Monday, May 15, 2006
BBC Apologizes for Interview Gaffe
London (AP) — The BBC has admitted it was taken for a ride by a cabbie.
The network has apologized to its viewers for a studio mix-up that resulted in a cab driver's appearing on live television as an expert on Internet music downloads.
“We interviewed the wrong person,” a British Broadcasting Corp. spokeswoman said Monday while insisting on anonymity in line with company policy. “We apologize to viewers for any confusion.”
The case of mistaken identity occurred May 8 – the day Britain's High Court awarded Apple Computer a victory in a lawsuit against Apple Corps, the Beatles' commercial arm.
In a reaction story to the verdict that is now circulating widely on the Internet, consumer affairs correspondent Karen Bowerman welcomed a man who the BBC thought was computer expert Guy Kewney.
As Ms. Bowerman introduced him, there is a moment when the still unidentified driver realizes the mistake. He scrunches his face into a grimace, and in panic tries to open his mouth as if to explain.
“Were you surprised by this verdict today?” Ms. Bowerman asked.
“I'm very surprised to see the verdict come on me, because I was not expecting that,” he said in a heavy French accent, blinking in the studio lights. “When I came, they told me something else.”
Growing more confident, he gamely went on to deliver his opinion on the future of music downloads following the landmark verdict.
Although the BBC did not elaborate on how the mistake occurred, Mr. Kewney wrote that a studio manager, “wringing his hands as if he wanted to suddenly take the day off,” had called the reception area – rather than the stage door – and was told that Mr. Kewney was there.Producers apparently realized by the end of the interview that something had gone wrong – and, after they had gone off the air, asked the cabbie if there was a problem.
“He said: 'Well, it was okay, but I was a bit rushed,' ” Mr. Kewney wrote on his blog.
( As we discovered in Canada long ago, any idiot with a French accent sounds like an expert
- MTMT)
Watch the video
posted by Mentok @ 9:03 p.m.,
4 Comments:
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At 9:21 p.m.,
Bathroom Hippo said...
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In the States we get CNN passing off hippies as experts. -
At 6:02 a.m.,
A. B. Chairiet said...
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So what happened, exactly? Why was a cabbie even in the studio??
Interesting stuff.
And I hate CNN. Ever since Anderson Cooper went gay. ;) -
At 8:37 p.m.,
mkecurler said...
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I heard about this one today! I watch BBC news instead of the Fox News and CNN. CNN and Fox are both crap!
Looks like I'll start watching Blomberg TV. -
At 8:16 p.m.,
jamwall said...
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that dudes expression is priceless!
