| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting 04:24 - Jan 15 with 9458 views | wkj |
Woke up this morning and decided to check the news and views, when suddenly this article pops up in the suggested reads:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-46868793
I was pretty shocked, the headline and the picture all suggests one thing, and it wasn't until a good way down the article that the true essence of the article is revealed.
I would urge people to consider complaining about this shoddy rubbish on the BBC website, as they have absolutely no advertising revenue to gain from this shady online practice, they seem to just do stuff to keep up with the rest of the pack. |  |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 07:58 - Jan 15 with 5147 views | Darth_Koont |
I agree this isn't good. With the headline, they seem to be consciously playing on the same misunderstanding that saw police sent out in the first place.
You're right that the BBC should be better than this but this isn't a one-off. On a more banal level, there's a certain Scottish sports correspondent who I've been moved to e-mail the BBC about because he turns every Scotland rugby match into a world beater or panel beater overreaction purely depending on the result, and often setting up the exaggeration he made the game before to argue against. I have no doubt that his articles engineer the most engagement and they certainly get the most complaints judging by the comments but the overreaction continues nevertheless.
However, the BBC does get significant advertising revenue from overseas users. So they're certainly after clicks (probably even domestically depending on the BBC website KPIs).
I think here Phil (and Gav) deserves huge credit for reporting ITFC news with a straight bat almost every time. Sometimes there's a quote taken slightly out of context in a headline but I don't think there's ever an attempt to sensationalize the stories. |  |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 08:10 - Jan 15 with 5134 views | wkj |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 07:58 - Jan 15 by Darth_Koont |
I agree this isn't good. With the headline, they seem to be consciously playing on the same misunderstanding that saw police sent out in the first place.
You're right that the BBC should be better than this but this isn't a one-off. On a more banal level, there's a certain Scottish sports correspondent who I've been moved to e-mail the BBC about because he turns every Scotland rugby match into a world beater or panel beater overreaction purely depending on the result, and often setting up the exaggeration he made the game before to argue against. I have no doubt that his articles engineer the most engagement and they certainly get the most complaints judging by the comments but the overreaction continues nevertheless.
However, the BBC does get significant advertising revenue from overseas users. So they're certainly after clicks (probably even domestically depending on the BBC website KPIs).
I think here Phil (and Gav) deserves huge credit for reporting ITFC news with a straight bat almost every time. Sometimes there's a quote taken slightly out of context in a headline but I don't think there's ever an attempt to sensationalize the stories. |
I certainly agree, Phil does have integrity as a journalist - even his opinion pieces in the gazette were quite fiar and balanced considering we're in an emotionally charged period of our history.
I did fill out a complaint to the BBC and request a reply, so once I get one I will copy and past it in a reply to this thread. I am not expecting anything to helpful, but I do feel stories like this could put people's well being at risk, especially if a white knight were to skim read it, clock his name, approximate location and picture, then use social media- who knows how deep that rabbit hole could go, even though I wouldn't want to mess with the bloke in the photo, he looks are tough as houses. [Post edited 15 Jan 2019 8:11]
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 08:35 - Jan 15 with 5095 views | Darth_Koont |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 08:10 - Jan 15 by wkj |
I certainly agree, Phil does have integrity as a journalist - even his opinion pieces in the gazette were quite fiar and balanced considering we're in an emotionally charged period of our history.
I did fill out a complaint to the BBC and request a reply, so once I get one I will copy and past it in a reply to this thread. I am not expecting anything to helpful, but I do feel stories like this could put people's well being at risk, especially if a white knight were to skim read it, clock his name, approximate location and picture, then use social media- who knows how deep that rabbit hole could go, even though I wouldn't want to mess with the bloke in the photo, he looks are tough as houses. [Post edited 15 Jan 2019 8:11]
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Good luck with that! I got a standard and automated reply to my complaint. Which I answered and got another and then another and so on.
