BBC reporter faked Masters coverage from different golf course
Apr 25, 2010, 10:30 AM EDT
…BBC
Please them! Please them!
Sadly, this was your life
But you could have said no
If you’d wanted to
You could have walked away…couldn’t you?
- The Smiths, “Paint A Vulgar Picture”
Awk-ward. No, not that I have made yet another cheesy musical reference today, but the fact that James Pearce, a poor bloke who was assigned to cover the Masters for the BBC but was not provided with press credentials to actually, you know, gain access to Augusta National – instead broadcast his reports from some other golf course in Augusta.
Yeah…not good. You could have walked away from this assignment, Mr. Pearce. Couldn’t you?
Ever the innovator, Pearce was very MacGyver-like in his attempts to still accomplish his assignment despite the necessary tools. Making the best of his unfortunate situation, he most likely bellied-up to the bar at some pub and watched the Masters on television just like the rest of us poor schleps. To give an appearance of authenticity, Pearce provided his on-air reports from a course over a mile away from Augusta National.
Although Pearce never claimed that he was covering the event from the place where said event was really taking place – the elderly men putting the background probably should have tipped most people off – he did somewhat mislead viewers about the exact whereabouts of his remote reports in updates to the BBC web site and hisTwitter account.
From the New York Daily News:
“I have always dreamed of coming to Augusta,” Pearce wrote on the blog.
“This year I have finally made it. There is only one reason for that: Tiger Woods.”
You have to feel bad for the guy. It is certainly not his fault the BBC dropped the ball and did not secure him the necessary press credentials. Nevertheless, the BBC should be extremely embarrassed by the gaffe and the subsequent cover-up by its reporter.
Sure, not as embarrassed as I am by my love for The Smiths, but still.
***
BBC correspondent sent to cover Tiger Woods’ return to golf in Masters reported from wrong course [New York Daily News]
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- Nevets - Apr 25, 2010 at 12:28 PM
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Eh no biggie, Fox News does this stuff all the time.
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- Mario - Apr 25, 2010 at 12:35 PM
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Is that what you hear from Olbermann?
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- The Real Bill - Apr 25, 2010 at 12:42 PM
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Just listen to any cable station….Fox, CNN, MSNBC..they lie day after day after day after day
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- Mario - Apr 25, 2010 at 1:02 PM
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If they all lie, why are you spending your time on a “liar’s” web site?
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- otterstrom - Apr 25, 2010 at 1:04 PM
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over the last 20 years fox news has slowly become the laughing stock of video news media. open your eyes.
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- Tim - Apr 25, 2010 at 2:07 PM
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Fox airs FaKe news with fake views!
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- phillas - Apr 25, 2010 at 2:17 PM
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And at the BBC, they speak with fake British accents!
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- Matt - Apr 25, 2010 at 2:22 PM
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There is no intelligent answer to your question….that’s like saying why do we listen to our government when all they do is break the law.
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- bikini_waxman - Apr 25, 2010 at 2:36 PM
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you mean like msn, msnbc, nytimes , abc ?
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- Schmoopy - Apr 25, 2010 at 3:54 PM
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Eh, the British do this all the time.
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/john_oliver_screengrab.jpg
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- BigBill8517 - Apr 25, 2010 at 5:02 PM
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So, isn’t that how Ronnie Reagan started off broadcasting baseball games?
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- fred117 - Apr 25, 2010 at 5:03 PM
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Weed – if this is news to you then you either very young or naive or both. This is an accepted tactic for reporters stuck in this kind of situation and is nothing new. You give too much credit to Mr Pearce when the directive to do this came either from the producer or London. If Pearce is not “sacked” then you’ll know where the real blame lies.
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- Jim Guida - Apr 26, 2010 at 12:58 PM
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Fred – Please try not to stick to the original topic with insightful comments and intelligent responses. We are bashing Fox network and hating liberal media here.
College Boy!
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- Alex - Apr 26, 2010 at 3:33 PM
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Liar! I Can’t believe how brainwashed you are.
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- Jim Guida - Apr 26, 2010 at 4:11 PM
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A question to all the media bashers in here:
If you were givena blue vial of medicine from Fox News and a green vial of medicine from CNN and your life depended on drinking one of the vials – you have no choice, you MUST drink a vial – which one would you drink?
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- Tony Metler - Apr 26, 2010 at 4:15 PM
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What Ronald Reagan did as a young sportscaster was take the details of a game as it was happening from a teletype and re-enact the action as he announced the game. This was a very common practice. This is diffeent from Ronald Reagans supporters today who are taking the details of his presidency and re-enacting his actions. The difference is, they are changing the final score so that their side wins.
