Alan Yentob's 'pet writer' Stephen Poliakoff in fiery BBC drama with Deborah Moggach - Telegraph

Alan Yentob's 'pet writer' Stephen Poliakoff in fiery BBC drama with Deborah Moggach: "Hailed as a 'terrific writer and a fierce champion of cultural values' by Alan Yentob, the all-powerful creative director of the BBC, Stephen Poliakoff has provoked a startlingly different reaction in Deborah Moggach, the acclaimed author and scriptwriter."

John Lloyd on BBC Obama Bias - Biased BBC

John Lloyd on BBC Obama Bias: "In an article published this week, John Lloyd - not exactly a voice of the right - argues that Obama supporters can't place the blame for The One's unpopularity simply on right-wing media outlets. It's worth reading in full, but I can't resist sharing this section:

…the swooning of much of the American and nearly all of the foreign media over Obama as he emerged as the most powerful candidate was bound to stimulate a reaction. Then, and even now – see the tributes to Obama in the past two weeks, including an extraordinary hagiography on his route to power on BBC2 on Saturday 16 January – the conflation between joy expressed at the first black US president and a sober analysis of his governance still goes on. It was a point I made at a self-congratulatory breakfast organised by the BBC on their Obama coverage a year ago – to widespread disapproval.

Excellent. Oh, to have been at that BBC back-slapping Obama love-in when Lloyd killed the morning buzz.

(Kirsty Wark should read Lloyd's article. She was pushing the 'blame Fox News' meme on her utterly dreadful new Review Show last night. Five self-important members of the chatterati talking over each other for an hour in a taxi waiting room. And only one token non-leftie - David Brent look-alike Ross Douthat, a middle-ground anti-Tea Party liberal conservative. There's BBC balance for you.

Samizdata's Brian Micklethwait wasn't impressed either.)

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"

Gaza Groaning With Goodies. Israel Still Guilty - Biased BBC

Gaza Groaning With Goodies. Israel Still Guilty: "You know when there’s a well-established mantra that’s invariably used to batter one’s adversary over the head with?
A notion that’s repeated over and over till thoroughly incorporated into the narrative, to be produced reflexively each time a certain something sets it off?

Well, when that thing is suddenly exposed as a bit of a myth, but the adversary doesn’t wish to concede or make friends, so they continue beating you with a new stick as though nothing has changed?

I’m talking, of course, about the accusation that follows the slightest mention of Israel; namely that Israel’s blockade has driven residents of Gaza to a state of malnutrition and starvation.

Ed Stourton seamlessly shifts the emphasis thus in his recent reports from Gaza on R4 Today and From our Own Correspondent. Which brings me to Alan Johnston. Reminiscing nostalgically, he says in his introduction :
“In the years when I was a correspondent in the Gaza Strip there was always one steady bleak trend; life there always got harder and harder, and for most Gazans that continues to be true.” (But not for all, as Ed will attest.)
“A major reason for this is Israel’s economic blockade. The Israelis say it’s aimed at weakening the Hamas movement, which controls the strip.”(They’re just saying that)
“ For years Hamas has launched rockets from Gaza targeting homes, schools and offices in nearby Israeli towns, and Hamas doesn’t only oppose Israel’s continuing occupation of the Palestinian territories, it also talks of ultimately seeking the destruction of Israel itself.”
( Hurry that past the listeners and they might think Israel still occupies Gaza and won’t notice the other bit) “So the blockade goes on, and Ed Stourton has been looking at the everyday impact it has on the streets of Gaza.”

Ed Stourton:
“The shops in Gaza City centre are so well stocked that the abundance is almost indecent!” […] “All of this in a place that is supposed to be on the brink of a humanitarian crisis because of Israel’s economic blockade.”
You said it bud. But although the ‘tunnel economy’ has allowed crooks and thieves to prosper, and cars and camels to be brought in, somehow Israel is to blame for the fact that Hamas won’t let poor people acquire the materials to mend their houses. (Because Israel says they might be used for military purposes.) Well, if the need for washing machines and fridges is greater than the need to repair their houses, whose fault is it that they haven’t bothered to smuggle in a few bags of cement too?
Whose do you think?
So the starvation/malnutrition mantra no longer holds water, and the charge against Israel is cunningly transferred from the original one to the updated crime of forcing them into corruption and profiteering. The prosperity of crooks and thieves, the abundance of which could also be described as indecent, seems somehow to be the fault of Israel.
*********

The blood libel that has been doing the rounds recently might have some foundation after all. Clare Short shouldn’t have antagonized those dastardly Israelis. Parts of her have been harvested and reallocated. Jane Corbin got the face, and Alan Johnston the voice.