I wan't really expecting them to directly address the issue I raised but hopefully it all adds to the feedback they're getting. And your example is so blatant that they may well take action. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 08:58 - Jan 15 with 5054 views | lowhouseblue |
and whatever the misleading headline, how does something which at best is inconsequential local trivia get on the main news page of the national broadcaster (it was there yesterday evening). it's not news - at best it should be a paragraph in a local paper. the bbc shouldn't be doing this sort of tabloid crap. [Post edited 15 Jan 2019 8:59]
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| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:15 - Jan 15 with 4985 views | sparks |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 08:58 - Jan 15 by lowhouseblue |
and whatever the misleading headline, how does something which at best is inconsequential local trivia get on the main news page of the national broadcaster (it was there yesterday evening). it's not news - at best it should be a paragraph in a local paper. the bbc shouldn't be doing this sort of tabloid crap. [Post edited 15 Jan 2019 8:59]
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Front page today, amidst the first 15 stories on my un personalised bbc homepage...
Whats the right age to lose virginity
Kim and Kanye
Heart warming rave moment has social media welling up
The viral makeup challenge that beautifies spuds.
Either the bbc is a quality public service which warrants public funding or it is not. They are having their lowest denominator flavoured cake and eating it. Whilst tweeting pictures of it. |  |
| The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.
(Sir Terry Pratchett) | | Poll: | Is Fred drunk this morning? |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:19 - Jan 15 with 4973 views | wkj |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:15 - Jan 15 by sparks |
Front page today, amidst the first 15 stories on my un personalised bbc homepage...
Whats the right age to lose virginity
Kim and Kanye
Heart warming rave moment has social media welling up
The viral makeup challenge that beautifies spuds.
Either the bbc is a quality public service which warrants public funding or it is not. They are having their lowest denominator flavoured cake and eating it. Whilst tweeting pictures of it. |
I do think the BBC has tried so hard to become Buzzfeed for many years, at least their website- they had a period of time where they had "A joint Buzzfeed / BBC investigation revealed" on so many stories it became nauseating.
I question if its just me growing into such an age group that i'm out of touch with the media the younger folk want to consume, or if the BBC Online are just trying to become something that they absolutely should not be. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:19 - Jan 15 with 4971 views | DanTheMan |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:15 - Jan 15 by sparks |
Front page today, amidst the first 15 stories on my un personalised bbc homepage...
Whats the right age to lose virginity
Kim and Kanye
Heart warming rave moment has social media welling up
The viral makeup challenge that beautifies spuds.
Either the bbc is a quality public service which warrants public funding or it is not. They are having their lowest denominator flavoured cake and eating it. Whilst tweeting pictures of it. |
At the same time, they are a public service and need to provide stories not just for us but for a lot of younger readers who may well be interested in those kinds of stories. I would assume most of those stories are under the "Newsbeat" brand.
I think the clickbait as linked in the OP is bad though. Would only take a few extra words to clarify the baby was accidentally given the hot sauce. |  |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:21 - Jan 15 with 4959 views | Lord_Lucan |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:15 - Jan 15 by sparks |
Front page today, amidst the first 15 stories on my un personalised bbc homepage...
Whats the right age to lose virginity
Kim and Kanye
Heart warming rave moment has social media welling up
The viral makeup challenge that beautifies spuds.
Either the bbc is a quality public service which warrants public funding or it is not. They are having their lowest denominator flavoured cake and eating it. Whilst tweeting pictures of it. |
I fully agree with this. |  |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:22 - Jan 15 with 4958 views | DanTheMan |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:19 - Jan 15 by wkj |
I do think the BBC has tried so hard to become Buzzfeed for many years, at least their website- they had a period of time where they had "A joint Buzzfeed / BBC investigation revealed" on so many stories it became nauseating.
