back to article Local TV presenter shouted 'f*cking hell' to open news bulletin

A TV newsreader in Newcastle, England, opened the station’s Friday night news bulletin by asking to start again before shouting “yes you f*cking do” at off-camera colleagues just 10 seconds after the watershed. The presenter was on Made in Tyne and Wear, a local news station operated by Made Television Limited. The company …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Surely

    this is on youtube or similar.

    Links please.

    News readers are only human.

    1. AMBxx Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: Surely

      Or it didn't happen!

  2. wolfetone Silver badge
    Coat

    I think any newsreader is entitled to say "Fucking Hell" at the start of a broadcast in 2016, because well, fucking hell 2016 what have you been doing?!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "I think any newsreader is entitled to say "Fucking Hell""

      Especially in Austria where he would be informing the world at large that a certain village was light in colour.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Must be Rodger Mellie, could have been worse and had Sid the Sexist as stand in, tits oot fort lads.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Pre-recorded?

    "The company referred itself to telly regulator Ofcom after the foul-mouthed outburst on Friday 9 September, in which the newsreader opened the pre-recorded programme by saying ...

    If it was pre-recorded, then it wouldn't have been an issue, they'd just cut it and re-record. So I'm assuming this line is bollocks, and it was a live broadcast. Perhaps the author of the article needs a bit of "Oh sorry, can I start again? Fucking hell."

    1. Jim 48

      Re: Pre-recorded?

      Or maybe you should actually read the article? Just a thought.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Pre-recorded?

        Or maybe you should actually read the article? Just a thought.

        Reading the whole article before replying? Now where would be the fun in that? This way you all get to have a laugh at my expense, so let the pointing and sniggering commence, feel yourself to be comparatively clever, and consider that a public service from Mr. AC. You're welcome.

    2. Stumpy

      Re: Pre-recorded?

      I refer the dishonorable coward above to exhibit 'B' from the story:

      Evidently journalists in the editing suite had failed to cut the first 10 seconds of botched footage from the programme, which was supposed to have been signed off by the news editor and the station manager before broadcast.

      Which explains why the broadcast was as it was despite being pre-recorded.

      1. ratfox

        Done on purpose

        Looks to me like there was a disagreement between the presenter and the camera operators. The recording started before he was ready, and the presenter wanted to restart the recording. The operators didn't want to do it again, so he deliberately said fucking hell to make the recording unusable, just so they would have to restart.

        And then, the annoyed operators forgot to do their job of cutting the first part. Or maybe, possibly, they called his bluff... Because in the end, he's the one who ends up looking stupid.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Done on purpose

          That was my first thought also: "You want to be a wanker? OK, let everyone see what a wanker you are." But then, I always assume everyone else is just as petty as I am.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Done on purpose

          Apparently this is what happens on some shows such as Bake Off to stop the mistake getting passed the cut, so that people involved don't look like idiots.

          1. cosymart
            Headmaster

            Re: Done on purpose

            "past" let's not lower ourselves to gutter TV level :-)

          2. Cynic_999

            Re: Done on purpose

            Absolutely - it is standard practice to deliberately say a forbidden word after making a fluff during a recording session so as to guarantee that it won't be broadcast (or in this case not such a guarantee).

            1. You aint sin me, roit
              Mushroom

              Re: Done on purpose

              Looks like a casual fuck isn't enough anymore to excite the editor...

              Expect presenters to go nuclear with the c-bomb!

          3. Deltics

            Re: Done on purpose

            This may work when recording a scripted segment, but in any show involving (supposedly) unscripted interactions (interviews, "live" exchanges, conversations etc) there is this little thing called a "bleeper".

          4. graeme leggett Silver badge

            Re: Done on purpose

            I believe, more specifically, that it is Mel and Sue who are credited with deliberately using unbroadcastable language when the contestants get upset or find the stresses of TV too much.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sounds like Jonathan Pie just turned real.

