We now know the answer to that eternal question "When will they ever learn?" The answer is "Never. They will never learn."
Lo, and behold, BBC Radio 4 decided to
poll their users (stop me if you've heard this story before) about new legislation they would like to see enacted, with (wait for it) a guarantee that that the proposed legislation with the highest number of votes would be submitted to Parliment.
And then (can you believe it!) the users _didn't do what the BBC expected them to do!_ (One for the history books, surely.)
Instead, the "Listener's Legislation" proposed allowing homeowers "to use any means to defend their home from intruders." Here is a choice quote from Stephen Pound, the Member of Parliment (MP) now charged with introducing this legislation into Parliment:
"The people have spoken," the Labour MP replied to the programme, "... the bastards."
Having recovered his composure, Mr Pound told The Independent: "We are going to have to re-evaluate the listenership of Radio 4. I would have expected this result if there had been a poll in The Sun. Do we really want a law that says you can slaughter anyone who climbs in your window?"
The answer to Mr Pound's question depends on who "we" is, of course. Several thousand people obviously do want such a law. Whether more people _don't_ want such a law, or even whether its a good idea, were not part of the poll, but the plain meaning of the result seems to have evaded Mr Pound.
Note too the sense of betrayal on the part of a democratically elected politician at the outcome of a poll. Radio 4 was clearly shopping for a certain kind of outcome -- elsewhere in the article, they speculate that the vote was 'hijacked', as if it wasn't an open process. They and Mr Pound also clearly felt they had the right to expect that outcome, despite the rhetoric of freedom.
And the users' freedom turned out to trump the BBC's expectations. Furthermore (can it be that no one at Radio 4 actually uses the web?) this is the normal answer, at least for high-profile sites. Once a media outlet accustomed to broadcasting creates an obviously phony plea for 'interactivity', users will insist on real interactivity the only way they can, by refusing to behave as is expected of them. This is how Hank, the Angry Drunken Dwarf came to dominate People magazine's first "Most Beautuful Person" poll, and how Kemal Attaturk was catapulted to the top spot in every category of Time's "Person of the Century" poll.
Dear BBC: Your users will not react well to evidence that you are treating them as contemptible drones whose sole goal is to burnish your own reputation.
_sigh_ When will they ever learn...
1. Lucas on January 4, 2004 6:53 AM writes...
I like how mass media when accused of purveying mindless drivel always hide behind the excuse that they are heavily market driven and are merely indulging their audience in what they want, and then they pull stunts like this which indicate they have no clue what their audience really thinks...
Permalink to Comment2. Adam Greenfield on January 5, 2004 3:46 AM writes...
The flipside of this is when a broader audience, taking a fake request for interactivity at its word, produces something like an accurate picture of affairs.
I'm thinking of this "poll," obviously intended to produce canned advocacy numbers:
http://www.afa.net/petitions/marriagepoll.asp
I may be naive, but the current standings probably reflect reality to a greater degree than the infamous Time Person of the Century polling. It would be interesting to see what APA does with the results...
Permalink to Comment3. Tim Lambert on January 5, 2004 11:45 PM writes...
Your comments are bizarre. Pound understands quite well what the people who wanted "Martin's law" wanted, he just does not think that such a law is a good idea. Nor do you have any basis for your claim that the BBC was treating its listeners as "ccontemptible drones". Where on earth did that come from? You do understand that Pound is an MP and is not an employee of the BBC?
Permalink to Comment4. Clay Shirky on January 6, 2004 11:47 AM writes...
I do understand that Pound is an MP and not an employee of the BBC, which is why it is so startling that he set aside any say he might have in the matter and blithely agreed to put forward whatever legislation the voters came up with. He clearly agreed to something that stupid on the grounds that the voters in the poll would not come up with anything that went against the grain of his own political positions.
And giving a group of people nominal freedom to decide matters as they like, but in fact expecting them to limit themselves only to that subset of potential options you happen to approve of qualifies as treating them like contemptible drones.
Permalink to Comment5. Morton Davis on January 12, 2004 10:49 PM writes...
Tim Lambert is a well- known Internet quidnunc.
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