I question if its just me growing into such an age group that i'm out of touch with the media the younger folk want to consume, or if the BBC Online are just trying to become something that they absolutely should not be. |
To be fair, whilst Buzzfeed obviously have a lot of awful clickbait nonsense, they do a lot of very good actual investigative journalism too. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:25 - Jan 15 with 4950 views | Superfrans |
The headline simply reflects the way this was presented to the police and why it was acted on, surely? It's not a BBC issue. |  |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:25 - Jan 15 with 4948 views | wkj |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:22 - Jan 15 by DanTheMan |
To be fair, whilst Buzzfeed obviously have a lot of awful clickbait nonsense, they do a lot of very good actual investigative journalism too. |
It has improved, given the roots of the organisation - but for me I just cant stomach the organisation. I think they have been such a huge part of the rise of clickbait culture and some shockingly poor editorialised reporting that for me it will take a lot for them to become credible. [Post edited 15 Jan 2019 10:25]
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:28 - Jan 15 with 4935 views | wkj |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:25 - Jan 15 by Superfrans |
The headline simply reflects the way this was presented to the police and why it was acted on, surely? It's not a BBC issue. |
When it was in the suggested news column it had that headline, and the first picture - it was a very poorly constructed preview, and hard to see as accidental.
"Police called after man feeds baby hot sauce in error"
is the actual story, and how it should have been presented. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:35 - Jan 15 with 4920 views | sparks |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:19 - Jan 15 by DanTheMan |
At the same time, they are a public service and need to provide stories not just for us but for a lot of younger readers who may well be interested in those kinds of stories. I would assume most of those stories are under the "Newsbeat" brand.
I think the clickbait as linked in the OP is bad though. Would only take a few extra words to clarify the baby was accidentally given the hot sauce. |
None of those mentioned are newsbeat stories. The virginity one is currently on the top row between brexit and trump buying burgers.
They are normalising inanity and clickbait which is readily obtained elsewhere. You dont give kids lots of junk food just because thats what they want. Certainly not when publically funded... | |
| The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.
(Sir Terry Pratchett) | | Poll: | Is Fred drunk this morning? |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:40 - Jan 15 with 4910 views | Superfrans |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:35 - Jan 15 by sparks |
None of those mentioned are newsbeat stories. The virginity one is currently on the top row between brexit and trump buying burgers.
They are normalising inanity and clickbait which is readily obtained elsewhere. You dont give kids lots of junk food just because thats what they want. Certainly not when publically funded... |
The BBC has an incredibly difficult job to do in the current climate, imho.
Aside from steering a middle ground through an increasingly polarised political environment, it also can't turn its news channels into public information pamplets - it would simply lose audience overnight and would be slated for that. It has to strike a balance. And you can't please all people all of the time. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:47 - Jan 15 with 4896 views | wkj |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:40 - Jan 15 by Superfrans |
The BBC has an incredibly difficult job to do in the current climate, imho.
Aside from steering a middle ground through an increasingly polarised political environment, it also can't turn its news channels into public information pamplets - it would simply lose audience overnight and would be slated for that. It has to strike a balance. And you can't please all people all of the time. |
There is no denying the magnitude of the task of the bbc, but the quality of the product has to be responsible and not editorialised. I am under no illusion that the BBC are free of bias, in some ways it is human nature, but it has a responsibility to not become a tabloid. The type of clickbait links that I raised issue with are akin to what you see on the DM, Mirror, Sun etc etc web pages - and its just a load of non-news with a bunch of pictures of women wearing very little, thankfully the BBC haven't gone down that road, but its the same principle of poor quality for a public service.
BBC.co.uk has a responsibility to the fee payers, BBC.com the rules are a little more loose as it is foreign traffic orientated. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:07 - Jan 15 with 4868 views | Darth_Koont |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:28 - Jan 15 by wkj |
When it was in the suggested news column it had that headline, and the first picture - it was a very poorly constructed preview, and hard to see as accidental.
