Monkeys Kill Delhi Deputy Mayor

Mickey S

But they probably initially accepted a press agency report at face value (possibly this one, from AP, which begins "Wild monkeys attacked a senior government official...") and ran with a correspondingly sensationalist headline and then, as the facts became known, changed the headline accordingly. That's not uncommon on any 24-hour news outlet, whether it be internet or TV. At least the BBC has amended the tone of its report, unlike many other news sites.

Nick-H

It's lost it. They don't even write English any longer. Many times I click on the headlines on their news site just to find out what they are talking about!

It is not long since I used to jump to the defense of the BBC, but these days I find they often report Indian news in the sense of just look what those funny Indians are doing. I find that offensive.

Maybe I just got oversensitive --- or more attached to India; I don't know...

But Mickey --- thanks for giving the balance on this one

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TDK

Hi All,
Whilst i agree the headline(s) are a bit sensationalist (but thats what sells papers i guess); still i agree that the Rhesus (sp?) monkeys can be very aggressive as i have had quite a few near misses from them in Mc.Leod Ganj where there are large numbers and i agree its not a good idea to carry food near them as if you get bitten you have to get the rabies shots! The more elegant black faces Langurs OTOH seem quite shy and prefer to mind their own business from what i've seen (although interesting that the article said they are more agressive than the Rhesus monkeys(?) Anyway one thing i learnt is Never Smile at a monkey! (showing teeeth is a sign of agression to them as is eye contact as already pointed out).
Regards to all
TDK

Mickey S

I made the mistake of offering a piece of apple to a really cute little wild monkey in Cambodia a couple of years ago, and he gave me a very deep, nasty bite on the hand. It never occurred to me to get a rabies shot, or any kind of medical attention. It stopped bleeding after a while and now I can barely even make out the scar. I have a picture of the monkey (taken just before he bit me) right here on my desk.

EDIT: The story has just made the BBC radio news bulletin. I made a careful mental note of the exact words: "The deputy mayor of Delhi has died, a day after being attacked by a horde of wild monkeys..."

the three b's

'Defence' in English, 'Defense' in American.

Smartass I know but its funny

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Nick-H

You know what? I'm away from home, using a Portable Apps version of Firefox on a USB thingy, and the spell[ing] checker is American English!

My spelling is so bad it took me a while to notice, and I can't be bothered to fix it just for a few days.

Well spotted!

amyl

ummm I have always used 'c' for Nouns and 's' for verbs....after noticing their usage in articles and books...
well, it does not work for this word - defen(c/s)e but for words like advice/advise...umm cannot think of any other example for this on a really hungry evening.

utterly off topic, I know!

edit: yea... another example practice/practise

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the three b's

oh lor! What have I started now?

kpnuts

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This article is obviously doing it round by email, and agree what Nick says re- what are those funny indians upto...however I can see the funny/amazing side of this story too

capt_mahajan

I originally posted, "losing it, too" , but then edited it lazily. Maybe I should have let it be.

As a long time BBC supporter, I still maintain that their world service (Radio) or the BBC World we get on TV in India is still miles ahead of most everybody else, Indian or foreign. Though they are slipping.

So I agree with Shashank, I expect better from the BBC.

Mickey S

But better than what? What is the problem?

Granted, they seem to have initially put a (slightly) sensationalist headline on the story, but this was in keeping with the tone of the agency reports. They later changed the headline, from "killed by monkeys" to "dies after attack by monkeys", presumably when the facts became known. The story itself appears to be quite factual and accurate, and not at all out of line with reports in India's own media.

Why are you judging the entire BBC News operation on the tone of one minor story out of the many hundreds currently on their website?

PeakXV

BBC world has some great shows/docs and really enjoy watching it in when in India. However we only get their evening half-hour report in Canada, and the last few years their lead stories are almost always about something bad/sinister that happens in the USA - and then bury their own "local" dirty laundry of similar significance in the last few minutes of the show - if at all.

Coincidence or a mandatory agenda cum propaganda - who knows - but it comes across to me as slightly less than professional.

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

dzibead

Re: Nick's comment about the BBC reporting Indian news in the sense of "just look what those funny Indians are doing" -- I agree that's deplorable, but I notice that a fair number of news items reported in the U.S. about Britain have a similar slant - highlighting "British eccentricity" - stories about people getting stuck to a toilet seat, or leaving 10 million pounds to the dog and stuff like that. It's not that there are no serious stories, but I guess what captures the imagination, at a distance, is the bizarre. Come to think of it, even when reporting stories from far-away locations within the U.S., we tend to get reports about odd-ball events like a fat burglar being captured because he got stuck in a window, or a seven-year-old who decides to take the family car out for a spin and is found rolling merrily down the Interstate ... at 12 miles an hour. You get the idea. I think the "monkey attack" angle is similar, particularly as it involved a public figure. If the poor guy had just fallen off his balcony when he was trying to water his plants, the news probably wouldn't have made it to the international wire services.

brownboy66

Not sure how this thread turned into a critique of the BBC - but I've always found their journalists to be very professional and
of the highest standard. They do get it wrong sometimes (and I've seen first hand how wrong they can be). Understandably - its not something they are proud of. One thing that always sticks out for me - only the BBC get chucked out of a country (such as Burma) for reporting something the host government didn't want the world to hear. When was the last time you ever heard of a CNN reporter being asked to leave? CCN are good (ABC, Reuters, Bloomberg, Assoc Press, etc - also) - but IMHO, the BBC is the news organisation they all aspire to be.

PeakXV

I think all the major news networks have their weaknesses & shortcomings. One thing I enjoy about CNN, though, is their depth of international reporters who may on a whole give a less myopic perspective on world views than agencies that hire primarily within their own country.


....okay back to balcony tripping monkeys.