NewsBiscuit : A mini-flounce on consistency for front pages

Quick links: NewsBiscuit Home • Chat Room • Writers' Room • Top Ten

A mini-flounce on consistency for front pages

(22 posts) (13 voices)

Started 8 months ago by jamsieoconnor
Latest reply from Al OPecia

Tags:

It wasn't PC

jamsieoconnor

offline
Member

Firstly, I just want to make it completely clear that I am definitely not criticising the publishing of the front page on privatising child abuse (as it is a superb piece and fully deserving of a front page) nor am I criticising its writer despite a small spat with him in the past.

However, a front page on Nelson Mandela was pulled some months back. One person (who may be connected to the privatising child abuse front page) suggested that it was pulled for being "shit", and went on to suggest that it was taken down for being "shit" and also "shit", which is fair enough, but the overwhelming number of complaints about it related to it being in bad taste.

Comments included that it was "sour snarky and vindictive", "some things just don't lend themselves to parody", "crass and pointless", "stupid and shameful", "a crass error of judgement" and "poor taste".

Despite this wave of judgment on that piece, a front page playing it for laughs with child abuse seems to get through without any negative comments or complaints at all and without anyone going on a big flounce about how outrageous it is that it was published (well, apart from Lenny Bee, who seemed to be taking the piss with his "negative" comments).

Any chance of a bit of consistency?

</flounce>

(and please don't say that the site is being consistent in pulling shit pieces and publishing good ones. You know the point I'm trying to make).

Posted 8 months ago #
Sinnick

offline
Member

Without wanting to find & dig over your earlier sub, I think it's not about the subject but about who's the target of the satire. There's an intangible fine line between what works & what's too far. Various biscuiteers & editors will inevitably have differing opinions about where that is.

We've got guidelines, not rules.

Posted 8 months ago #
Idiot

offline
Member

The inevitable ebb and flow. Anything goes as far as I'm concerned, as long as it's not plain nasty.

Posted 8 months ago #
Wrenfoe

offline
Member

What they said. There's also a timing issue. I've had several stories never make it (understandably) because they were too near the knuckle and too soon after an event.

It's not an exact science :D

(PLUS: Michael Gove is probably one of those people you can say anything about and most of the public will consider it fair comment. The fact he 'fiddles with kiddies minds' does not stop him being a serial kiddie fiddler. In terms of lives ruined he'll do more damage than a dozen Jimmy Saviles.)

Posted 8 months ago #
Titus

offline
Member

Hmm ... a mini-flounce?

A milliflounce would be .001 of a flounce.

But how many mini-flounces to a flounce - and how many flounces to a pound?

Posted 8 months ago #
beau-jolly

offline
Member

Imperial or metric flounces?
In old money 16 flounces to a pound of flesh.
In new money 1000 flounces to a killer flounce.

Posted 8 months ago #
Idiot

offline
Member

US or Imperial flounces?

Posted 8 months ago #
Oxbridge

offline
Member

Ahem, getting back on message, I had some sympathy because I don't think anything is off limits and I also did a Mandela death-related FP myself. I think this was pulled on the grounds of taste and being too soon, both of which are pretty subjective.

Trouble is, to be truly consistent in the way you want, this place would have to have a less open structure, it would be down to the judgment of one person alone (JOF in other words) since this sort of thing can't work by committee. I assume we generally would prefer the diversity of the current system, even if that produces the odd anomaly?

Posted 8 months ago #
deceangli

offline
Member

Given the number of Biscuiteers banging on about physics and the generally high standard of pedantry hereabouts, surely it's within our powers to define a comedy algorithm?

All this subjectivity is clearly wrong; we need an objective, consistent formula to eliminate future arguments.

Posted 8 months ago #
Lenny Bee

offline
Member

“Firstly, I just want to make it completely clear that I am definitely not criticising the publishing of the front page on privatising child abuse “.........

