Dispatches: Olympic Tickets For Sale, Channel 4, February 13, 8pm-9pm
There cannot be many who feel the London Olympic ticketing plans have been a smooth ride.
Website crashes, controversy over the ballot system, dubious payment requirements – all contributed to an ongoing public relations nightmare for the London Organising Committee (LOCOG).
But the attempt by Dispatches to cash in on the problems by rehashing many arguments already in the public domain was underwhelming, illogical and often contradictory.
The crux of the programme was focused on hidden camera interviews with two jovial figures. These villains of the piece represented companies – namely Thomas Cook and Jet Set Sports – which offer Olympic ticket and accommodation packages at extortionate prices.
It is predators like them, the show’s presenter Antony Barnett insisted, who are responsible for the plight of British sports fans who have missed out on tickets – people like Denis, an elderly caravan-dweller who has attended every Games since 1960.
Barnett may have had a point; the transparency (or lack of) in Olympic ticketing is undeniably an issue.
But the way he presented his argument was flawed. He made a big issue of the shocking fact only 36 per cent of seats at the men’s 100m final are available to the public despite LOCOG revealing this before tickets first went on sale.
The programme suffered from the lack of a LOCOG voice being heard; the entire debate on access to London’s Olympic traffic lanes appeared to be boiled down to airing the grievances of a disgruntled cabbie.
Most bizarrely, Barnett visited a town in New Jersey to find the headquarters of Jet Set – to stumble upon a PO Box address.
If his intention was to highlight the murkiness of the Games’ ticketing policy, Barnett instead managed simply to leave viewers pondering what exactly he had discovered.
The next edition of Dispatches could do worse than investigate the many flaws of this hour of investigative journalism.
Panorama: Poor America, BBC One, February 13, 8.30pm-9pm
By contrast, Panorama highlights why it is the leading investigative programme in Britain.
Highlighting an issue so many people on both sides of the Atlantic are aware of, presenter Hilary Andersson revealed some shocking stories of the poverty of much of hidden, tent-city America.
According to US Census Bureau statistics, 1.5 million US children are homeless. Twenty million people – nearly seven per cent of the population – earn less than £7,000 a year, or £135 a week.
Such numbers might not mean much, but this is where Andersson’s brilliant if typically poignant investigation brings the statistics to life.
Andersson speaks to Steven, an eloquent eight-year-old from Nevada, just about manages to keep his composure as he describes how his mother will have to give his sibling up for adoption when he or she is born as his family cannot afford to feed another mouth. Meanwhile, classmate Leslie whispers how her family has had to eat rats.
The depression of the 1920s and 1930s was eased by the radical social policies of President Roosevelt. The current resident of the White House is, admittedly, hamstrung by stubborn and usually Republican state administrations, but cannot ignore the fact such deprivation has increased under his presidency.
Now, however much they might want to pretend nobody in the privileged, civilised western world lives like this, viewers are also unable to ignore the huge, embarrassing gulf between the American rich and poor.
In helping expose these problems, this BBC tour de force exemplifies the heart-rending best pinnacle of the investigative documentary.
Monday, 13 February 2012
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Ex-official: Former referee: Davies and Ferris both deserved red
This is an article I wrote for The Cardiffian and my other blog, An Early Bath.
Former international referee Fred Howard has joined those who argue Wales’s Bradley Davies should have been sent off for dangerous play against Ireland on Sunday.
Second row Davies was yellow-carded late on by referee Wayne Barnes after a tip-tackle on opposite number Donnacha Ryan.
He will find out tomorrow how long a suspension he will receive for the dangerous tackle during the 23-21 victory when he attends a disciplinary hearing in London.
Also in attendance will be Ireland’s Stephen Ferris, who was sin-binned late on for a lifting tackle on Ian Evans. The subsequent penalty, which was converted by Leigh Halfpenny, was enough to secure the win for Wales.
Howard, who earned the nickname “Fearless Fred” for the frequency with which he was willing to discipline players on the field, said both Davies and Ferris deserved red in the eyes of the law.
Coach Warren Gatland admitted after the game Davies was fortunate not to have seen red.
But Howard said Ferris deserved a similar punishment. “Because of the directives referees are under both technically should have been red cards,” said the man who took charge of eight Wales games in his international career, which spanned eight years between 1984 and 1992.
Among those encounters was Wales’s 1987 World Cup third-place play-off victory over Australia.
Howard believes fellow Englishman Dave Pearson, who told referee Wayne Barnes to send Davies to the sin bin, was at fault. “I think Dave Pearson was very wrong in recommending a yellow card for the first [Davies’s] offence,” he said.
Howard, who officiated a total of 20 test matches, believes referees need to be given more leeway when making decisions surrounding tip tackles and lifting an opponent off his feet.
“The second one [Ferris’s] would have been a very harsh red card,” he said.
Welsh captain Sam Warburton was sent off during last year’s World Cup for a similar tackle on France’s Vincent Clerc and was handed a three-week suspension as a result.
The debate which greeted Warburton’s dismissal has been reignited by the Dublin encounter, and Howard says a referee must be able to judge each individual circumstance on its merits.
“The referee has got to be given some discretion, as they have with punches,” he said.
“I think if referees have reached that level they should be competent in differentiating between serious foul play and the second one [Ferris’s tackle] which was more of an afterthought.”
He added: “I think most referees would want to be given that discretion. I never liked being backed into a corner.”
Former international referee Fred Howard has joined those who argue Wales’s Bradley Davies should have been sent off for dangerous play against Ireland on Sunday.
Second row Davies was yellow-carded late on by referee Wayne Barnes after a tip-tackle on opposite number Donnacha Ryan.
He will find out tomorrow how long a suspension he will receive for the dangerous tackle during the 23-21 victory when he attends a disciplinary hearing in London.
Also in attendance will be Ireland’s Stephen Ferris, who was sin-binned late on for a lifting tackle on Ian Evans. The subsequent penalty, which was converted by Leigh Halfpenny, was enough to secure the win for Wales.
Howard, who earned the nickname “Fearless Fred” for the frequency with which he was willing to discipline players on the field, said both Davies and Ferris deserved red in the eyes of the law.
Coach Warren Gatland admitted after the game Davies was fortunate not to have seen red.
But Howard said Ferris deserved a similar punishment. “Because of the directives referees are under both technically should have been red cards,” said the man who took charge of eight Wales games in his international career, which spanned eight years between 1984 and 1992.
Among those encounters was Wales’s 1987 World Cup third-place play-off victory over Australia.
Howard believes fellow Englishman Dave Pearson, who told referee Wayne Barnes to send Davies to the sin bin, was at fault. “I think Dave Pearson was very wrong in recommending a yellow card for the first [Davies’s] offence,” he said.
Howard, who officiated a total of 20 test matches, believes referees need to be given more leeway when making decisions surrounding tip tackles and lifting an opponent off his feet.
“The second one [Ferris’s] would have been a very harsh red card,” he said.
Welsh captain Sam Warburton was sent off during last year’s World Cup for a similar tackle on France’s Vincent Clerc and was handed a three-week suspension as a result.
The debate which greeted Warburton’s dismissal has been reignited by the Dublin encounter, and Howard says a referee must be able to judge each individual circumstance on its merits.
“The referee has got to be given some discretion, as they have with punches,” he said.
“I think if referees have reached that level they should be competent in differentiating between serious foul play and the second one [Ferris’s tackle] which was more of an afterthought.”
He added: “I think most referees would want to be given that discretion. I never liked being backed into a corner.”
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