As the energy crisis raises fears of power cut measures in Europe and the UK, the BBC, Britain’s main public media, has prepared “secret scripts” which could be read on air if power shortages energy were causing blackouts or gas cuts this winter.
Information to reassure citizens in the event of a power outage
The scripts, to which the British newspaper The Guardian had access, aim to reassure the general public in the event that a “major power outage” cause failure of mobile phone networks, internet access, banking systems or traffic lights in England, Wales and Scotland. In such a scenario, the media outlet would advise the public to use car stereos or battery-powered receivers to listen to emergency broadcasts on radio frequencies.
UK braces for risk of two-day ‘blackout’
Estimates say an electrical blackout could subject UK hospitals and police to a “extreme pressure” for a period of 36 to 48 hours. As the BBC is the state channel for communicating in the event of a civil emergency, it is likely that these scripts were written at the request of the UK government, to ensure they have radio information to broadcast immediately. in the event of a crisis. However, a spokesperson said: “The government is convinced that this is not a scenario we will face this winter.”
Preparing information in advance, a common practice that can lead to confusion
The media are accustomed to preparing content in advance to lighten their workload. This is the case, for example, for early obituaries which can cause great episodes of confusion, such as when the death of Bernard Tapie was published, who, according to Le Monde, had died on October 31, 2019, two years before his real death. on October 3, 2021. The publication of the article announcing his death, by mistake, had been explained by “technical failure” who, according to the daily, had also been responsible for the untimely publication of a dozen other articles.