"Police called after man feeds baby hot sauce in error"
is the actual story, and how it should have been presented. |
Also, it's hardly "fed" which suggests a different volume altogether. It's a misleading headline and preview on too many levels to be accidental. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:24 - Jan 15 with 4849 views | Superfrans |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:47 - Jan 15 by wkj |
There is no denying the magnitude of the task of the bbc, but the quality of the product has to be responsible and not editorialised. I am under no illusion that the BBC are free of bias, in some ways it is human nature, but it has a responsibility to not become a tabloid. The type of clickbait links that I raised issue with are akin to what you see on the DM, Mirror, Sun etc etc web pages - and its just a load of non-news with a bunch of pictures of women wearing very little, thankfully the BBC haven't gone down that road, but its the same principle of poor quality for a public service.
BBC.co.uk has a responsibility to the fee payers, BBC.com the rules are a little more loose as it is foreign traffic orientated. |
When I was trained as a journalist, years and years ago, we were always taught that a headline has to be designed to draw the reader in. The Sun was held up as one of the best at this (not as great at lots of other things, of course). Of course, today a decent headline online is labelled "clickbait".
Personally, I only think headlines are only a problem if they draw the reader in to read PR puff, misleading nonsense or generally vaccuous or pointless content.
If you actually read the "virginity" story on BBC Online, it is actually quite nuanced and sensitively handled - just the kind of content that the BBC should be producing. The fact is that there is no point in sticking a dull, dusty, public information headline on something like this if you want the target audience to read it. They simply won't be drawn in. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:27 - Jan 15 with 4844 views | footers |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:24 - Jan 15 by Superfrans |
When I was trained as a journalist, years and years ago, we were always taught that a headline has to be designed to draw the reader in. The Sun was held up as one of the best at this (not as great at lots of other things, of course). Of course, today a decent headline online is labelled "clickbait".
Personally, I only think headlines are only a problem if they draw the reader in to read PR puff, misleading nonsense or generally vaccuous or pointless content.
If you actually read the "virginity" story on BBC Online, it is actually quite nuanced and sensitively handled - just the kind of content that the BBC should be producing. The fact is that there is no point in sticking a dull, dusty, public information headline on something like this if you want the target audience to read it. They simply won't be drawn in. |
Isn't it still common practice to have one headline writer? That was always my reasoning if there was a slight disconnect between headline and content- not properly read, emphasis on the wrong point, etc. As you say, headline writing is actually quite an art, and sometimes I suppose the 'perfect' headline for the story, in terms of punnery and catchiness, may not line up properly with the story. |  |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:36 - Jan 15 with 4811 views | Superfrans |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:27 - Jan 15 by footers |
Isn't it still common practice to have one headline writer? That was always my reasoning if there was a slight disconnect between headline and content- not properly read, emphasis on the wrong point, etc. As you say, headline writing is actually quite an art, and sometimes I suppose the 'perfect' headline for the story, in terms of punnery and catchiness, may not line up properly with the story. |
It has changed a lot.
In the days of print press many years ago, the journalist would write the copy, a sub-editor would lay it out and write the headline.
These days, in print and online, both tend to be written by the same person. Sub-editing as an art has been largely wiped out at lots of publications.
Journalists are trained to maximise the strength of a headline for lots of things, especially online - including how much they will entice readers and how they will be read (and therefore flagged up) by search engines, through key words and suchlike. But there will be others on here who are far more skilled in the dark arts of SEO (search engine optimisation) than I am. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:40 - Jan 15 with 4802 views | Withnail |
If there isn't a front page story about an albino, transfluid, lesbian with autism from Angola, who likes to make art from recycled tampons... Then it's just not the BBC. |  | | |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:43 - Jan 15 with 4786 views | footers |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:36 - Jan 15 by Superfrans |
It has changed a lot.
In the days of print press many years ago, the journalist would write the copy, a sub-editor would lay it out and write the headline.
These days, in print and online, both tend to be written by the same person. Sub-editing as an art has been largely wiped out at lots of publications.
Journalists are trained to maximise the strength of a headline for lots of things, especially online - including how much they will entice readers and how they will be read (and therefore flagged up) by search engines, through key words and suchlike. But there will be others on here who are far more skilled in the dark arts of SEO (search engine optimisation) than I am. |
Ta, SF.
