BCC interview - what was the BCC thinking?

If you haven't seen it, Alessio Rastani (an apparent stock trader) was inteviewed on the BBC and his interview has gone viral.



I'm sorry but this is just journalism at it's very worst.

First, I actually think it's a great interview and I agree (as do many others) with what Alessio said.  He went a little overboard in his description of Goldman Sachs, but all-in-all, he articulated a view that many economists are saying is very possible.

Here's the problem though. No one - and I mean NO ONE - knows who this guy is. There's no account of him working at any significant brokerage firm (he says he did, but refuses to disclose who). He simply appears to be a casual trader with only a few years under his belt at that.
How does someone with no significant credentials get on a national broadcast like the BBC?

I'll tell you exactly what happened (without even knowing the situation - so I could be wrong, but I doubt it).

The BBC probably had a guest booked, the guest cancelled last minute, BBC freaked out over having dead air, they pulled up the research list they had created when preparing the segment, they started calling down the list of potential guests they had initially researched (of which Alessio was one of them, probably as the result of an initial research some junior intern did), no one on the list was available and when they called Alessio he was.


Whoo Hoo segment saved (NOT)!

A junior staff member probably included him on the initial research list after stumbling on his FaceBook, YouTube site, or Web page and didn't research him further figuring he wasn't anywhere near the top of the list of potential guests they would approach for that segment.

And there you have it, a total unkonwn gets on a national BBC broadcast and makes headlines around the world.

Kudos to Alessio for keeping his composure through the interview. The guy should be a spokesperson because he's definitely calm under pressure (espeically given he knew the level of absurdity in suddenly finding himself speaking to millions of viewers).

Having said that though, just absolutely horrible journalism on the BBC's part.

Also, it was most likely a bad idea for Alessio to accept the interview. Yes, he got his 3:29 minutes of fame, but the PR he got won't do anything for him or his business because the story is now becoming that this guy should never have been interviewed in the first place.

So essentially he gets a ton of PR for saying the world is going to end, but then gets a second round of PR wherein everyone says that what this guy says doesn't matter. So does he really win from this?

Aside from being the talk of the town in his neighbourhood, I'd say he doesn't.  So drink up Alessio, enjoy the fleeting fame, and kudos on actually doing a good interview.
 
The only thing he could have done that would have brightened the spotlight even more would have been halfway through his interview saying to the anchor "Actually, you know, I need to stop here. I'm not qualified to make these statements at a national level. I have absolutely no clue how you guys let me on the air."

Now that may have very well got him on Late Night with David Letterman!