Conversation and discussion out and about

Terry Carter, the main character of the novel "Let's Meet on Platform 8", is a gifted editor who for some reason, was not involved in a production of a new programme for children. Read the text and get ready to analize the situation.

Despite the fact that the team had all the information on the Autocue, they continually make mistakes and repeatedly use the "F-word" as they don't have a proper command of the language.

No wonder that they ignore warnings from the British Broadcasting Standard Authority.

OUT AND ABOUT had kept Teri constantly busy for the last Two hours. It was a news-based programme, transmitted late afternoon just before they lost all their intended viewers to the BBC and the lure of Australian soaps.

Out and About-not exactly a 'totally crucial' title in her opinion-was produced with the emphasis very firmly on 'youff'. Most of the programme-over-enthusiastic reports from teenagers with obviously capped teeth and baseball caps on back to front-was pre-recorded on video tape, VTR, with live links provided in the studio by two odious brats in their early twenties pretending to be sixteen.

They were a total nightmare. Unreliable, unresponsive and unrepentant. Their idea of fun was to present the show sitting behind the desk with no trousers on and mooning to the crew while the VTR was being played. To their surprise, they were the only ones who found it amusing.

Despite the technological advantage of Autocue, they fluffed their lines constantly and the programme was on its third warning from the British Broadcasting Standards Authority about the repeated inadvertent use of the F-word.

The producer was a homosexual alcoholic with an ulcer and, for the latter complaint, Teri could lay the blame solely at the feet of these two individuals. He was called Richard Wellbeloved and was universally despised by everyone at City Television from the cleaning ladies up.

The main anchor man was an ex-art student with a ponytail and a suspicious habit of nipping to the toilet for lengthy periods during moments of stress. He insisted on being called " Jez". He was the main F-words offender, and similar F-words had filtered down from on high -\television's equivalent to God, the Head of Programming — to let him know that he was on probation. Teri suspected that it wasn't the first time Jez had been on probation. One more deviation from "Golly" or 'Wow!¹ and he would be sacked. It couldn't happen soon enough as far as she was concerned.

The producer, unfortunately, relied not on the educational content or on the skilful presentation of a quality programme to attract its rapidly dwindling audience, but on the fact that mostkids watched because the whole thing was total chaos and you never knew when the next F-word might pop up.

The entire programme needed a complete revamp, a mix of maturity and street cred to stop the programme from careering off

the rails. Look at John Carven * — what harm had he ever done to Newsround? **Those were days — lying on her stomach in front of the television pretending to do her homework while John intoned seriously about the dire state of the world. What would he have to say about it now?

Back then, John was everybody's idea of a hero. Neat as a pin.clear cut, unsullied. All right, so the V-necked jumpers a la Val Doonican hadn't lent him the air of street credibility that might be deemed essential these days, but you knew where you were with John. No accidental F-words there.

In fact, what the programme really needed was Teri Carter at the helm. Her talents were wasted sitting in the dimly lit glass gallery that overlooked the studio, like some pathetic little fish in an aquarium, counting down the seconds to the link and trying to make sure that Richard Wellbeloved didn't tip his coffee — heavily laced with whisky — into the control panel.