[News] There's no need to panic buy petrol

[peterward]

I agree completely once the queues started then they were self fulfilling and drew everyone in. I had already decided that I wasn't going to go to a petrol station until the queues had gone and Albion were top of the Premier.

Or wednesday/thursday, whichever is sooner

Youre right it is a self fullfilling prophesy, where no real shortage will likely be turned into a geniuine shortage due to panic buying.

One fuel company BP with no fuel shortage, closes a few petrol stations due to lack of delivery HGV drivers...... this private decision, is in some of todays press blamed on one individual who is accused of deliberately leaking it and blamed for the resulting panic buying.

The panic buying starts everywhere and now stations who are running ot of fuel, I guess would need to refill/replenish much quicker than they did before, which means more trucks, more often, which with a shortage of delivery drivers has now started a viscious circle.

 

[Bry Nylon]

I can't help thinking had the BBC decided to make this a non story many people would now be saying:-

'The BBC are just a government puppet, they now won't even report actual news'.

But it WAS a non-story. The situation on Thursday was no different to the situation on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and probably the week before. It only became a story when the reporting generated false demand and it became a self- fulfilling prophecy. A free press is great but it also needs to be a responsible press if it is to serve the interests of all society, including the weak and vulnerable.

We can all shout ‘panic!’ But sometimes a cool head is needed and a bit of foresight about what the likely result will be.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Youre right it is a self fullfilling prophesy, where no real shortage will likely be turned into a geniuine shortage due to panic buying.

One fuel company BP with no fuel shortage, closes a few petrol stations due to lack of delivery HGV drivers...... this private decision, is in some of todays press blamed on one individual who is accused of deliberately leaking it.

Then the panic buying starts everywhere and now stations who are running ot of fuel, I guess would need to refill/replenish much quicker than they did before, which means more trucks, more often, which with a shortage of delivery drivers has now started a viscious circle.

I still reckon it will die down by Tuesday, and will certainly be knocked off the news by another shortage in a week or two

 

[Chicken Run]

Not quite sure why everyone is blaming the BBC! The chairman of BP released a statement to say that they had a 'handful' of forecourts closed because of supply issues. As Watford said, had they said how many that might have been the end of it but when pressed they didn't. Why would a news organisation not report that? That said, according to ITV on Thursday evening before the so called panic buying, BP were advising they were going to ration deliveries to ensure continuity of supply! Hanna Hofer at BP described the situation as bad, very bad.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-09-23...o-ration-fuel-deliveries-amid-supply-problems

If all that was kept under a media secrecy blanket and then when the pumps were dry it came out then there would be an outcry about a cover up. The pumps probably won't run dry but if they do I don't think that's the media's fault.

I’m sorry but why is it in the publics interest to report on panic buying at the pumps, the supermarkets or similar, it creates panic and doesn’t benefit anyone, if the media were blanket banned from reporting such events there wouldn’t be shortages of fuel or big role!!


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[banjo]

I still reckon it will die down by Tuesday, and will certainly be knocked off the news by another shortage in a week or two

Yep panic buying for Christmas will be next.

 

[Stat Brother]

But it WAS a non-story. The situation on Thursday was no different to the situation on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and probably the week before. It only became a story when the reporting generated false demand and it became a self- fulfilling prophecy. A free press is great but it also needs to be a responsible press if it is to serve the interests of all society, including the weak and vulnerable.

We can all shout ‘panic!’ But sometimes a cool head is needed and a bit of foresight about what the likely result will be.

Anyone driving passed one empty station to potentially another empty station could be forgiven for wondering what's going on.

 

[WATFORD zero]

I’m sorry but why is it in the publics interest to report on panic buying at the pumps, the supermarkets or similar, it creates panic and doesn’t benefit anyone, if the media were blanket banned from reporting such events there wouldn’t be shortages of fuel or big role!!


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So the way ahead is for the Government to blanket ban the media from reporting anything they think could cause them a problem

I'm off out

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Not quite sure why everyone is blaming the BBC! The chairman of BP released a statement to say that they had a 'handful' of forecourts closed because of supply issues. As Watford said, had they said how many that might have been the end of it but when pressed they didn't. Why would a news organisation not report that? That said, according to ITV on Thursday evening before the so called panic buying, BP were advising they were going to ration deliveries to ensure continuity of supply! Hanna Hofer at BP described the situation as bad, very bad.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-09-23...o-ration-fuel-deliveries-amid-supply-problems

If all that was kept under a media secrecy blanket and then when the pumps were dry it came out then there would be an outcry about a cover up. The pumps probably won't run dry but if they do I don't think that's the media's fault.

The media gets lambasted for scare stories about plenty of other things (immigration etc). I’m not sure why they should get a free pass on this one. I mentioned earlier in the thread that it is illegal to shout ‘fire’ in a cinema as it would cause panic. The media’s role in the events of the past few days is similar.

 

[METALMICKY]

Sort of Brexit again. Every wanker is at the petrol station but not everyone at the petrol station is a wanker!!!

