Impossible to watch a TV news barrage of close-up dying and grieving
sir – Jane Moth (Letters, January 23) is absolutely right about the grief and gloom in the BBC news coverage of Covid. I stopped watching the six o’clock news 10 days ago.
I keep abreast of the news and am aware of the seriousness of the situation, but it has been a release not watching close-ups of dying patients and grieving relatives. I feel able to face daily difficulties in better heart, but can still sympathise with those less fortunate. David Ward
Bexley, Kent
sir – I am totally in agreement with Jane Moth about Clive Myrie’s BBC news reports and I have, sometimes, switched him off.
Many of us have experienced, more than once, the devastating effects of the death of a family member or a lifelong friend. The present trend for broadcasters to extract maximum emotional response from interviewees is to be deplored. Asking a “How did you feel?” question, in a suitably sympathetic voice, knowing what the answer would be, is cringe-making. If a broken voice and tears can be elicited, it seems, so much the better.
Francis Cook
Tonbridge, Kent
sir – I profoundly disagree with Jane Moth, who disapproves of the moving BBC interviews with those we depend upon in this tragic pandemic, from exhausted ICU staff to gravediggers.
The sad truth is that there are still people who refuse to accept the reality of this illness. Dedicated hospital staff are heckled as they come and go to work by deluded Covid deniers. Those supplying vaccine to our most vulnerable populations too often find they refuse it.
The only way to convince them of the truth is for journalists to risk their health by ensuring that we hear from those in the front line. I am so grateful we have broadcasters who enable us to hear these voices, even though I too find it almost unbearably moving. Dame Esther Rantzen
Bramshaw, Hampshire sir – I turn on at six o’clock for an update on the news, not for special features like this.
I have no argument with the quality of the presentations, but if the BBC wishes to cover such matters it should be during general programming, with a clear description of the content, so that viewers can choose to watch or not. Paul Linaker
Staplehurst, Kent
sir – The result of the constant bombardment of negative news, particularly from the BBC, at the moment is a mental health epidemic in this country.
At least during the war it was deemed important to improve morale, but the daytime news is now so traumatic that I have stopped watching. I advise any parents to do the same after hearing of a child coming home and asking: “Are we all going to die?”
Joy Goddard
Swanley, Kent