If, like me, you use the BBC news website to catch up on what’s happening in the world, you may have seen evidence of the presentation of news items being skewed by external influences. I just saw something on the site today which leads me to believe it’s still happening, despite them being aware of the problem.

There’s a screenshot below of a section of their site which displays the most popular and most shared text news items and the most viewed video stories. There’s one story shown in the most read section, “Beer with 32% strength launched” about a Scottish craft  Brewery called Brewdog who have created a beer which has a very high alcohol content. Trouble is, the story was from November – why is it suddenly appearing as a ‘most-read’ story in the middle of February?

I have a suspicion that this story could be an example of one being bumped up the list artificially. It may be no coincidence that the brewery concerned are skillful in the art of viral marketing (as well as making excellent beer) and they have a share-ownership scheme which is coming to a close and has been widely promoted over the past few days.

OK, so if you like Brewdog (and you think their viral marketing methods are doing this), you may think they’re clever in the way that they’re getting national news coverage for free. However, if nothing else it should make everybody think twice about the way our news is presented and the fact that we’re constantly manipulated by all kinds of marketing and political / religious / commercial  lobbying ploys.

Having watched BBC’s iPlayer coverage of yesterday’s Lord Mayor’s Show in London, I thought it might be fun to post some video captures of PMC’s pea harvester in the procession – just to prove they were there! I’m sure lots of Fakenham people who work there (and previously at FMC) would be interested.

With today’s news that Tranmere Rovers have sacked their manager John Barnes and assistant Jason McAteer, putting the team physio in temporary charge, the following fan known as ‘ByeJohn’ posted this to the BBC’s 606 sports forum. It’s a classic…

“As a lifelong Rovers fan I thought I would translate the clubs press release;

The Tranmere Rovers board have concluded that for Monday’s crucial home game against fellow Championship 1 strugglers Stockport, the team will be in better hands under the guidance of the club masseuse than under John Barnes (he was honestly that bad), and the current manager will now be geeing the players up as well as giving them a good rub down.

With the weight of John and Jason’s ineptitude lifted from the club we look forward to the inevitable and ultimately futile relegation dog fight, but I would like to reassure the fans that the board is fully committed to aimlessly wandering around the board room for the remainder of the season, occasionally bumping into things, and wondering how on earth they have managed to turn a perfectly respectable local club into the biggest joke in football since Thomas Brolin’s waistline.”

Now that would have been a great press release!