Saturday 17 November 2012

BBC, Children In Need and 99 Red Balloons.


Fellow Blogger TOM GRUCHY accepted an invitation given to its listeners by Jersey's BBC State Radio yesterday to join them in town to celebrate Children In Need.

Thinking it could be an ideal opportunity for the State Media to engage with Bloggers (Jersey's only independent media) and help promote the charity, Children In Need, Tom Gruchy took down his video camera believing the State Media would seize the opportunity perhaps for viewers to donate money or just generally help generate awareness.

The serious issue of Child Protection/Abuse could be highlighted and the BBC could speak out against it.............

This, alas, was not to be.

Tom Gruchy received a very frosty reception, was made to feel most unwelcome by the BBC Team, and in particular by the Managing Editor Jon Gripton.

Mr. Gruchy offered us the film he took and has sent us a few words to go with it.

“Come down and see us in King Street” was the call from BBC Radio Jersey this morning and “speak with us on–air.”

Not an invitation to be missed so we thought and what a golden opportunity to interview the BBC team for our own blog-site.

After all we all share an interest in “Children in Need” and at the present time with so much going wrong for Auntie in the UK and even here in Jersey we should have expected a warm reception.

After one child abuse scandal after another all around the world we should all want to redress the imbalance in our own ways.

Nobody is perfect of course but following the Jimmy Savile revelations which are so much at the heart of the BBC organisation we would have thought that “child abuse” was a matter needing a much more informed discussion.

Thus we take the view that if the needs of children had been subjected to much more investigative journalism over the past decades then so many could have been spared the agony of mistreatment and abuse.

Having a “fun day” is all very well and we are delighted that so many children and their parents will have participated today but Jon Gripton and his team’s attitude was very disappointing.

No comment has been the official line for far too long alas – and rattling collecting tins rather than the establishment cage lies at the root of the scandal here and around the world….."(END)

It has to be said that the BBC has lost so much trust with the public just recently and one would have thought it would be doing all it could to win back that trust, engage with the online community, send out a message that the BBC are approachable and have nothing to hide......................One would have thought.

The BBC has some serious questions to answer, in light of the Savile allegations and related issues. Not least the suppression of Jersey's Former Police Chief, Graham Power QPM's 62,000 word interim defence case after they reported on the prosecution case against him. Regular readers will know that Mr. Gripton has been in possession of this document since September the 22nd 2011 but he still refuses to publish it or even admit that he's got a copy of it! We all know that he HAS. The BBC has also been sent links to the letter written by David Warcup that led to the (possibly illegal) suspension of Mr. Power, the Met Interim Report, Operation Tuma, the in-camera debate, and more, that have all been leaked to BLOGGERS yet doesn't report on them.

If the BBC is to regain any trust from the public it will need to start taking the issue of Child Abuse seriously. Stop suppressing documents/evidence that could expose alleged abusers and their protectors. Start exposing the culture of concealment that still remains today that allowed Child Abuse to go unpunished for decades in Jersey and elsewhere.

Below are "highlights" of the film taken by Tom Gruchy which makes for uncomfortable viewing yet tragically amusing in places and gives another meaning to the title 99 Red Balloons............Tragic.............So, so tragic.

Mr. Gripton is offered the right of reply should he wish to make contact and arrange an interview.










37 comments:

  1. Woke up to find rain is on the way. I decided to click on VFC and was hit by a ray of sunshine. Lol, my day is now a happy one. I simply cant get that music out of my head.

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  2. That's it you have done it now. I have emailed Pudsey and told him to sue you on behalf of Mr Gripton. Mr Gripton has been a close friend of the family for the last 30 seconds. Emma, or Mrs Martins to you, will Data Protect your sorry little backside. You bloggers are evil. How dare you show Jon, thats Mr Gripton to you, up like this? See you in court sucker. Oh, and no one will even know about it.... And before I finish. Least Pudsey has a UK Mandate ulike Pitman.

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  3. Im not sure we can even laugh at these clowns anymore. How come Mr Gripton can't handle a man with a video camera? He's a man in a top position who should be very experienced in handling these situations.

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  4. Fascinating report.

    Apart from anything else, and looking at this entirely from a management perspective, what an ill prepared shower the BBC have made themselves appear. The possibility of the BBC team having to deal with an approach of this nature at this type of public event could and should have been foreseen by any competent management, who should have had a plan for responding as opposed to looking like ill-prepared and confused fish out of water.

    Like the rest of the Jersey establishment, even the most basic and foreseeable consequences of their actions appear to take them completely by surprise.

