THE TRUTH - BBC STYLE - Biased BBC

THE TRUTH - BBC STYLE: "Kevin Marsh is probably not a well-known name outside the rarified corridors of the BBC. But as head of the BBC's College of Journalism and also a former editor of Radio 4's Today, he's one of the corporation's top news wallahs, shortly due to retire on an obscenely fat pension. So how does he practise his trade? As a scion of public service broadcasting, with its binding principles of fairness and lack of bias? Er, no. Well not according to Antonia Hoyle, writing in today's Mail on Sunday. Mr Marsh did not like former BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan's (he who broke the story of the dodgy Iran intelligence dossier) rather positive entry on Wikipedia, so he doctored it, adding the telling phrase that his reputation for breaking news 'was not always deserved'. Likewise, our Kev thought the Wiki entry for his predecessor as editor of Today, Rod Liddle, was a tad too nice. Originally the Liddle section said that he had used Today to 'break' new stories. Kev's neatly edited version said that he had 'tried with limited success to switch the programme to a more tabloid approach'. Maiow. That, in BBC speak is the highest form of insult.

I should add that Mr Marsh strongly denies that he was acting inappropriately; he is quoted as saying he was merely ensuring accuracy. Of course. All I will say is that I made a number of complaints against Today items when dear Kev was editor, and attended meetings where he was there, so I saw his style first hand. His approach was always to bend the facts in every way he could.

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