Post by charmbrights on Aug 4, 2014 14:41:19 GMT
My question, of course, refers to the writers and presenters of the educational side of the BBC - BBC Four in particular.
The latest example is a three part series entitled "Treasures Of Ancient Egypt" which was both written and presented by one Alastair Sooke.
When we investigate his qualifications to lecture on Ancient Egyptian Art we discover that his degree is in English, and that he has an MA from the Cortauld Institute. His career is (self) described asFurther inquiries show that at the Cortauld Institute his MA was in Greek and Roman Art. Having achieved that his entire career has been on the staff of the Daily Telegraph where he has risen from Trainee to being described as an Art Critic.
The content of the series could have been gleaned in its entirety from Wikipedia by any reasonably competent user. Of course many of the items he went to Egypt (at licence payers' expense) to show us were visible only over his shoulder as he told us what he was standing in front of instead of letting us see it.
The reason I was impelled to investigate him was that he was quite unable to pronounce Arabic place names correctly.
But I suppose the answer to my question in the title was revealed by my inquiries - Westminster School and Christ Church College. The recruitment department for the BBC apparently still checks first on what old school tie the man is entitled to wear (unless they need a minority representative to fill a quota).
The latest example is a three part series entitled "Treasures Of Ancient Egypt" which was both written and presented by one Alastair Sooke.
When we investigate his qualifications to lecture on Ancient Egyptian Art we discover that his degree is in English, and that he has an MA from the Cortauld Institute. His career is (self) described as
an art critic and broadcaster, most notable for writing and presenting documentaries on art and art history for BBC television and radio.
The content of the series could have been gleaned in its entirety from Wikipedia by any reasonably competent user. Of course many of the items he went to Egypt (at licence payers' expense) to show us were visible only over his shoulder as he told us what he was standing in front of instead of letting us see it.
The reason I was impelled to investigate him was that he was quite unable to pronounce Arabic place names correctly.
But I suppose the answer to my question in the title was revealed by my inquiries - Westminster School and Christ Church College. The recruitment department for the BBC apparently still checks first on what old school tie the man is entitled to wear (unless they need a minority representative to fill a quota).