I take issue with "dozens"....
We have been considering the dozens of complaints you have submitted over the last 17 months regarding the Jeremy Vine show, to the central BBC Complaints unit, the Jeremy Vine show and BBC Radio 2 directly.
Looking at your correspondence, most are about why you disagree with a particular topic covered by the Jeremy Vine show, allegations of bias by Jeremy Vine, the Jeremy Vine show website and Jeremy Vine’s Twitter page.
However, we have explained on countless occasions, why the programme choses to cover the topics it does, that the programme holds the right to publish website content at a time convenient to it, and the BBC’s view on staff use of social media websites such as Twitter.
In our view, this correspondence therefore now represents a disproportionate use of BBC staff time and consequently of our increasingly limited licence fee resources.
In accordance with the BBC's framework for handling complaints, we must inform you that the BBC’s expedited complaints handling procedure will now be applied to any complaints you make which relate to the Jeremy Vine show.
For the period of two years from the receipt of this email, we will continue to read any complaints you submit, whether directly to production teams or via the central BBC Complaints unit, but they will not be investigated unless "they appear to raise a substantive issue or disclose a serious prima facie case of a breach of the Editorial Guidelines where there is a significant prospect that the complaint might be upheld". Full details of the procedure can be found here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/regulatory_framework/protocols/2010/e3_complaints_fr_work.pdf
We have been considering the dozens of complaints you have submitted over the last 17 months regarding the Jeremy Vine show, to the central BBC Complaints unit, the Jeremy Vine show and BBC Radio 2 directly.
Looking at your correspondence, most are about why you disagree with a particular topic covered by the Jeremy Vine show, allegations of bias by Jeremy Vine, the Jeremy Vine show website and Jeremy Vine’s Twitter page.
However, we have explained on countless occasions, why the programme choses to cover the topics it does, that the programme holds the right to publish website content at a time convenient to it, and the BBC’s view on staff use of social media websites such as Twitter.
In our view, this correspondence therefore now represents a disproportionate use of BBC staff time and consequently of our increasingly limited licence fee resources.
In accordance with the BBC's framework for handling complaints, we must inform you that the BBC’s expedited complaints handling procedure will now be applied to any complaints you make which relate to the Jeremy Vine show.
For the period of two years from the receipt of this email, we will continue to read any complaints you submit, whether directly to production teams or via the central BBC Complaints unit, but they will not be investigated unless "they appear to raise a substantive issue or disclose a serious prima facie case of a breach of the Editorial Guidelines where there is a significant prospect that the complaint might be upheld". Full details of the procedure can be found here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/regulatory_framework/protocols/2010/e3_complaints_fr_work.pdf
Should you wish, you may write to the BBC Trust within 20 working days to request an appeal against this decision. Their address is as follows:
BBC Trust Unit
180 Great Portland Street
London
W1W 5QZ
Yours sincerely
Lxx Rxxxxx,
Complaints Manager
BBC Complaints
UPDATE 26/01/12:
I had a long think about all of this last night. This was mainly about whether I should just put up with the rubbish that the BBC attempt to broadcast to me every day and, consequently, whether I should continue with this blog. This is the first time I have felt this way about it.
I thank those who have commented with their support and so after due consideration and with the support of my wonderful wife this blog and everything associated with it WILL continue.
So bring it on BBC! I will be writing to the BBC Trust (the BBC policing the BBC, don't you just love it?) and I have asked for clarification of their accusation that I have sent "dozens" of complaints (see below). According to my records I have sent the following complaints in the last 12 months, and I am not aware that the frequency was any greater in the previous 5 months:
07/01 Slagged off ITV, EastEnders cot death not discussed
28/01 How to steal central heating oil
02/03 No coverage of Welsh referendum
03/03 Show web page incorrect
03/03 Murdoch bias
14/03 "Should have got an expert" to talk about Fukushima
15/03 "Someone got upset" after JV gave incorrect Fukushima information
16/03 Interview with Jeremy Brown MP
17/03 Bullying video removed from YouTube
21/06 2Day - 'nuff said
03/08 Late updates to web page
26/09 JV's use of Twitter
29/09 McGuiness "admit how many killed"
30/09 Removal of newspaper links from web page
11/10 Eulogising of Apple and Steve Jobs
13/12 Late updates to web page
04/01 Blocking Twitter users
19/01 Too much coverage of Costa Concordia
19/01 Policeman/cyclist altercation
19 in all. Hardly "dozens", is it?