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  5. This is childish nonsense, and belittles citizen journalism.

    It's not worthy of the important cause it sets out to promote.

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  6. Or the alternative view might be that hiding behind balloons is childish nonsense and belittles the State Media.

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  7. Jon Grifton has been incharge of the local BBC Radio for two years.

    Is it just me? And do other people agree, that that radio station has never been at such a low, and probably with listening figures to match.

    Can listening figures be found to prove if this is happening?

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  8. Oh dear, they don't like it up em!

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  9. Is it just me? And do other people agree, that that radio station has never been at such a low?

    I agree. Since his arrival the station has totally lost its way. Its as if its become a radio version of the Daily Mail. No depth in reporting, certainly no journalism and an endless string of vacous media types how sound as if they love the sounds of their own voices more than life itself.

    He's managed in a short space of time to make it irrelevant.

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    Replies
    1. http://www.cornwalllive.com/bbc-spotlight-presenter-from-cornwall-rebecca-wills-settles-sex-discrimination-claim-against-bosses/story-30230677-detail/story.html

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  10. Cheaply hijacking a charity collection. In what way does this reflect well on citizen's media ? I think the vast majority of people will be repulsed by this, and your attempt to personalise this attack on Gripton.

    Are you really so out of touch with reality that instead og being ashamed, you are actually celebrating this mans behaviour ?

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  11. For the person who doesn't read the text and just makes up their own mind regardless and starts talking about "highjacking charity collections. Here is some of the text you missed.

    "Fellow Blogger TOM GRUCHY accepted an invitation given to its listeners by Jersey's BBC State Radio yesterday to join them in town to celebrate Children In Need.

    Thinking it could be an ideal opportunity for the State Media to engage with Bloggers (Jersey's only independent media) and help promote the charity, Children In Need, Tom Gruchy took down his video camera believing the State Media would seize the opportunity perhaps for viewers to donate money or just generally help generate awareness.

    The serious issue of Child Protection/Abuse could be highlighted and the BBC could speak out against it."

    We are sure that Tom Gruchy had no idea Mr. Gripton would (as a media professional) be so unprofessional, rude and childish.

    Please read the text.

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  12. If there is any "hi-jacking" of child-protection issues on display, it is to be seen in the conduct of the BBC in Jersey and Jon Gripton in particular.

    Who could possibly object to raising money for vulnerable children? It's wonderful - isn't it? Motherhood and Apple-Pie. Doesn't it just show every right-thinking person really, really - just, so, like, really, you know - "cares" about vulnerable kids?

    Gripton, Judd, Scriven, Price? They're all just so committed to doing the right thing for suffering children - that they'll go and shake a bucket for 30 minutes.

    The heroes.

    I was going to describe all of the prevalent "doing charity" that Jersey's self-righteous "community" morally masturbates over as the island's secular "confessional", but it isn't even that. These people aren't even aware they have anything to "confess" for.

    What does the BBC exist for?

    Is it as a once-a-year charity fundraising body?

    Or is it as a publicly-funded, privileged broadcast news organisation - that has as core purposes, investigative journalism, and the holding to account of power?

    And when you stop to think about it - which of those two functions has the real, practical potential to do most, to protect and improve the lives of vulnerable children?

    Let me give a clue:

    There are dozens, upon dozens, upon dozens of people in Jersey - who were neglected, battered, abused and raped - whilst in the "care" of Jersey's public authorities.

    Every single relevant component of Jersey's public administration has - and continues - to illegally conspire to conceal the truth - and has done such things as illegally oppresses a Social Services Minister, and a Chief of Police - because both men were fighting to protect those vulnerable children - and the rest of Jersey's public authorities didn't want them to.

    The BBC - THE BBC - if it were vaguely serious about protecting vulnerable children - would be investigating and reporting that disgusting and criminal scandal.

    Hell - it isn't as though they'd even have to do much investigating - as they've been given key, dramatic evidence on a plate - in the form of a 94 page statement by the illegally suspended Police Chief.

    But they've refused to report a single word of it.

    I know the BBC has that evidence - because it was me who gave it to the BBC's Jon Gripton.

    If THE BBC and Gripton were even a little bit serious about wanting to help vulnerable children - Gripton would not be shaking a bucket in King Street; instead he would be doing his, and the BBC's job - and door-stepping William Bailhache and Chris Grayling - and demand detailed answers to all of the stark issues that arise from the Graham Power statement.

    Stuart

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  13. Your motives are honourable, but that was not the time nor the place to tackle the issue.