Absolutely. Couldn't agree more old bean. Have one on me. Whatever you say, never leave the slightest impression we don't agree with Biscuit editorial. Heaven forbid! Might never get the supreme honour of another NiB! Like they said in MASH .. “Suicide is Dangerous”. And we don't want any of that, do we?...............

OK. I stand by what I said about that sod-awful Gove story. I also think today's FP (very average) sits squarely on the fence of nowhere. Which is a bit sad, given the circumstances and the timeline. And I can't see the point of Pinxit's 'Jaws' piccy not already being up on display. Like hours ago. And I really do believe this site's lost its way. Like it no longer understands satire ...and much of the so-called comedy's gone flatter than a pancake.

On the plus side, I really like it that NB publishes just a few stories per day.

Posted 8 months ago #
Titus

offline
Member

Can I piss everyone off by having yet another whinge about the tickers, please?

A ticker, scolling across the screen, being quick and easy to prepare, carries up-to-the-minute hot news, often in advance of the subject appearing on the main screen (which requires more editing).

Except on NewsBisuit, where the ticker is invariably the most out-of-date section on the site - sometimes months, not just weeks, out-of-date, and therefore pointless.

It's not as though putting a ticker up need take more than a few seconds. Why not have a rule: no ticker to be displayed for more than 24 hours. That should concentrate a few minds.

Posted 8 months ago #
Al OPecia

offline
Member

That should cooncentrate a few minds.

Are you sure you're not a UKIP supporter?

Posted 8 months ago #
Titus

offline
Member

Now corrected - thanks.

Posted 8 months ago #
Al OPecia

offline
Member

You're welcoome.

Posted 8 months ago #
Spartacus

offline
Member

Titus, the problem with updating the tickers every 24 hours is that there are generally 4 or 5 of them at once. So you'd need 4 or 5 one-liners per day that are worth publishing if you want to implement your idea. And that simply doesn't happen, certainly not with any consistency. Which means you'd end up with regularly updated shit tickers.

Posted 8 months ago #
Titus

offline
Member

Fair comment. So: how about a time limit of 3 days? Or one week? How old is the French train tunnel story now? And it's still got 2 tickers running ... not that they aren't funny, but as I said, the whole point of tickers is that are normally for hot news, and this isn't.

In fact, even if a ticker is not particularly good, if it's only up there for a day, that's not a major issue. And I suspect that freguently updated tickers would draw in more new readers, even if to find out what was new each day and to see if any of them were any good.

Posted 8 months ago #
nickb

offline
Member

you are totally right. The FP must be callibrated to have exactly equal amounts of funny left wing long haired humour and less funny minor public school UKIP style humour.

Posted 8 months ago #
Gerontius

offline
Member

The last thing this place needs is to attract even more people only interested in tickers - especially on the off chance some of them might be good.
What kind of ambition is that?
It's meant to be a writing forum. Not somewhere to offload half-arsed jokes.
There's no point replacing crappy tickers with other crappy tickers.

Posted 8 months ago #
Titus

offline
Member

"... Not somewhere to offload half-arsed jokes."

Oh bugger. Now they tell me. That's me stuffed then.

Posted 8 months ago #
Spartacus

offline
Member

People have been telling you that for months, Titus. The problem is that you don't listen because you're too busy obsessing over apostrophe's.

Posted 8 months ago #
Titus

offline
Member

The people who are obsessed with apostrophes are those who persist in stuffing extra ones into places where they obviously don't belong.

Posted 8 months ago #
Al OPecia

offline
Member

The last thing this place needs is to attract even more people only interested in tickers - especially on the off chance some of them might be good.

Trouble is, as hard as I might try, my efforts at FPs have been in vain - no solo efforts - my early "Coal mining not all it was cracked up to be" was heavily rewritten by Ed, and he rest have been assists only. Had much more luck with tickers and the occassional NiB. I do keep trying but with little success.

Posted 8 months ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.