How neat, alluding to the blood libel as “organ harvesting,” with its connotation of avarice and greed. Why not use the term as a euphemism for acquisitions of any type, not just stolen body parts. Anything one might gather in, so to speak, such as the groaning shelves of Gaza which are a veritable harvest festival.

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"

Gay Review - Biased BBC

Gay Review: "Here’s an odd one.
BBC launches inquiry into portrayal of homosexuals.
I can’t make out whether the problem is that they’re portrayed as too normal, or not normal enough.

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"

SNOOZEQUIZ..._ Biased BBC

SNOOZEQUIZ...: "I happened to catch the News Quiz on BBC Radio 4 earlier today and was instantly reminded why I don't listen to it if at all possible. It's the usual little cabal of smug left wing 'comedians' droning on about all their pet subjects. So, for example, the victory of Scott Brown over in the Massachusetts election gave Jeremy Hardy and Sue Perkins (yes, quite) reason to indulge in puerile mockery - with Hardy somehow concluding that these were really Republicans that had voted in the truck-driver - condescending, uninformed and brought to you care of forced tax. They then had a go at Sarah Palin before sharing solidarity with Obama. The 'humour' is always in the one direction, profoundly biased and never changes. I managed to turn this dross off - but then caught the line up for Any Answers - with Comrade Bob Crowe being eulogised. The off button was located and pushed!

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"

A Genteel Der-Stuermer, Antisemitic BBC Shamelessly Continues Its Anti-Israel Propaganda - The Iconoclast

A Genteel Der-Stuermer, Antisemitic BBC Shamelessly Continues Its Anti-Israel Propaganda: "Barbara Plett, weeping uncontrollably as she reported the death of Arafat. Orla Guerin, sharing and passing on the worldview of her "Palestinian" husband. Frank "Help Me I'm A Muslim" Gardner. Hard-voiced Lyse Doucet doing what she can to blacken Israel's image. John Simpson, formerly high up in the World Service, praising to the skies the antisemitic conspiracy theories of his friend Peter Hounam, in "The Cyanide Conspiracy."
And day after day, the steady drip-drip-drip about "occupied Arab lands" -- a most peculiar way to describe territiory to which Israel has a legal, historic, and moral claim superior to all others, a claim that does not depend on Israel having come into possession, through force of arms, of that territory in June 1967, a claim that would exist even as against the Jordanians who came into possession of those parts of Judea and Samaria (as they had appeared on Western maps or in the works of Western writ..."

MISSING I - Biased BBC

MISSING I: "

So, the UK terror threat level is being raised from 'substantial' to 'severe', Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said. The BBC faithfully reports,,,,

The new alert level means a terrorist attack is considered 'highly likely'. It had stood at substantial since July. It is in response to the perceived increased threat from international terrorism following the failed Detroit airliner bombing on Christmas Day.

Mmm --- 'international terrorism'? Mmmmm...Detroit airliner bombing?.

Is there a WORD missing? I think it begins with 'I...'

DHIMMIS.

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"

Mountains and Molehills - Biased BBC

Mountains and Molehills: "A relatively minor molehill has made into a mountain by the BBC because it casts Israelis in a bad light.
Robin Shepherd sets out the case against the BBC with his usual eloquence. Seen in conjunction with the BBC’s habitual glossing over of anything that might reveal the extent of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim anti-Semitism and bigotry, this distortion of priorities typifies the prism through which BBC lviews the world, and chooses to feed to us. It illustrates why this website exists.

