Richter scales and telly addicts

Last Modified: 12 May 2008
By: Newsroom blogger

Inside the morning news meeting...

Burma is once again top of today's running order. Heavy rains are forecast, which doesn't bode well for the many bodies that are being piled up in the cyclone's wake, or the first US aid flights heading to Rangoon.

With further adverse weather conditions, delivering aid will be even more difficult to a country with a government that David Milliband yesterday accused of "malign neglect".

But now Burma has company in the natural disaster stakes: there has been a "huge" earthquake in China. At the moment agencies are reporting that there isn't huge damage. But the fear is this could just be the first word on a situation not yet fully assessed. We'll be trying to find out exactly what the earthquake's impact has been.

"We can't call it the Richter scale anymore can we?" asks the prog ed.

"You should speak to the science desk about that," someone replies.

"Do that and we'll be here all day," another jokes perhaps referring to our science team's exasperation at the continued use of the outdated Richter Scale instead of the Moment Magnitude Scale. Science correspondent Julian has written about this here.

Hopefully the team will be fully briefed on why the Richter Scale is no more by 7pm.

And finally Sex and the City. The film of the very popular TV series about four 30-something women negotiating relationships in New York city will be premiering in London.

"Why is a film about New York holding its premiere in London?" someone asks.

"Is it because everyone in America is bored of it?"

"No it's not, people were stealing stuff from the set when they were filming in NY," one of the producers says with authority.

There are accusations that American TV isn't making shows like SATC anymore. To which the authoritive producer retaliates with a long list of similar and recent US shows.

"I think you've been watching too much telly!" a presenter jibes.

"I like telly," she says "I work in it!"

It's a fair point.