Just maybe but sadly I think too many in the first category as demonstrated in the current video news article showing on Sky news app now. They actually interview some woman who without batting an eyelid admits " I'm only queuing because everybody else is ".

 

[Bry Nylon]

So the way ahead is for the Government to blanket ban the media from reporting anything they think could cause them a problem

I'm off out

The government should have no say in setting the news agenda but media organisations should take more responsibility for the implications of some of their editorial decisions and how they chose to report certain stories that have the potential to effect the national interest. The need to fill 24 hour rolling news content and websites with ‘news’ has generated this problem - not a handful of petrol stations temporarily out of action.

 

[Fat Boy Fat]

The media gets lambasted for scare stories about plenty of other things (immigration etc). I’m not sure why they should get a free pass on this one. I mentioned earlier in the thread that it is illegal to shout ‘fire’ in a cinema as it would cause panic. The media’s role in the events of the past few days is similar.

To be honest, I'm not sure of the time line on this, but the first I knew about it was when the BBC reported there was no need to panic buy.

Was there a BBC story before that, saying there was a shortage?

 

[Giraffe]

Anyone driving passed one empty station to potentially another empty station could be forgiven for wondering what's going on.

But that was never going to happen, the story (If it ever was a story!) was that of the 1,400 BP garages 10 or so were having supply issues. They'll be reporting when the queen goes to the toilet successfully next.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

To be honest, I'm not sure of the time line on this, but the first I knew about it was when the BBC reported there was no need to panic buy.

Was there a BBC story before that, saying there was a shortage?

Yes, early/mid Thursday afternoon they reported that an indeterminate number of petrol pumps were out of action. I filled up straightaway as didn’t want to get caught out as I was nearly on empty. My local
Sainsbury’s petrol station was busier than usual but the queue at that stage was only three or four cars. Probably a few people who had, like me, seen the same story. The BBC coverage you saw was equivalent to whispering ‘don’t panic’ into a panic they had whipped up in the first place.

 

[Biscuit Barrel]

There are around 8380 petrol stations in the UK.

On Thursday 5 were closed due to a lack of delivery drivers to deliver the fuel. They were not closed due to a lack of fuel.

How on earth did that scenario cause panic buying across the country?

 

[WATFORD zero]

The government should have no say in setting the news agenda but media organisations should take more responsibility for the implications of some of their editorial decisions and how they chose to report certain stories that have the potential to effect the national interest. The need to fill 24 hour rolling news content and websites with ‘news’ has generated this problem - not a handful of petrol stations temporarily out of action.

I think with some of the media organisations in this country there is no hope of that

But the reason I included the original BBC link was because I believe the state broadcaster reported the situation responsibly. The last line of my post is agreeing with you completely.

I think an initial part of the problem right at the beginning was that BP and Esso, trying to protect their reputation, refused to say how many of their stations were actually closed and would only say 'a handful' and 'a small number'. The BBC reported that it was 'a handful' and 'a small number' and that the supermarkets were all fine. I think the actual numbers would have helped.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58645712

But once the areas of the media targeted at idiots got on board (and that's a fairly significant part of the media), guess what happened

Out of interest, where did you get these figures, because as I stated above, BP and Esso wouldn't release these figures initially, so I am wondering when they did actually release the figures

There are around 8380 petrol stations in the UK.
On Thursday 5 were closed due to a lack of delivery drivers to deliver the fuel. They were not closed due to a lack of fuel.
How on earth did that scenario cause panic buying across the country?

But that was never going to happen, the story (If it ever was a story!) was that of the 1,400 BP garages 10 or so were having supply issues. They'll be reporting when the queen goes to the toilet successfully next.

Thanks

 

[doogie004]

There are around 8380 petrol stations in the UK.

On Thursday 5 were closed due to a lack of delivery drivers to deliver the fuel. They were not closed due to a lack of fuel.

How on earth did that scenario cause panic buying across the country?

Media?


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[Stat Brother]

How on earth did that scenario cause panic buying across the country?

Trust issues?

 

[KZNSeagull]

To be honest, I'm not sure of the time line on this, but the first I knew about it was when the BBC reported there was no need to panic buy.

Was there a BBC story before that, saying there was a shortage?

The story prior to that was that there were "some" petrol stations that may not get deliveries. No actual figures given.

 

[shingle]

Fighting now in Lewes. Young Shingle reporting two motorists fighting after accusations of queue jumping at Tesco Petrol Station, Lewes. Tesco Stewards/Staff trying to intervene.

FFS, what is the matter with some people

 

[Seasider78]

There are around 8380 petrol stations in the UK.

On Thursday 5 were closed due to a lack of delivery drivers to deliver the fuel. They were not closed due to a lack of fuel.

How on earth did that scenario cause panic buying across the country?

Because it those numbers were reported people would look at the news and wonder why the **** they were reporting it as news in the first place.

Besides ‘pumps running dry’ and ‘xmas is going to be cancelled’ get a lot more clicks and watches than reporting the actual situation.

I stopped watching the news after about six months into the pandemic as I have simply had enough of their end of the world presentation of events and non stop hyperbole