“I have remarked many times that the BBC continues to run a profile of Hamas which excludes all reference to the group’s Holocaust denial and its Protocols of Zion style anti-Semitism. Despite vast amounts of evidence of the daily assault on the Jewish people from “moderate” Palestinian leaders such as Mahmoud Abbas, who wrote a doctorate denying the extent of the Holocaust, that too is censored out of the reporting. In my recent book, A State Beyond the Pale I also provide polling evidence showing that negative sentiment about Jews even in “friendly” Arab countries such as Egypt and Jordan runs at 97 and 98 percent respectively. Again, such realities are simply not referred to.
Without being aware of such a fundamental issue it is simply impossible to understand the Israeli point of view, which is presumably why the BBC is so adamant that it will not report on it.”

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"

BBC splashes out on study of gays on TV - Daily Mail

BBC splashes out on study of gays on TV: "
The corporation was immediately accused of political correctness gone mad after it announced the UK wide project about homosexuality."

Media Monkey: Neo-classical wardrobe malfunction sets off BBC outrage alarm - Guardian

Media Monkey: Neo-classical wardrobe malfunction sets off BBC outrage alarm: "

A BBC crew came over all prudish when they spotted a bare nipple on a 19th-century painting, the Daily Mail reports. The team filming the antiques programme Flog It! asked for the offending picture, an oil painting showing the Greek goddess Ariadne holding a goblet of wine with her left breast exposed, to be taken off the wall at Aldridge Auctioneers at Devizes, Wiltshire, in case it upset daytime viewers. 'It is absolutely ridiculous,' said auctioneer Alan Aldridge. 'This is a 19th-century neo-classical work of art. I can't imagine anyone getting offended over a naked female nipple these days. I tried putting a Post-It note over the offending part of her anatomy, but that wasn't good enough apparently.'

• BBC
• Television industry

Monkey

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"

BBC spending on £813m Broadcasting House revamp investigated - Telegraph

BBC spending on £813m Broadcasting House revamp investigated: "The BBC's governing body has called in the public spending watchdog to
investigate the spiralling cost of the corporation's renovations to
Broadcasting House, it was disclosed last night."

Probe after BBC overspend by £20m on HQ renovation - Daily Mail

Probe after BBC overspend by £20m on HQ renovation: "
The corporation also spent £25,000 on flying a remote-controlled model helicopter for just two minutes as part of a 'celebration' of the flagship building."

BBC faces criticism in National Audit Office reports on spending - Times

BBC faces criticism in National Audit Office reports on spending: "The BBC faces criticism in two separate reports by the Government’s finance watchdog, just as the corporation insists that it has reined in lavish spending on its executives and presenters."

Guardian’s obsession trumps all - CiF Watch

Guardian’s obsession trumps all: "

First note the photograph; amidst the huge concrete blogs, the IDF soldier at his ease. It’s as if he doesn’t care at all about the alleged risks to the health of Palestinians in Gaza.

This is par for the course for a Guardian misrepresentation, but “Gaza blockade threatens health of 1.4 million, aid agencies warn” by James Sturcke, gives no opportunity to reply to the outright lies, omissions and half-truths in it. The report by the “more than 80 humanitarian organisations”, which include the WHO and the UN (as if that makes the report’s findings more objective and rigorous), says that Gazan lives are under threat because of lack of medical aid and, as usual, lays the blame at the feet of the Israelis.

And of course, according to the UN’s Max Gaylard, the blockade (and it is not, it is an embargo upon certain commodities, but the Guardian naturally chooses the more emotive word) puts lives at risk.

This article indeed ticks all the boxes about evil Israel, and conveniently ignores the actual truth – but this is the Guardian and such selective reporting can be expected.

For example, among the verbiage about alleged Israeli cruelty, we are told nothing about Hamas’ role in all this. We are not told, for example, that Hamas is responsible for the distribution of all aid which crosses into Gaza through the checkpoints, including the medical aid, and, particularly importantly, that such aid is rarely if ever given free to Palestinians, although the various aid agencies and charities who collect the money for it mean for it to be given out rather than sold.

