The Poppy Thread

No, it's all of you who are jumping on Jon Snow's back that are missing the point - read his blog again.

He may well have put money into a Poppy Fund money-rattler this year and every other year. He says that he wears a poppy in his private life. So, obviously he DOES care about the fact that people have died for this country in VARIOUS wars (the Poppy Appeal isn't ONLY about WW1 & WW2).

There might well be plenty of people walking around with a poppy on their lapel, but their minds never properly think about why. People who, even during the 2-minutes silence, are thinking about something like, say, what they're gonna have for dinner that evening, rather than reflecting on war and loss.

So, either a person gives a sh*t or they don't - there is not necessarily a direct correlation between that and whether or not you wear a poppy. So, neither Jon Snow nor anyone else NEEDS to wear one in order to prove anything to either themself or to the rest of us.

That's what I don't particularly like - the fact it seems it's an unwritten rule you HAVE to wear a poppy for a certain period on air. If it's a personal choice, that's fine, but I doubt it is most of the time. I got the same feeling about those "make poverty history" bands etc. - most people hadn't given the ideas any thought, they wore it for a fad.

I wonder if they could actually wear any charitable logo or symbol if they asked? I assume not, but if it were true there could be a situation where a newsreader wore a pro-life badge or similar - it just seems far easier to say no to everything as opposed to the odd exception here and there regardless of how 'good' the cause. That way no judgement is placed on how much more important some charity is above any other.



Jon Snow hasn't worn a poppy for ages so I'm not sure why it's cropped up now - a bit of a poppy lynch mob?! Far better to explain why than not, anyway?

Yep, fair point there WOA

On a pres note, one useful side benefit of everybody wearing poppies on TV is that it makes archive videos that little bit easier to date. Well, the ones that come from early November, anyway.

Also on a presentation note, I much prefer the idents/stings on the History Channel at the moment. Much less bellicose, and featuring a stylised poppy in the background.

Did they do this last year as well?

EDIT: Here is and example of the current sting (not best one though):
Clicky

I was interested to hear on Radio 4 last night that the Royal British Legion has said it has no problem with Jon Snow not wearing a poppy. I kind of feel if they're fine with it, it shouldn't really be a problem for anyone else.

at 10:58am i saw ITV and BBC paying a special tribute.

Lol, it's all going pear shaped on the BBC's Lord Mayors show, they are having to fill with a picture of a roadsweeper cleaning up!

Clare Balding can be heard talking to the crew over the top of everything, but then when she is introduced and the camera cuts to her for an interview she goes silent!

Of course, but even what the British Legion thinks is kind of irrelevant.

It's all quite ironic really considering it is all supposed to be about remembering the people who sacrificed their lives in order to secure democracy and freedom of choice for future generations.


Jon Snow has had the same policy for many years - yet it's only really in the last couple of years it's been an issue. What I thought was more interesting was his views on wearing black ties if someone dies, especially after the Peter Sissons issue, with him (quite rightly) saying he wouldn't wear one if a friend died, so why would he for anyone else!


And from a personal point of view, I can honestly say I've not actually seen poppies for sale anywhere in the last couple of weeks!

Another useful feature of poppies is that they are a pretty uniform red colour. When you see them on TV News you can see how appalling colour balanced some of the cameras are - as the poppy ranges from burgundy to orange...

Just to perhaps illustrate Jon Snow's point, he was interviewed by Clare Balding on the Lord Mayor's Show, and was wearing a poppy.

He was probably forced to wear it - as quite a lot of people taking part in the parade had them on...

Whilst we're on the subject of poppies... how on earth do these TV people manage to keep their poppies looking like new... are they fitted with a new one every time they're on, because mine usually end up crumpled after a few days!

And watching Millionaire earlier - why did CT's poppy not have the green leaf on it whilst everyone else's did?