    I support 'citizens journalism' in principle, but I expect basic courtesy.

    In the interests of transparency why does Mike Dun refer to himself as Tom Gruchy in his blog ?

    Most journalists do not operate under a false identity.

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  14. "Most journalists do not operate under a false identity."

    Although we could be here all day let's just say "Helier Clement."

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  15. My comment does not refer to journalists in Jersey.
    I'm sure you welcome readers of your blog from further afield.

    I listened with interest to Mr Dun, Rico Sorda, Mr Syvret and others on the BBC Iplayer- as recommended in the UK Parliament, and I felt that overall, the arguments on all sides were well-rehearsed.

    Those with passion will never get as much air time as they would like, whatever side of the fence they are on.....but that was a fair debate worthy of the main radio networks.

    If people want to read the full versions of the evidence gathered by citizen journalists in Jersey, they have the opportunity to do so, and to make up their minds, via websites like this one.

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  16. A reader says:

    "I listened with interest to Mr Dun, Rico Sorda, Mr Syvret and others on the BBC Iplayer- as recommended in the UK Parliament, and I felt that overall, the arguments on all sides were well-rehearsed.

    Those with passion will never get as much air time as they would like, whatever side of the fence they are on.....but that was a fair debate worthy of the main radio networks."

    You know, that kind of cobblers embodies the class-war - the sheer insult to the intelligence - engaged by the oligarchy.

    Firstly, the discussions on that single Friday morning were not fair - were not conducted in an un-biased manner - and did not allow the real issues to be addressed.

    But more significantly than that - that Friday morning broadcast was a single token and grudging appearance for non-oligarchy views, made by a BBC exposed for concealing child-abuse and simply desperate to try and claw-back some tatty fragment of credibility.

    One, solitary morning.

    Now - it's back to business-as-usual.

    Is it argued that that one morning can - even remotely - make up for the years - quite literally years - of jaw-dropping, and undisguised rabid pro-oligarhcy bias exhibited by the BBC in Jersey? For example - the energetic and pro-active support the BBC gives - week in and week out - for Jersey's corrupt and dangerous government - by excluding and omitting divers and opposition views, and, instead helping the local mafia by "normalising" their mis-rule through depicting them - week after week - as the "normal", "respectable", "natural" condition of governance in Jersey?

    We're supposed to take that seriously - are we?

    One morning's worth of challenge to the Jersey establishment position - when, in fact, such alternative opinions and views should be constituting 50% of BBC Jersey's news output?

    Look - by refusing to address and report the many profound issues - issues that go to the very heart of governance in Jersey, and the oversight of that governance by Whitehall - as evidenced in the statement of the illegally suspended Police Chief - the BBC is actively - proactively - and deliberately - and unlawfully - and shamefully - exhibiting naked and undisguisedly corrupt Political bias in favour of Jersey's ruling de facto political party: the entrenched local establishment.

    The conduct of the BBC in Jersey is the most corrupt and despicable and contemptible episode in the entire history of the Corporation.

    Now then , now then - how's about that guys & girls?

    Stuart

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  17. Could someone please elaborate on the political significance of the apparentuse of patois in the above sequences?

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  18. Polo.

    There isn’t much, this was just a taste of some of the entertainment that was available at the event.

    That said, the poem read out by the first reader does have some significance with Child Abuse, we are told, and hopefully Tom Gruchy will come on and elaborate for us?

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  19. Please sign this petition for a transparent appointment of the next Director General of the BBC.

    It's time to stop this secretive, traditional, established closed-door process.

    Please mention what you think of BBC Jersey in the comment box.

    Thank you.


    http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/bbctrust-appoint-a-new-bbc-director-general-transparently-and-openly

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  20. For the intended significance of the French language performances you must ask Radio Jersey - clearly Jon Gripton might not be the most helpful person to ask.
    But somewhat ironically Geraint did recite one reading from the Rev Charles Dodson aka Lewis Carrol to his beloved Alice Liddel.
    She was of course the 7 - 10 years old girl at the centre of his "Alice" stories who featured in many written epistles and posed photographs over several years. Until that is,their relationship was terminated abrubtly around year 1863. Many of Dodson's papers and diary pages are missing for the relevant years but there has been wide speculation that the relationship was not entirely platonic or even that the famous writer was a child abuser.
    Some have suggested that he was also/or involved in a relationship with her sister but whatever the truth it does raise questions about how such matters ought to be reported and investigated where reputations are at stake but vulnerable people also need to be protected.
    Of course Victorian standards on the exploitation of children for sexual or other purposes need to be viewed now in a social context. Thankfully there have always been people who are able to see through the smoke of pseudo-respectability that attaches to professional people and their many "institutions" to expose the humbug and dangers beneath the facade.
    Unfortunately, there are still far too many people in positions of trust and authority who abuse their status as a cover for all sorts of deviant activities.
    Child-abuse in its many forms is still a very common feature of life across the world so it is especially sad to observe organisations such as the BBC so miserably failing in their duties in this regard.
    I certainly have no reason to regret taking these few video images of such as Jon Gripton, the chief of local BBC operations, behaving so strangely on this occasion.
    Obviously, my presence in no way interfered with the "fun" activities in the street but I have no doubt that there will those at the BBC who might feel uncomfortable with the posted blog footage. I am delighted if that is the case because the whole BBC organisation is in need of feeling uncomforatble at the present time.

