in to take over.
If Sky had not covered the story in the way in which they did, if the BBC had not done the same, then I would hazard a guess and say that many of those on here who have doubted whether or not this was a story in the first place would be calling for heads to roll.
So this non-story finally over. Now, if only we could go back in time and see how it played out without the unwarranted excessive media coverage.
I'm at a loss to understand why you insist that this is a non-story. If you take the time to examine the facts and the timeline of how the situation played out then your argument is weak:
1) Moat was released from prison having posted messages to his Facebook account warning that he would do something.
2) The day after his release, the prison contacted Northumbria Police and warned them that Moat had made threats against both his ex-partner and the police.
Whilst the threats on his Facebook account did not, in themselves, warrant national media coverage, the fact that the police failed to act upon a warning from the prison authorities demonstrate a lack of judgement and a failure of procedure on their part. Once this became clear after the shooting incident, it ceased to be a regional story, as you yourself have stated, and became instead a national story. This is borne out also by the fact that the IPCC announced that they would be investigating the circumstances of Moat's release, the actions of the police in its response and the shooting. At a time when HM Government is to press on with plans to introduce wholly-elected civilian chiefs of police and merge police forces, this could prove to be an important moment.
3) Last Saturday morning, Moat shot his ex-partner and her current boyfriend, who later died form his injuries.
4) The following night, having failed to be caught, Moat shot a police office and fled the scene.
5) Police announced that they had obtained a letter from Moat, detailing his grudges and that he was specifically targeting the police.
6) Moat continued to evade capture and crossed Northumberland, carrying out an armed robbery in the process.
In light of these incidents, I fail to see how you can conclude that this is a) a non-story, or b) a regional story at best. There was a systemic failure of policing from the outset of this case that resulted in the death of two people (the police officer in question and Moat) and endangered the lives of the public (as became clear when his threats towards the 'wider public' were publicised). It should not be forgotten that Moat was armed and at that point the threat and the significance of the situation increases exponentially.
Let us not forget either that - over the course of the operation - resources from 14 separate police forces were sent to Northumberland to assist in the operation, including from the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Metropolitan Police. At a time when police forces the length of the country are constrained by a lack of funding and function with limited resources, this was a significant step. In addition, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had diverted its own resources and made available to Northumbria Police tactical air support - namely a Tornado GS4 - to conduct reconnaissance over the area. That decision was not taken lightly and demonstrate again how the situation had escalated far beyond any notion that it was a 'non-story'.
Under those circumstances, the broadcasters were right in their decision to cover the story in the manner in which they did. Where I and a number of people on this forum have been critical, however, is in some of the decisions taken by (chiefly) Sky in covering this story. It is questionable as to whether or not there was a need to despatch two of the main anchors to the region as early as they did; I, along with others, have argued that the same level of coverage - including interviews - could have been achieved through increasing the number of correspondents in the area and by down-the-line interviews, etc. The coverage provided by the BBC - as pointed out by a number of people on here - excelled that of Sky News; it was balanced and reasoned and did not speculate upon the case given the dearth of information available. If Sky were correct in their decision to anchor, then I'm aghast that there was not more criticism on here of the BBC's lack of an anchor on the scene.
Where people have been critical of Sky's coverage is in the decision to send Kay Burley to the region. Whilst I do not doubt that she is a face of Sky News and undeniably one of their more experienced anchors, she is a lightning conductor for criticism and, frequently, this is justified. However unwarranted or not it may be, she has developed a reputation for being a) over the top, b) tactless to the point of being rude, and c) dramatic in her presentation. Having seen Sky's coverage this morning, with Anna Botting on the scene, I am left to wonder why she was not sent to the region earlier. Equally, having listened to Martin Stanford anchor Sky's coverage last night, I too am bewildered (as some others are) that he is marginalised on a 30-minute broadcast and why Kay Burley was brought in to take over.
If Sky had not covered the story in the way in which they did, if the BBC had not done the same, then I would hazard a guess and say that many of those on here who have doubted whether or not this was a story in the first place would be calling for heads to roll.