Nadkor
15-05-2006, 20:02
The true identity of a man who was mistakenly interviewed on BBC News 24 has been revealed.
Guy Goma, a graduate from the Congo, appeared on the news channel in place of an IT expert after a mix-up.
But Mr Goma, who was wrongly identified in the press as a taxi driver, was really at the BBC for a job interview.
Mr Goma said his appearance was "very stressful" and wondered why the questions were not related to the data support cleanser job he applied for.
The mix-up occurred when a producer went to collect the expert from the wrong reception in BBC Television Centre in West London.
The producer asked for Guy Kewney, editor of Newswireless.net, who was due to be interviewed about the Apple vs Apple court case.
After being pointed in Mr Goma's direction by a receptionist, the producer - who had seen a photo of the real expert - checked: "Are you Guy Kewney?"
The economics and business studies graduate answered in the affirmative and was whisked up to the studio.
Business presenter Karen Bowerman, who was to interview the expert, managed to get a message to the editor that the guest "seems not to know too much about the subject".
Mr Goma was eventually asked three questions live on air, assuming this was an interview situation.
It was only later that it was discovered that Mr Kewney was still waiting in reception - prompting producers to wonder who their wrong man was.
'Happy to return'
Mr Goma said his interview was "very short", but he was prepared to return to the airwaves and was "happy to speak about any situation".
He added that next time he would insist upon "preparing myself".
A BBC spokeswoman said: "This has turned out to be a genuine misunderstanding.
"News 24 discovered that the gentleman in question was not a taxi driver, but had a similar name after a mix-up at reception ended up on air.
"We've looked carefully at our guest procedures and will take every measure to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4774429.stm)
Awesome :D
Watch the video, it's great. You couldn't make it up.
Fair play to the BBC for putting the video online.
Guy Goma, a graduate from the Congo, appeared on the news channel in place of an IT expert after a mix-up.
But Mr Goma, who was wrongly identified in the press as a taxi driver, was really at the BBC for a job interview.
Mr Goma said his appearance was "very stressful" and wondered why the questions were not related to the data support cleanser job he applied for.
The mix-up occurred when a producer went to collect the expert from the wrong reception in BBC Television Centre in West London.
The producer asked for Guy Kewney, editor of Newswireless.net, who was due to be interviewed about the Apple vs Apple court case.
After being pointed in Mr Goma's direction by a receptionist, the producer - who had seen a photo of the real expert - checked: "Are you Guy Kewney?"
The economics and business studies graduate answered in the affirmative and was whisked up to the studio.
Business presenter Karen Bowerman, who was to interview the expert, managed to get a message to the editor that the guest "seems not to know too much about the subject".
Mr Goma was eventually asked three questions live on air, assuming this was an interview situation.
It was only later that it was discovered that Mr Kewney was still waiting in reception - prompting producers to wonder who their wrong man was.
'Happy to return'
Mr Goma said his interview was "very short", but he was prepared to return to the airwaves and was "happy to speak about any situation".
He added that next time he would insist upon "preparing myself".
A BBC spokeswoman said: "This has turned out to be a genuine misunderstanding.
"News 24 discovered that the gentleman in question was not a taxi driver, but had a similar name after a mix-up at reception ended up on air.
"We've looked carefully at our guest procedures and will take every measure to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4774429.stm)
Awesome :D
Watch the video, it's great. You couldn't make it up.
Fair play to the BBC for putting the video online.