Once again, I’m watching the BBC News, and once again, they are revelling in someone’s misery. This time, it’s a long, drawn out look at the families of some American miners who were mistakenly lead to believe that their loved ones had survied a mining accident, when in fact they hadn’t. And that’s now the entire story – the misery of the families – in minute by minute detail, illustrated in excruciating close-up for all to see.

In the reporting of any tragedy, there will be misery, but the BBC seem to be continually focused on it. They even have a section of the Breakfast program, at 8.20am each day, which seems strangely pre-disposed to getting on some members of the public who have something distressing happen to them – generally the death of a relative – and interview them about it. But why? Generally these people have nothing else to narrate to the world other than to delve into their personal misery. It’s not as if the story is of a courageous bounce back from tragedy to do something remarkable, they’re just victims.

And the BBC revel in it. You can feel them drooling over another story full of raw personal misery, just desperate to get them on air in all it’s glory. I wish they would stop.