Modern tv

 Have you ever watched a newscast and muttered rude comments about the presenter, the guest and whatever it is they are discussing? It has become commonplace in our house. "Rubbish," I hear my dh say when someone spouts forth with some new plan for educational reform. "We tried that forty years ago. Stop re-inventing the wheel."
I get incensed when I hear someone say volunteers can run a library as well as paid staff. "Rubbish," I hiss.
We're old fashioned enough to dislike the news that a huge section of children are growing up without the influence of a father, to wonder why young women, often inappropriately dressed, are walking home alone at three in the morning through darkened streets, why film soundtracks are now so deafeningly loud, why people over forty still cling on to the gigs and pop music of their youth, why the media consistently attacks the NHS, why people buy so much pre-packed rubbish from supermarkets, why there has to be so much packaging - all brightly coloured and appealing to the eye when the goods inside are so much the opposite - and above all why people throw away so much food.

Another thing - why are presenters and interviewers so rude these days? When they interrupt people trying to give an explanation, cut across them in mid-sentence, talk over them to the point that the viewer cannot hear either person clearly - what are they teaching young people? That it is cool and clever to be rude? Another annoyance is the presence of so-called music running behind the person speaking to camera. This is particularly annoying when it's a documentary and the information you tuned in for is being drowned out by some mad drummer in a basement. If he was a neighbour, people would be hammering on the front door and asking for him to desist. The other irritating thing is the camera drooling over presenters from every possible angle including the revolting up-the-nose shot from around knee height while ignoring the rock formation (Ian Stewart) and the historical artefact (Too many presenters to mention) the landscape (Neil Oliver) and I am so tried of watching the screen with growing nervous tension  as the presenter drives along a motorway while talking and gazing at the camera. (Julian Richards and Bettany Hughes) Even Liz Bonnin and Chris Packham, to the detriment of the snow tigers and the creatures on Springwatch.

Bah humbug! Feel pleased to have got that off my chest, and hope someone from the BBC is reading.