11-09-2022, 04:22 PM
(11-09-2022, 01:20 PM)justinh Wrote:(09-09-2022, 10:00 PM)ShinyBat Wrote:(09-09-2022, 08:37 PM)eyeTV Wrote: Didn't they all get the news from the Royal Family twitter which went out at 18:30?
Or was it just embargoed until then? There felt to be a complete lack of preparedness on the part of some broadcasters.
There was almost certainly an embargo of some sort; we have been told that the PM knew at 16:30, and a two-hour embargo is comparable to the length held for Diana (although that may not actually be a good comparison at all, because that embargo was likely in order to wake the family given the overnight timing so that they heard before the public, and this one was almost certainly to buy time for protocol wheels to get in motion).
There is a notification-type ringing sound audible in the background of the rolling coverage around 15:00 (1:24:31 in the afternoon BBC News Special), followed about a minute later by whispering of some kind. Possible that is when the BBC are informed; this is backed up by the deleted Yalda Hakim tweet being shortly after (15:07), but not by Truss apparently learning at 16:30, because the first act of Operation London Bridge was meant to be the PM being informed?
Very confusing. As Phil says, consistent with the Truss timing is Myrie's brief spell in relief.
www.youtube.com
This is the clip. I'm not sure if anyone recognises the notification sound as being normal, it takes a couple moments for someone to switch off. Around 30 seconds later, you can hear someone walking onto the set, and then - more audibly - whisper something to Nicholas Witchell, while Huw is speaking. I can't make out the specific words but the sentence does seem to end in "fallen". Theoretically, it doesn't make sense why the news has to be orally delivered to the Royal Correspondent, but that alternatively would be intentionally leaving the control room in the dark - therefore wanting to avoid using the earpiece.
The other interesting thing about that is that the aston goes down at that precise moment, but that this is also coincident with it almost blocking part of the tweet they bought up at that moment. And indeed the relevant operator said as much:
twitter.com
But that doesn't seem consistent with Truss not finding out for another 90 minutes when she's meant to have heard before others and from a specific high-level ambassador. Nor indeed with the gallery in Broadcasting House not formally knowing - although they evidently also did not formally know at 4:30 or even 6:29!
Someone else said as much, but a retrospective documentary or part thereof may well be when we get more knowledge for sure. I know that Nik Gowing and Stephen Jessel featured in a radio episode covering Diana's death and spoke about how they knew in advance. Of course that worked differently because the circumstances were so different, but it's the other open-ended embargo for a royal death, just for different reasons!