Well – so far it’s a big thumbs down from readers of this blog for the BBC’s TV coverage of last week’s elections. My poll is currently running at 53% saying their coverage was “very bad” and another 25% saying it was “bad”.

Of course such polls should be taken with a pinch of salt – but reading round the media and the internet, it’s hard to find anyone who has got a good word to say about the coverage. As many people have pointed out – those who are up at 3am watching TV coverage of election results are exactly the sorts of people who want details and decimal points.

My favourite write-up is this one from Heresy Corner:

Far from helping to explain anything, this skit served only to confuse matters. I think the message had something to do with Lib Dem poll numbers, but it’s hard to tell exactly what. It reminds me of one of Humph’s convoluted metaphors designed to illustrate the concept behind One Song to the Tune of Another.

“It might help to think of the Lib Dem leader as a Wild West gunslinger and the percentage share of the vote as old cans hanging from strings in an old-style saloon. Nick Clegg’s task is to use his gun – that is, his campaign team – to “hit”, that is, reach, the “tin cans”, or the target number of votes. But, I hear you ask, what do a lot of empty beer cans rattling around in a bar have to do with the Liberal Democrats? In the studio we’ve got Charles Kennedy.”

If this doesn’t lead to High Noon for everyone responsible, the BBC needs a new sheriff.