    1. Justice

      "What's that Tim? We're live???"

  6. lglethal Silver badge
    Trollface

    That's what happens when you let the Work Experience Kid do the editing unsupervised... Cheeky Little Scamp!

    On another note, it's obvious that the newsreader wasnt from Newcastle, otherwise no one would have known he was swearing, because noone would have understood what he was saying... mind you, every time I speak to a Geordie I think they're swearing at me, even if they're just telling me the time. So maybe Ofcon couldnt understand him either and just assumed he was swearing because, well, he was a Geordie?

    1. xeroks

      Maybe the people watching were also Geordies, and could understand him?

      Nah, what are the chances?

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

  7. inmypjs Silver badge

    So ask them...

    to put a quid in the swear box and move on for fuck sake.

    p.s. Please don't read this post before 9 p.m.

    1. Lost In Clouds of Data
      Angel

      Re: So ask them

      9pm in which fucking Time Zone? Pedantic minds demand to know.

      Over here in UK lite (aka the USA) we have no issues watching people being shot at with big huge fuck-off guns at 9pm, but show a nipple or say the word 'fuck' and you're in deep shit with the FCC.

      Granted premium channels such as HBO are above such quibbles, but even cable is meant to be free of these controls yet still censors itself as much as the over the air channels do.

      Well fucking nuts...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: So ask them

        There is no knobbing watershed on El Reg's fucking forums. Ya cunts.

        1. Pigeon

          Re: So ask them

          How did you get away with such profanity. I posted something similar, but not as amusing and the durned thing didn't appear. I hope I'm not blacklisted.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: So ask them

            and the durned thing didn't appear. I hope I'm not blacklisted.

            Did you press preview instead of post, maybe? I do that occasionally. If you'd been moderated there would normally be a message saying so in the place where your post was.

            1. JetSetJim
              Holmes

              Re: So ask them

              > I hope I'm not blacklisted.

              Perhaps with our shiny badges we are allowed a bit of fucking profanity. Friend Pigeon is a member of the lower classes without badges

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: So ask them

                Nah, I think The Reg is more egalitarian than that...the badges mean toss-all except you get a few formatting options.

                Profanity is -if anything- subtly encouraged round these parts, probably as a fuck you to the mumsnet types who can recommend stringing people they don't approve of from lamp posts without blinking, and yet reach for the smelling salts if they come across a naughty word.

                So I seriously doubt mere profanity would get a post hoofed. Libel will, of course, as The Reg quite sensibly doesn't want to get sued. Some of the authors are more sensitive than others to criticism so -for example- saying that a sentence in an Andrew Orlowski article was Trump-esque in that it contained so much bollocks it was hard to work out where to start refuting it might get a post modded *innocent whistling*

                There was also a phase a while back where posts kept going missing for no apparent reason, but that seems to have stopped now.

                That's been my experience so far anyway. Everyone else's mileage may vary of course. I've modded myself upon sobering up WAY more than been modded by someone else. And I've pressed the bloody preview button instead of post more times than I intend to admit to. Preview is still my favourite theory.

                1. Sir Runcible Spoon
                  Joke

                  Re: So ask them

                  I used to believe that the use of a swear word in El Reg forums is only allowed if it is

                  a) gratuitous

                  b) funny

                  c) there's a 'y' in the day

                  Now I realise that idea was a load of fetid dingos' kidneys.

                  1. Lost In Clouds of Data
                    Joke

                    Re: So ask them

                    Well, all I can say to that is 'Belgium'.

                    'nuff said.

                    1. Sir Runcible Spoon
                      WTF?

                      Re: So ask them

                      Fuck me, steady on old chap!

