Documental

Over the weekend my growing lust for quality documentaries was greatly eased by the discovery of two excellent online film archives dedicated to the underrated artform.

Anyone wanting to see incredible things they've never seen before and that have the power to move them and who has tired of the unreliable cinematic assertion, ‘BASED ON A TRUE STORY’, should get right on to the two websites below, which - somehow - are still provided free of charge to anyone with a net connection.

• PBS Frontline
  which features not only around 50 broadband quality, full length watchable documentaries, but also has fascinating background information on all of them which is fascinating to any journalist or media lover.
  

• Obscured TV
  which features older, hard-to-find documentaries produced by various organisations and again watchable online.

It's especially nice to see that in these times where various investors are about to venture along with YouTube and Veoh into the word of web broadcasting, some websites are already quietly leading the way.

Big Brother turns silent

Where crowds have normally stood baying for blood outside the Big Brother house in London every Friday night, as the contestants wait for a decision on tonight's ‘eviction night’ programme, an eerie silence is the only accompaniment to Mrs McCall's unusually toned-down stand up.

In response to the alleged racist comments made on Celebrity Big Brother and targeted towards contestant Shilpa Shetty, watching the show has actually become more interesting tonight, as the show has a quiet and even tense atmosphere. The process of sorting out of the comments made by Jade Goody, which some have deemed racist, has given the programme a structure and direction it usually lacked.

Although they must now be aware of the issues after Big Brother's pointed questions, (What did you mean when you referred to Shilpa using the term ‘Shilpa Poppadom’?) the housemates are still likely to be surprised by the remarkable coverage the show has received across all media, and from low and high-brow news sources alike; and even around the world. Not to mention the direct pressure the Television Network Channel 4 has felt from the record 30,000 complainants who have taken issue with events on this month's series.

The show is not only going out today without its usual live audience, but as of yesterday, has been stripped of its Carphone Warehouse advertising deal. The mobile phone company's slightly twee adverts formerly wrapped each segment of the programme, and their and muscial stings were part of the big brother package, like the Oakenfold theme tune. It will be interesting to see how much Russell Brand's loudmouthed daily Big Brother review programme has also changed when it airs later this evening.

The web concensus: looking around on web pages and blogs, the verdict generally seems to be that the comments made by Jade were not in fact racist, but that she and her friends were engaging in bullying, and the comments may be excused by her lack of the intelligence needed to realise how hurtful her remarks may have been. The anti-bullying charity with whom Jade was working has taken steps to disassociate itself from her.

Whatever the public as a whole feels, it seems to be the case that no one in their right mind is failing to watch Big Brother, even if they can't stand the reality genre. When David Cameron asked the public to use their ‘off buttons’ to complain about the programme, even Tony Blair had to voice his disapproval in the Commons.

It will be interesting to see how the UK reality genre responds to this challenge: although one must assume that the programme's already elevated ratings must be surging up and up, will ratings start to become secondary to the (very necessary) editorialising that has been going on in recent days?

Boy, 14, sails into the record books

Those watching today's News 24 Coverage around two o'clock today were likely to be disappointed by the coverage of schoolboy sailor Michael Perham's arrival at Antigua after setting out from Gibraltar six weeks ago.

After a slew of technical problems resulting from the blurry, jumpy video stream from the reporter waiting with a crowd at the Antiguan docks to receive his guest, and further problems when Michael actually arrived (‘You're standing on the audio cable!’) it became apparent that other than uttering the word ‘fantastic’ neither Michael nor the person in the studio had any idea about what to say.

In Michael's case, his tiredness no doubt contributed to his brief replies, but the interviewers should have done better to get some single grain of detail from their subject. Perhaps if they had bothered to read his blog or asked any questions beyond the humdrum ‘how do you feel’ rephrased about ten to twenty times something would have come of it.

Michael's arrival was part of a three-way link up connecting him with a presenter in the N24 news studio and with his family home where a second interviewer and his relatives watched those fuzzy images from the BBC broadcast. Although the studio presenter did try to get the other two parties talking, nothing was really said through the technological barrier.

The only people who could string some sentences together were Michael's mother and particularly his grandmother, whose replies seemed to suggest that there had been some tests on the way. But their reponses were not followed up by the interviewer with the simple question ‘What kinds of tests has Michael had to face?’ The Beeb were perhaps unlucky that the most powerful statement, which gave the story some depth of feeling and a sense of a struggle rather than just a relaxed sailing holiday, was his mother's unrepeatable line ‘He's been through some shit.’