This means that those Palestinians who cannot afford to pay for medicines tend not to get them – and I am not talking about the Gazans in Gaza City where, thanks to the smuggling tunnels, people are getting rich and fat; no, I mean the people whom Hamas keep in misery to parade before the gullible media. According to Edward Stourton of the BBC Today programme of 18^th January, in Gaza there are plenty of consumer goods, thanks to the tunnels, but everything comes at a price:

Edward Stourton: I’m in the heart of Gaza City in the shopping area in front of a shop that’s absolutely stuffed with goods. Inside there are clocks and kettles and crockery and pretty much anything else you could want; out here on the pavement piles of fridges and washing machines and microwave ovens on my right and in front of me a bunch of gas canisters which have still got the mud of the tunnels on them. In fact all these, we are told, have come through the tunnels. The man who runs the shop is sitting over on the pavement here looking very regal in his chair, talking to Egypt, doing a deal as we speak. He is in fact, we are told, a tunnel owner, although he is very reluctant to admit the fact.

(Translation via an interpreter of what the tunnel owner says)

Everything, all type of goods you know it comes from the tunnels you know, things that the people they need, all goods like milk, food you know, all the house stuff. Everything comes from the tunnels.

Edward Stourton: Is it expensive to bring things through the tunnel?

(Answer, via an interpreter:)

It’s double the price from the normally (sic) crossings.

(This last is an interesting statement, both from the point of view that some Palestinian people are profiting from the closure of Gaza, and also that commodities are indeed coming through the crossings. However, everything which comes through the crossings is originally provided free of charge and is meant to be distributed free of charge but Hamas is in charge of the distribution. Why, therefore, are the Palestinian people having to pay for it and where does the money go?)

Further down Sturcke’s article, we are told that many specialised medical treatments are unavailable in Gaza. We must ask ourselves (although he does not) why, Hamas being Hamas,that might be. There is little doubt that the medical infrastructure in Gaza was compromised during Cast Lead, but Hamas was very much to blame for that, (see also here and here). However, the Guardian being the Guardian, no mention is made by Sturcke, for example, of the specialist emergency treatment centre set up at the Erez crossing by the IDF, and readers should note its goal.

We read nothing in this piece of Guardian fluff either about the fact that the number of Gaza Palestinians being treated for medical conditions of all sorts in Israel’s hospitals increased significantly, despite the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, and the barrage of rocket attacks. According to an Israeli report published on 13 January 2008, in 2007 more than 7000 Palestinians were able to travel to hospitals in Israel and in the West Bank – an increase of 50% over the 2006 figure. Close to 8000 more Palestinians were allowed to accompany them (see Jerusalem Post, 14 January 2008).

However, Sturcke chooses not to mention that this facility has been abused on numerous occasions by Palestinian patients to attempt terrorist attacks on the Israeli hospitals or other targets, an important omission, given what he is arguing.

One case in point was Wafa Samir Ibrahim al-Biss, at that time a 21 year old Palestinian woman, who lived in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza strip. Her case made the news because of the letter subsequently published in the Jerusalem Post from a Palestinian doctor who worked at the Soroka Medical Center in the Israeli town of Beersheva.

In January 2005, al-Biss suffered burns in a cooking accident in her home. She was admitted for treatment to Soroka. She became an outpatient and was issued by the Israeli authorities with a special pass entitling her to cross into Israel to receive medical treatment.

On 21 June 2005 she was arrested at the Erez crossing point, on her way out of Gaza and to Soroka, wearing 10 kgs of explosives in her underwear. On Israeli TV she admitted that she had planned to explode the bomb in the hospital where she was being treated. She stated that she had been recruited by the Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, and added that she had wanted to target as many children as possible (BBC worldwide website, 21 June 2005; Jerusalem Post 22 June; Israeli press statements, various).

It is known that Islamic Jihad and al-Aqsa target the emotionally vulnerable and people who are entering Israel for medical aid. They had begun to recruit more women, particularly those who were depressed or whose honour had been compromised. Al-Biss was a very viable target on both counts, since she was depressed after having been rejected by her fiancé because of the scarring left by her burns. The article conveniently ignores what might happen if the crossings were opened.

The Guardian did not see fit to let us know either about this charitable endeavour by Israelis during Cast Lead, perhaps because the cognitive dissonance with its world view would have been too great.