Whenever I submit an article to a third-party publication it varies. Sometimes their editor will supply the headlines and by-lines, other times they expect me to do it, and other times there'll be a collaboration. I can see why an editor would want to keep the TOV consistent but I think the author should get the job ideally as they're familiar with the detail.
You're spot on about the bonfire of the subs. There's been a really rapid and noticeable decline in journalism, both online and print, for quite some time now. When you think about a publication like the Telegraph now relying on clickbait, it really is a shame.
But like most things in life, if you want good quality you'll probably have to pay for it. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:57 - Jan 15 with 4741 views | Superfrans |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:43 - Jan 15 by footers |
Ta, SF.
Whenever I submit an article to a third-party publication it varies. Sometimes their editor will supply the headlines and by-lines, other times they expect me to do it, and other times there'll be a collaboration. I can see why an editor would want to keep the TOV consistent but I think the author should get the job ideally as they're familiar with the detail.
You're spot on about the bonfire of the subs. There's been a really rapid and noticeable decline in journalism, both online and print, for quite some time now. When you think about a publication like the Telegraph now relying on clickbait, it really is a shame.
But like most things in life, if you want good quality you'll probably have to pay for it. |
Ah, yes, sorry I wasn't thinking of freelancers. That would make sense.
I've got lots of friends who were subs and whose jobs basically disappeared. Archant chased out most of their subs some time ago, for a start.
The thing that most worries me is journalists being paid on a per click basis. There are a few places which do this, or at least pay a low salary and top it up with incentives for stories with larger traffic. That's motivating journalists to write and present their stories in the wrong way, imho.
I hasten to add, this *isn't* the case at the Beeb, as far as I'm aware. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 12:00 - Jan 15 with 4735 views | wkj |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:40 - Jan 15 by Withnail |
If there isn't a front page story about an albino, transfluid, lesbian with autism from Angola, who likes to make art from recycled tampons... Then it's just not the BBC. |
Please provide a link to the BBC story of which you refer to. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 12:16 - Jan 15 with 4687 views | wkj |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 11:24 - Jan 15 by Superfrans |
When I was trained as a journalist, years and years ago, we were always taught that a headline has to be designed to draw the reader in. The Sun was held up as one of the best at this (not as great at lots of other things, of course). Of course, today a decent headline online is labelled "clickbait".
Personally, I only think headlines are only a problem if they draw the reader in to read PR puff, misleading nonsense or generally vaccuous or pointless content.
If you actually read the "virginity" story on BBC Online, it is actually quite nuanced and sensitively handled - just the kind of content that the BBC should be producing. The fact is that there is no point in sticking a dull, dusty, public information headline on something like this if you want the target audience to read it. They simply won't be drawn in. |
A lot of people do not read articles in full, and can jump to conclusions based on the headline, we see that all to common on TWTD posts too. The headline implies
a parent fed hot sauce to a child
This did not happen, a child consumed hot sauce residue on the back of his dad's hand.
But for the people who don't read the article in full, see his image, and take the headline for face value; problems can occur.
I understand headlines are supposed to grab attention, but click bait is not that. Click bait is manipulating the headline to portray something that isn't true, or not contained within the article it is attached to in order to generate traffic. This headline is an utterly false description of what happened, A baby was never fed hot sauce. | |
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| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 12:37 - Jan 15 with 4660 views | TractorWood |
| The BBC and Blatant Clickbaiting on 10:15 - Jan 15 by sparks |
Front page today, amidst the first 15 stories on my un personalised bbc homepage...
Whats the right age to lose virginity
Kim and Kanye
Heart warming rave moment has social media welling up
The viral makeup challenge that beautifies spuds.
Either the bbc is a quality public service which warrants public funding or it is not. They are having their lowest denominator flavoured cake and eating it. Whilst tweeting pictures of it. |
Agree. I can't stand the lowest common denominator pandering. I swear most mainstream news reporting now is just embedding tweets and clumsily implying things.
I'm not sure if I can take another non-story about a celebrity apologising for some misconstrued comment or how unmissable some £120 event at the O2 is. |  |
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