                      1. Anonymous Coward
                        Anonymous Coward

                        Re: So ask them

                        I know, right. My monocle fell into my tea.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: So ask them

        > Granted premium channels such as HBO are above such quibbles, but even cable is meant to be free of these controls yet still censors itself as much as the over the air channels do

        Probably a marketing tactic. I've seen that done in Spain, where there is no problem at all with using vulgarities in mass media, yet programs like MTV (not quite sure if it's a program or an entire channel) deliberately introduce swearing in their scripts and deliberately "bleep" it out. Which, with bleeping being foreign to Spain, looks incredibly ridiculous.

        I figured that either they're using Mexican or Spanish-speaking US producers, or they're going for the cultural imperialism formula and if it works in the US we'll make it work elsewhere too.

        And I don't know if it's just me (I haven't lived in the UK since I was a boy) but in my day I do not recall there being any beeping there either.

  8. Tezfair
    Thumb Up

    Real News

    Now that's the news I would watch, not sanitised or spoken in 'Queens English'. I think they are onto something here. Might have to go out after 11pm though.

    1. Hollerithevo

      Re: Real News

      News reader: "And in the Middle East today you would not fucking believe what those idiots are doing now to historical sites..."

      "News is coming in that certain knobheads in the South China Seas are dicking about over fishing rights..."

      "Jesus Christ almighty, to nobody's surprise bloody Russia has managed to send another unbelievably corrupt sleazoid billionaire to jail on totally fabricated charges..."

      1. Cynic_999

        Re: Real News

        When I was a techie at a national radio station, they used to have news scripts very similar to the above which they would give to a newbie news reader who was told that the scheduled reader had suddenly become ill and so he had to go live immediately with no time for preparation. We'd all get a laugh on the other side of the soundproof glass watching him struggle to sanitize the script.

        1. Dave 126 Silver badge

          Re: Real News

          "You don't know about Ron Burgundy? He'll read anything you put on the autocue"

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HNJ93HCxUA

  9. codejunky Silver badge

    Erm

    Doesnt past watershed mean they are allowed to be more human? What is the point of a defined time moving from kiddie hour to adult hour if it isnt acceptable?

    1. gazthejourno (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Erm

      Ofcom's rules say it must be a gradual transition to adult-friendly telly, so as to avoid the situation of junior seeing some tit or bum or hearing naughty words while avoiding his parents' pleas to go to bed.

      Hence why Ofcom got so worked up about someone shouting "fucking hell" a whole ten seconds after the watershed.

      1. Lost In Clouds of Data
        Devil

        Re: Erm

        I blame Mary Whitehouse meself...

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Erm

        "Ofcom's rules say it must be a gradual transition to adult-friendly telly, so as to avoid the situation of junior seeing some tit or bum or hearing naughty words while avoiding his parents' pleas to go to bed."

        You'll be telling me next HIGNFY is scripted. "9:10, Paul, you can start saying "twat" now. But no fucks till 9:20"

        1. Dave 126 Silver badge

          Re: Erm

          >You'll be telling me next HIGNFY is scripted. "9:10, Paul, you can start saying "twat" now. But no fucks till 9:20"

          Not quite, but you will occasionally hear the continuity announcer say:

          "And now our drama, which contains strong language from the outset"

        2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: Erm

          You'll be telling me next HIGNFY is scripted. "9:10, Paul, you can start saying "twat" now. But no fucks till 9:20"

          You need to watch the extended HIGMNFY (M for More), about 15 minutes longer, less cuts, sometimes includes "backroom boys" coming on to fix mics and stuff,

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Erm

        Ofcom's rules say it must be a gradual transition to adult-friendly telly

        Lucky Ofcom don't have any more pressing challenges, eh?

      4. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

        Re: Erm

        @gazthejourno

        Ofcom's rules say it must be a gradual transition to adult-friendly telly,

        At about 4 1/2 minutes in before the first f*ck, that should make it possible to screen "Four Weddings and a Funeral" at 9pm without any cuts

        1. JimboSmith Silver badge

          Re: Erm

          Actually they filmed two versions of the start of 4 Weddings and a funeral because they would have had to dub it for US tv. Not wanting to have to do this they filmed an alternate start with gentler language.