Israel, as befits a civilised nation among civilised nations, contributes at least its fair share of expertise in the relief of humanitarian disasters, most recently in Haiti. Here , here and here we see it at its best, as befits a Jewish country in accordance with the finest Jewish tradition. Sky News picked this up first, and even the BBC eventually, but the flavour of Guardian coverage – mean-spirited and “glass half empty” as ever – is probably best summed up by this.

Sturcke is perhaps the standard bearer for another wave of Guardian anti-Israel animus. I would bet that Haiti’s plight will soon be forgotten when Guardian focuses again on its favourite whipping boy.

Tagged: Guardian, Obsession

"

GOOD LORD! - Biased BBC

GOOD LORD!: "I’ve previously posted this about how senior BBC personnel such as Peter Thomson, environment editor of The World, influence and peddle the ‘climate change’ alarmist mantra. Today I am focusing on a completely different kind of BBC figure who is working at an international level to force the world to adopt climate change measures. Step forward Michael Hastings, who boasts the title Baron Hastings of Scarisbrick in the County of Lancashire after he was ennobled by Tony Blair in 2005. Our good lord is now head of global citizenship at the multi-national accountants KPMG. But before that, he was a political lobbyist at the BBC – prepared like many of his cronies to bend the rules if they got in his way – and despite that, or perhaps because of it, he rose to become founder head of corporate social responsibility at the BBC.

In this role, I know that he was extremely influential, responsible for projects such as Comic Relief – with its strident Bob Geldof ‘climate change’ agenda - and also for making sure that the BBC met green targets by reducing its CO2 footprint. Somewhere along the way, it’s clear that he became a greenie fanatic. It is therefore highly likely that he was instrumental in pulling together, if not leading, the steps towards the BBC accepting that climate science is settled (at a seminar held in January 2006), and that the corporation must have a role in ‘educating’ the rest of the world about the need for alarmist measures.

When he was created a life peer, it was decided that being an active politician – albeit ostensibly a crossbench one - would represent a conflict of interest with his BBC job, and he took up his present role at KPMG in June 2006. However, this was partly window-dressing. He remains a board member of the BBC environment committee, the BBC World Service Trust and also a board member of Comic Relief (heavily linked to the BBC, of course), so his ties with the corporation are still strong. In his new role at KPMG - an organisation with 137,000 employees - he travels the world telling people that they must reduce carbon emissions. He is also at the top table of those who buy into the climate change agenda, to the extent that he chaired a session at Copenhagen COP15 in December.

His lordship, of course, projects all this effort as pure philanthropy, because, like all climate alarmists, he believes he’s saving the world. But delving a little deeper shows that the driving force is actually corporate greed. For KPMG also has its own Global Energy Institute, the job of which is to lobby for CO2 taxes, and to make sure its clients (and KPMG) get rich through this seemingly unstoppable gravy train that is worth billions.

Thus, Lord Hastings is working away to ensure that, on the one hand, through his continuing ties with the corporation, the BBC spreads the alarmist message as far and as loudly as possible. On the other, he is pushing fervently that, like KPMG, businesses everywhere must adopt ‘social responsibility’ targets underpinned by leftie greenie zeal.

Some of this is frustratingly circumstantial. It’s impossible to know his precise role in persuading the BBC that climate science was settled (as they fervently believe), because efforts to find out have been thwarted by the fact that the corporation hides behind Freedom of Information Act exemptions granted to journalistic organisations. What is certain, however, is that Baron Hastings is a climate change fanatic; he still has active and extremely influential ties to the BBC; when he was at the BBC, they became formal converts to the greenie ‘climate change’ cause, and his agenda was precisely in this area; he is now part of a major effort spearheaded by KPMG (an in tandem with the BBC) to persuade the world that it must pursue ‘climate change‘ alarmism and to impose CO2 taxes; and he is – palpably – highly adept in the art of persuasion. There, I rest my case.