    As we write there will be many children still being abused in Jersey and we ALL have a duty to expose that activity just as we should try to ensure that young and old people world-wide are not left "in need" of mere material things. That there is still a desperate need to rattle cages just as much as there is to rattle collecting tins is so obvious to me that I am surprised that anybody would disagree.

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  21. Tom Gruchy.

    In case I have mis-read what you have written (I don't think I have).

    In a nutshell one of the poems recited at the BBC's Children In Need day was authored by a suspected paedophile?

    This stuff just gets more dire by the bl--dy minute!

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  22. Re. the last blog from Mike Dun aka Tom Gruchy.

    The BBC in his view ' is miserably failing in its duties'.

    Does this tally with the recent Inside Out report which followed up the wider child abuse story ?

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  23. “Does this tally with the recent Inside Out report which followed up the wider child abuse story?”

    Could you send us a link to that "recent" Report? I recall Mr. Gripton making mention of it and telling us it would be aired last Monday and it wasn’t. Lucky for Mr. Gripton that a growing number of people take, what is said/reported by the BBC, with a pinch of salt.

    Not sure if this is the same commenter who doesn’t read the text in the Posting but would do well to click on the links provided.

    “The BBC in his view ' is miserably failing in its duties'.

    Take a look at THIS LINK (and the links contained in it) and you might see that the BBC certainly IS “miserably failing in its duties.”

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  24. Does anyone know anything about this new BBC politics programme Gripton briefly mentioned during that famous Friday 'token impartiality' breakfast show? I’ve not heard anything more on it, no trailoring I'm aware of. And annoyingly I can't find it listed on the BBC Jersey i-player / listen again service either.
    Not that I'm really bothered actually. After it's been thoroughly filtered by the BBC in Jersey, I'm actually better off believing in Trumpton.

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  25. The BBC inside out programme was delayed and is airing next Monday evening

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  26. "Does anyone know anything about this new BBC politics programme Gripton briefly mentioned during that famous Friday 'token impartiality' breakfast show?"

    It was/is on during the Gwyn Garfield Bennett (I think that's her name) show on Sunday morning(s).

    After listening to it on Sunday I would agree that believing in Trumpton would be preferable.

    The "alleged" Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, was the studio guest where he was basically given a soap box to say what he liked with little or no challenge from the show's presenter.

    The subject was "A Year in Office" and it was given 45 minutes air-time where it appears the public are prevented from phoning in and can only contribute by way of Facebook/Twitter/e-mail.

    A token box ticking exercise so the BBC can say it hosts political debates and the kind of censorship we have come to expect from this, once credible, organisation/institution.

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  27. Hi VFC.

    I've put up the Audio of Deputy Judy Martin's Debate to stop the Relocation of the Police HQ going to Green Street car park.

    I've put it up because I think this debate & the ones to follow "which I will also Record & publish" show's everyone the incompetence of our Ministers to do anything Right.

    I just can not Believe they want it there! & they are going to pull every trick in the book, to get there way.

    You & your readers can listen to the Debate HERE

    I think its a classic already, with a couple of Deputy's Martin straight to the point, no messing Statements. I know its long but if you just do it in parts, you'll get there in the end.

    TJW.

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  28. Just caught the end of Andrew Lewis talking about honesty, the media, and citizen media on BBC radio Jersey at about 17-20 today.
    TJW worth a listen me thinks.

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  29. Typical BBC. From all the people/Journalists/Editors they could have asked to go on the show they ask Andrew Lewis. Who comes up with these ideas?

    Didn't hear the show but one would take a very educated guess and say that no Bloggers were invited to take part?

    Perhaps a Blogger was invited on but didn't want to be tarred with the discredited and disgraced BBC brush and refused?

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