# Reporters on the BBC and their "understanding" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2007, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporters-on-the-bbc-and-their-understanding/422452 "2007-10-12T10:29:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MJinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@MJinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJinks)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporters-on-the-bbc-and-their-understanding/422452/21 "2007-10-15T16:26:09Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] I’d like a cite for that, because that sounds incredibly malicious. [/QUOTE] Unfortunately, after much searching, it seems I ‘learnt’ this little tidbit from an uncited wikipedia entry. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporters-on-the-bbc-and-their-understanding/422452/22 "2007-10-15T17:22:30Z")
[QUOTE=MJinks] Unfortunately, after much searching, it seems I ‘learnt’ this little tidbit from an uncited wikipedia entry. Sorry. [/QUOTE] Have you got a cite for that? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporters-on-the-bbc-and-their-understanding/422452/23 "2007-10-15T22:05:03Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] It’s my understanding he allegedly ran off to Hawaii **after** kicking his dog. 😃 [/QUOTE] No, he didn’t. He _came back_ from Hawaii to kick his dog,… police say. Then he went back to Hawaii and sold crack cocaine to four-year-olds… police say. Are you some kind of apologist for this kind of scum? ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporters-on-the-bbc-and-their-understanding/422452/24 "2007-10-16T07:36:23Z")
[QUOTE=guizot] Then there’s the typical opening line in newspapers across the States: “Mr. John Doe poisoned his wife and children, dismembered their bodies, and ran off to Hawaii with a 14-year-old boy babysitter, before kicking his dog on the way out the door,…police say.” (For some reason, they never write, “Police accuse Mr. John Doe of poisoning his wife and children, etc.”) [/QUOTE] That’s because “police say” isn’t the most interesting part of the lead. The wife-poisoning, child-dismembering, gay ephebophile adulterous relationship, and dog-kicking parts are, so that’s what’s first in the sentence. “Police say . . .” _yawn_ “John Doe is a suspect in the poisoning and dismemberment of his family, according to police officials.” Ooh, gore! You occasionally see things like, “Metro Police say donut abuse is on the decline among first-year recruits.” Even then, a better way of saying it would probably be “Donut abuse is on the decline among first-year recruits, according to reports released by Metro Police.” Why? Because the story is about donut abuse, not the Metro Police saying donut abuse is on the decline. And with stories as sensational as family killings and underage, homosexual love affairs, you definitely want the juicy stuff up front. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporters-on-the-bbc-and-their-understanding/422452/25 "2007-10-16T08:22:43Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] Not really that relevant to the discussion, just something I found [QI](http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/qi/). [/QUOTE] I thought that one interesting too. Thanks for the replies, I’ve not kept up with the local news through the tube for a while so I’ve no more recent cites to check this against. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reporters-on-the-bbc-and-their-understanding/422452.md?page=1)