IN Scotland, it's all too frequent that we're subjected to stories on UK news outlets that aren't actually relevant to Scotland.
Now, Scottish Government minister Jeane Freeman has criticised a BBC Radio 4 show for its "exceptionally poor" coverage along these lines.
The Health Secretary said the channel's Women's Hour has consistently failed to make clear when items being discussed don't apply to Scotland.
Her comments came after a discussion on the show about a report by the Prison Reform Trust on growing numbers of women returning to prison after release.
The Broken Trust report was based entirely on the situation in England and Wales, but this was not made clear by the presenters.
Freeman tweeted: "Disappointing that, again, @BBCRadio4 Women’s Hour fails to make clear that their item doesn’t cover Scotland. Our Justice system is different so even a token nod to that would be a start!"
Disappointing that, again, @BBCRadio4 Women’s Hour fails to make clear that their item doesn’t cover Scotland. Our Justice system is different so even a token nod to that would be a start!
— Jeane Freeman (@JeaneF1MSP) December 21, 2018
In response to a comment that the station performed well in recognising the different legal systems, she added: "True. But Woman’s Hour is exceptionally poor. A pity because it covers some very interesting topics that would be more interesting if they did a bit more work..."
Law and order is a devolved matter, meaning Holyrood is responsible for prison reform in Scotland.
Had you been listening to the show and been unclear on that fact, you wouldn't have known.
READ MORE: Prison reform is a perfect example of how Scotland can succeed by taking a different path
Is it not worth alerting listeners to the fact this report is for England and Wales? If you're scared people will turn off, perhaps try discussing more issues relevant to Scotland.
Or even contrast the situation in England and Wales with Scotland.
Instead, we have to settle for this "exceptionally poor" coverage...
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