  10. Mr Dogshit
    Paris Hilton

    Who cares?

    Why is this news?

    1. gazthejourno (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Who cares?

      Because I thought to myself "I know, Mr Dogshit will read this and it'll really piss him off, so I'm going to waste a chunk of my working day on it. That'll show him!"

      You tedious trump.

      1. Kubla Cant

        Re: Who cares?

        @gazthejourno Best post of the day! I wish I could upvote it more.

      2. wolfetone Silver badge

        Re: Who cares?

        "You tedious trump."

        Careful, you've seen what he's done to China over Twitter...

      3. Dr. Mouse
        Coffee/keyboard

        Re: Who cares?

        @gazthejourno

        Amazing come back, well played, sir!

        See icon, though...

      4. Tony Haines

        Re: Who cares?

        "You tedious trump."

        I think you're onto something there Gas - we can simply repurpose suitable politicians into swearwords suitable for both pre- and post-watershed viewing.

        This will soon lead to phrases like "What the farage?", "Go farage yourself" and "Stop making such a teresamay of yourself" entering the language.

        1. lglethal Silver badge
          Joke

          Re: Who cares?

          Telling someone to "go Boris Johnson themselves" is definitely reserved for after the Watershed...

        2. This post has been deleted by its author

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Who cares?

          "[...] we can simply repurpose suitable politicians into swearwords suitable for both pre- and post-watershed viewing."

          Using "Trump" in such a way seems to be a modern equivalent to the eponymous "Gordon Bennett" (Junior).

          http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/gordon-bennett.html

      5. Adam 1

        Re: Who cares?

        I know it's only Tuesday, but @gazthejourno for FotW.

      6. PNGuinn
        Unhappy

        "You tedious trump"

        Steady on, Gaz.

        I'm reading this at 10.34 in the morning!

  11. AMBxx Silver badge
    Pint

    Good for ratings!

    I bet they'll get a lot more viewers now.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Good for ratings!

      and then they'll add a Mystic Meg to boost the ratings.

      Life imitating art?

    2. BongoJoe

      Re: Good for ratings!

      I tell you, after seeing a few of their programmes they're going to need all the help they can get.

      The whole day's programmes appear to be presented by the same three people and the level of professionalism has never been lower. Imagine three students* during Rag Week doing an all-day news channel and this would be the result.

      It was compulsive viewing when we were in the North East just because it was so bloody bad.

      (* when students were students)

      1. tin 2

        Re: Good for ratings!

        How ultra-local TV has been since forever. Even the "good" ones (Channel M, Cambridge Red) couldn't make a go of it.

    3. chivo243 Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Good for wankings!

      er is that rankings?

  12. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Coat

    This being Newcastle my first thought was obviously

    "Was his name Roger" ?

  13. Yesnomaybe

    Honestly

    What a bunch of incompetents. The newsreader sounded like an unpleasant character, but perhaps seeing his comment out of context is misleading.

  14. Alistair
    Windows

    And since this was all about kicking off the show,

    and annoying the censors along the way

    Boooger Booger Booger Booger!!!!!

    (best way to open a tv show)

    1. JimboSmith Silver badge

      Re: And since this was all about kicking off the show,

      I'm assuming that's a reference to WKRP in Cincinnati and Dr Johnny Fever so have an upvote.

  15. Teiwaz

    Bad News

    Can we drop in a 'cunt-face'?

    - This post will be lost to anyone whose not over a certain age or missed Comic Strip Presents...

    1. PNGuinn
      Headmaster

      Can we drop in a 'cunt-face'?

      C*nty Mc C*ntface shirly.

      This is an adult forum after all.

  16. mhoulden

    From the article I see the TV station reported itself to Ofcom. Local TV doesn't have the highest audience figures (BARB reports a 0.02% audience share for the entire Made TV network), so did anyone actually see it?

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Perhaps he should have checked his cone-tract

  18. BillDarblay
    Meh

    Ofcom Fucktards

    Arsehole twatting cunts.

