Nasty TV.com

Last week I took a phone call from ITN. Yes- it does sound exciting, doesn’t it? We’re in the media a lot but a call from ITN to ask you to feature in a good news story piece for ITN News- well, that’s worth saying yes to. Or is it?

The reporter, David Best, began by reassuring me that this was a programme for the great and the good. Had I heard of Jim Knight, the Education Minister? Of, course. Liz Reid, Chief Executive of SSAT? Yes, indeed. Steve Grainger, Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust? Attend his annual dinners. Devon Local Authority? Know them well. All were on board with the programme and would be taking part. What good company we were in. And we had been recommended as a Lead School. So far it seemed like a normal request for an interview. We have quite a lot of those. Then the sales pitch started.

He said that the programme they were making would be fronted by Martin Lewis, a familiar figure in news circles, and that we were invited to contribute a case study which a film crew would come down to shoot. He then gave me all kinds of prepared lines about media opportunities – but by this time I had become suspicious.

Good news topics would range from Every Child Matters to curriculum reform; from personalised learning to sport in the community. How, I wondered could one short piece cover everything that was going on in education? After all, didn’t he know that in the last year alone, there have been 135 changes to the laws involving schools? That means hardly a work day goes by without a new requirement.

The final full-length film would be screened throughout the day at the Education Show in Birmingham and a three minute edit would be appearing on national ITN news. Three minutes was the longest they normally screened an item for. During this patter, which lasted about half an hour, he slipped in the fact that private companies were sponsoring the programme and that £12,500 would be required from each contributor. Did that mean me?

We’d gone from a guest appearance on News at Ten with a Government Minister and some Chief Executives to a sales con trick in thirty minutes. I’d been robbed of a valuable half hour and some distinguished people had had their names taken in vain.

Did he really believe I could persuade the Governors to spend so much money on what was little more than advertising? And why would I bother, given the amount of free news and media coverage we generate because of the genuine quality of the work we’re doing?

I made no commitment but asked him for his e-mail address which he said was niceTV. So where was ITN? He hurriedly pointed out that this was a partnership organisation of ITN Consulting. I checked it out and it is a private company now fronted by Martin Lewis. Shameful.

It all sounded like a scam. The Local Authority decided to pull out of any agreement with the company when I briefed them. One thing is for sure - if I do anything in the media it’s because I want to have the work of South Dartmoor students and staff celebrated. And only if it’s free.