All of these can be read in full by going to http://lunchtimeloather.blogspot.com/search/label/Complaint
Response sent to BBC Complaints Department ... but will I get a reply?:
Thank you for your email informing me that I am now
subject to the BBC's expedited complaints handling procedure in connection with
my complaints about Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show.
I am puzzled by your use of the word "dozens" to
describe the number of complaints I have submitted "over the last 17 months". I
only have full records for the last 12 months and would like some clarification
of how the number has been calculated to be "dozens". So that I fully understand
the situation, I would be grateful for answers to the following questions prior
to my appeal to the BBC Trust:
- When I chose to respond to a reply from
yourselves as I was "Unhappy with the response received", was each occurrence
treated as a new complaint?
- Are Freedom of Information requests included in my complaint count?
- Have all of my daily emails sent to the JV Show email address vine@bbc.co.uk with a subject of "Today's show dd/mm/yy" been treated as complaints?
- Have any of my daily emails sent to the JV Show email address vine@bbc.co.uk with a subject of "Today's show dd/mm/yy" been treated as complaints?
- Have any emails sent to jeremy.vine@bbc.co.uk been treated as complaints?
- Have any tweets sent to @theJeremyVine or @BBCRadio2 been treated as complaints?
- Will I receive a reply to the email that I sent to the Editorial Complaints Unit on 21st January?
- Are Freedom of Information requests included in my complaint count?
- Have all of my daily emails sent to the JV Show email address vine@bbc.co.uk with a subject of "Today's show dd/mm/yy" been treated as complaints?
- Have any of my daily emails sent to the JV Show email address vine@bbc.co.uk with a subject of "Today's show dd/mm/yy" been treated as complaints?
- Have any emails sent to jeremy.vine@bbc.co.uk been treated as complaints?
- Have any tweets sent to @theJeremyVine or @BBCRadio2 been treated as complaints?
- Will I receive a reply to the email that I sent to the Editorial Complaints Unit on 21st January?
A simple "Yes" or "No" answer to each question will
suffice.
Thank you.
4 comments:
I would be interested to know just how irrefutable your complaint would have to be for them to uphold it. It appears to me that the complaints department are actually banned from admitting that the Beeb ever get a single thing wrong. Commentors on Peter Hearty's blog about Radio Four's 'Thought for the day' have sent complaints when the most reprehensible things have been said on that spot.* In those cases I have not been made aware of the responses but suspect that the same kind of dismissive attitude would be used.
*It is AOK for teenage girls to be kidnapped, bunged through a forced marriage, and then handed over to her "husband" to be raped. It's a cultural thing.
*Atheism leads to child cruelty.
Not only untrue but the exact opposite of true. Any news story that concerns child cruelty almost always involves perpetrators who are deeply religious.
Oh yes, please keep up the good work, even if no response from the BBC, your daily musings are certainly worth reading, and even if I don't always agree, are certainly food for some thought.
Will listen (again) to todays programme. I hope Peter Tatchell gives JV a run for his money.
I hope you told them that if you werent forced to pay for the licence you wouldnt be emailing them.
Give people a choice,they had a great chance to go Subscription when it all goes Digital.
The BBC is split into a number of parts.Some that are worthwile and some that are not..
Keep Blogging and telling JV where he is getting it wrong. As JV has said 'Once its on the Internet,its on forever' were as emails can be deleted and there gone.
This Blog frequently makes me laugh and for that reason if you want to carry on then carry on.
I do like how you have emailed them regarding their complaints to complain.V.Funny;-)
Will's point about being forced to pay for the BBC is an important one. The TV licence is no different from a protection racket. It uses exactly the same methods even down to the threats being carefully implied rather than openly stated in order for them to be able to deny that they actually were threats. They even use this kind of bullying intimidation on people who have no television and are not eligable to pay protection money at all.
If the BBC is so confident that it offers value for money, let them encrypt their output and persuade people who want it to pay for it. You do of course understand that if you subscribe to the R2 package you will still be stuck with Jeremy Vine, but you will at least have a choice.
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