  19. Lotaresco

    Fuck, fuckity, fuck fuck

    Fuck this for a game of soldiers.

  20. GrapeBunch

    Geordie diaspora

    This will only increase their viewership. Grandma was born in Tyneside but I've never been to Newcastle area, nor imagined that they had local news broadcasts. Never wanted to imagine.

  21. Likkie

    Watershed or not?

    If the watershed ends at 9pm what's the difference if its 10 seconds or 10 minutes afterward?

    If it's ended it's ended.

    1. Richard 12 Silver badge

      Re: Watershed or not?

      It's supposed to be a gentle ride into profanities, rather than an instant drop.

      Much more classy.

  22. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

    200,000 viewers

    That many? Really? Are they counting individuals or are they counting the even sadder viewers who wtahc it more than once as multiple viewers?

    I remember seeing the channel appearing on the program guide when it first started. I managed about 2 minutes before my eyes and ears began to bleed.

    At least in the old days of "local" TV we had Naked News, Cello News, etc.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    “material which may cause offence” must be “justified by the context”

    Confused here.

    If the presenter proffers an exclamation or uses emphatic language, I do not see how that can cause offence. And in the present case it seemed pretty well justified by the context of a false start.

    On the other hand, I have had the displeasure of watching extremely offensive remarks on television, such as gratuitous and quite unfounded diatribes against different minorities, and even having Anthony B***r appearing on live television before nine, without OFCOM moving a finger. *That* I find inexcusable.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Isn't all Geordie a form of swearing?

    Disclosure: I'm half Geordie.

  25. ecofeco Silver badge

    Newcastle?

    No bollocks!

    Cheers!

  26. Korev Silver badge
    Pint

    Day Today

    A pint for the sub who chose the Day Today as the headline image ->

    This is the news, happy now?

  27. mediabeing

    I don't believe this story at all. Show us proof.

    WHY wasn't video footage of the incident presented?

    It's called 'basic journalism'; look into it.

    1. gazthejourno (Written by Reg staff)

      Your inability to read and understand the third, fifth and last paragraphs does not constitute a failure of journalism on my part.

      Looking over your comment history, it seems that you struggle to understand most, if not all, news stories that you read, and I think your comments make more sense when viewed as cries for help rather than as a Walter Mitty-style fantasy of being in charge of media standards.

      Rather than be rude, I shall instead pity you, and I encourage you to talk to these lovely people if you need a sympathetic ear to vent your feelings and frustrations at.

  28. TeeCee Gold badge

    Then again...

    I did see a clip of the news from Australia. The usual setup with a newsdesk in centre shot with the newsroom behind. Unusually, there was quite a racket from the newsroom staff, making it rather difficult to hear what the newsreader was saying:

    "Blah, blah, blah.....WILL YOU BASTARDS SHUT UP! I'M TRYING TO READ THE BLOODY NEWS HERE!.... Sorry about that ladies and gentlemen....."

  29. Tom 38

    Disappointed

    All these posts, and not one mention of "Go Fuck Yourself, San Diego".

  30. G7mzh

    They realised the mistake "immediately" but it took them three days to apologise? Should have done so in the first ad break - or even before if there was a suitable point in the programme.

    Sloppy.

  31. Potemkine Silver badge

    A good sum-up

    ... of today's World.

  32. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    local tv

    how quaint... didn't realise people still watched local tv... or tv in general.

    1. Lotaresco

      Re: local tv

      The quote about viewing statistics is carefully worded to obfuscate how few people are watching this stuff. It seems that they had 200,000 "viewers" over a period of 42 days. Probably fewer than 4,700 viewers per day.

      It hardly seems worthwhile sticking the shilling in the gas meter for that. Even if they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and could get advertising revenue per viewer equal to the TV licence fee that's just £700,000 pa to run a TV station on and in truth they would be lucky to make as much as a quarter of that.

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