I would hope that in future more efforts will be made to get some element of detail other than joyous reaction, which is a necessary part of the story, but shouldn't be the story. It would also be nice if they should do something about the dreadful quality of the sub-webcam technology that is used to meet the demand for pictures in many parts of the globe, but does so very poorly, and with audio often so full of pauses the barely half a report can be heard, as was true in this case.

The temptations of MySpace journalism: the Ipswich killings investigation

Mr Tom Stephens of Ipswich was arrested early this morning for further questioning in connection with the killings of five women whose bodies were found in the Ipswich area.

The news have been awash with this gripping story for weeks now, and as Mr. Stephens's house was being cordoned off and covered over with a tent this morning, News 24 showed us the police activity using a camera sneakily positioned in an upstairs window of a nearby house. Sky had to make do with peeking round a corner from street level...

The Telegraph quotes from Mr Stephens's profile liberally in addition to describing it in some detail. This actually makes it rather easy to locate his profile, a privilege I am glad to see has not yet been abused. This raises the issue of whether personal profiles, which in theory list the personal friends of their authors and allow direct contact to be made, should now become as closely guarded by journalists as the addresses of private individuals.

And the three little marketing consultants said "Wii? Wii? Oui!"

The Beeb are thankfully never short of stories that put an amusing spin on tired material. Quoting Nintendo president Satoru Iwata today, the BBC site explained Nintendo's reponse to the news that some users were hitting objects - such as television screens - during their frantic playing sessions:

‘Some people are getting a lot more excited than we'd expected.

‘We need to better communicate to people how to deal with Wii as a new form of entertainment.’

So... the Wii is so packed with entertainment goodness that it has gone totally out of Nintendo's control, and gamers have been transformed into sweaty beasts, content to destroy house and home as the price for a gaming ‘fix.’ And the advice they so badly need to communicate? ‘Nintendo also cautioned players to stay at least three feet away from the TV and to make sure people and objects were safely outside their range of motion.’ What would we ever do without them?

Burma's Secret War

Evan Williams’ ‘Burma's Secret War’, just aired a few minutes ago as one of Channel 4's Dispatches programmes, is the most daring and revealing documentary on the politics of a non-democratic state that I've ever seen. I have seen journalists cross borders momentarily or pop in and out of state-controlled regions of land before in other programmes, but the sustained disregard Williams and his interview subjects show for the burmese junta's climate of secrecy is astonishing, and very moving to behold.

Williams joins people affected by the regime's cruelty and faces some of their ordeals by travelling with them to villages already being descended upon by the military. He leaves for the city before trouble arrives, only to immediately begin contacting revolutionaries and the families of victims of the clampdown on political prisoners, passing on his way the dilapidated fortress that is the location of captive former president Aung San Suu Kyi. One such man, clearly already ill, eagerly submits to interview without disguise and when asked about the danger of arrest he faces replies with a smile that "the next time they pick me up... I won't be coming back."

This is a fascinating insight into the state of affairs in the country, and in media terms, as television it allows us to see how, in a state that employs censorship and violence with impunity, the spirit of revolution is kindled against all the odds.

Fur, fish and other classic kickers: Look East

Today's lunchtime regional news was solid proof that while children and animals may have a reputation for being difficult to work with on film, their adorable physiognomies can make up the cornerstones of respectable programmes if they remain motionless, or even better, are being restrained. Also much in evidence were the programme makers' efforts to create a sense of continuity for the programme with more unspoken programme links and pointless displays of humour than you could crack open an oyster at.

First was a report on a bulldog's attack on four-year old George Brown, whose second encounter with the animal had left him scarred. The team showed him asleep as they reported on dog owner Michael Feehily and his partner Toni Badcock appearing at court. The film of their arrival was somewhat undermined by Ms Badcock waving gleefuflly into the camera as soon as she was near it.

Next we heard of a woman who had recently gone missing. She may, noted the newsreader with flexed eyebrows, have a dog with her. So it can't be all bad.

But... we then hear that even though the dog is being cared for even in absentia, it may not be too safe after all, unless it has already been vaccinated for the sinister parvovirus that is going round. Cue stock(?) footage of cute creatures with floppy ears being pinned unneccesarily to an operating table. Surely this third consecutive animal story is quite enough?

After those mostly sober opening stories, the animal theme was abused further by interviews with east coast crab and lobstercatchers concerned that they would no longer be allowed to trap enough animals under new guidelines limiting catches to older animals.

Then, in the fitting climax that a British weather item should always be, and in the established tradition of putting every obscure town on maps on local news, which towns should be marked today but ‘Codicote’, what I think was ‘Herringston’, and where else but ‘Fishley’?

Who needs human interest?