Baron Hastings of Scarisbrick, I contend, demonstrates both that the tentacles of the ‘climate change’ monster are everywhere, and that the BBC is at the epicentre of the massive international propaganda effort to enforce a battery of new measures to restrict our freedom and squeeze more taxes out of us all in a demented effort to save the world. At the very least, the BBC gave his lordship the platform to peddle his greenie creed; and they are still working with him in its fanatical propagation.

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"

Channel 4 chiefs slams BBC spending - Guardian

Channel 4 chiefs slams BBC spending: "

Luke Johnson attacks corporation's '£1bn refit' of Broadcasting House at Oxford Media Convention

The outgoing Channel 4 chairman, Luke Johnson, today criticised the BBC for the amount spent on the refurbishment of its London headquarters.

Johnson, who will hand over to Lord Burns this month, claimed the behind- schedule and over-budget refurbishment of Broadcasting House was an example of a lack of financial accountability.

'The BBC has so much money it … can spend £1bn on something it already owns,' he told the Oxford Media Convention, adding it was 'a lot of money to spend on an office block'.

The refurbishment of Broadcasting House, a Grade II listed building completed in 1932, was due to be finished in 2008 and cost £813m. However, a series of setbacks – including the removal of the original architects – has pushed back the completion date.

It is believed a National Audit Office report on the project, due to be published next month, will be critical of the BBC.

Patricia Hodgson, a member of the corporation's governance and regulatory body, the BBC Trust, admitted at the Oxford event the project had been a 'major problem'. But she added: 'Broadcasting House was clearly a major problem … There will be a published account of this within the next month.' 'What the trust did was it closed down the phase where there were problems, took a grip and brought in the NAO to report precisely because of the concerns you have expressed. It will more than satisfy your concerns.'

A BBC Trust spokesman added: 'Patricia Hodgson was stating that there is an NAO report on estates in the pipeline. This was commissioned by the Trust as part of its programme to ensure value for money for licence fee payers and is included in the Trust's publicly available work plan.'

The shadow culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, also speaking in Oxford today, warned media companies bidding for government money to run replacement ITV regional news pilots will face legal action if the Conservatives win the general election later this year.

Hunt said the Tories wanted an all-encompassing regional news solution to empower local radio, newspapers and websites with city-based franchises.

'Let me be clear, we do not support these provisions in the digital economy bill and we do not support the pilot [regional news] schemes,' he added.

The contracts are not due to be signed until May [and] anyone looking to sign one should understand that we'll do all we can to legally unpick them if David Cameron enters No 10. And if they haven't been signed, we won't be doing so,' Hunt said.

Earlier this month the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced the eight successful consortiums to bid to run pilots for replacement ITV regional news bulletins in Scotland, Wales and England.

Companies pitching for the contracts include News at Ten producer ITN, broadcasters UTV and STV, newspaper publishers Trinity Mirror, Newsquest and Johnston Press, and news agency the Press Association.

The Guardian's editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, also speaking at the Oxford event, said the industry had to explore a 'hybrid' model for local and regional news, in which traditional media married their expertise with those on a hyperlocal level. 'Traditional players who get this hybrid model will be in with a chance of being here in five years' time,' he said.

• Media events and conferences
• Luke Johnson
• Channel 4
• BBC Trust
• BBC

Jane Martinson

Mark Sweney

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"

BBC Trust should set salaries, says Patricia Hodgson - Guardian

BBC Trust should set salaries, says Patricia Hodgson: "

Governance body ought to have 'greater control' of appointments and pay at corporation, trustee tells Oxford Media Convention

A BBC trustee has today argued that the much-maligned regulatory and governance body should have 'greater control' over appointments and pay at the corporation.

Patricia Hodgson, a former policy chief at the BBC, defended the regulatory body and told delegates at the Oxford Media Convention that it should have more powers over one of the most politically charged areas of the current debate. 'One of the powers that the trust needs and doesn't have is the power to set salaries,' Hodgson said.

The BBC Trust has directed the corporation to cut the senior management pay bill by 25% over three years. But politicians and rival media companies have questioned whether that goes far enough given that around 50 senior managers earn more than the prime minister.

The BBC director-general, Mark Thompson, who earned £834,000 last year, earlier this month argued that the corporation deserves more than council staff.

Hodgson was speaking today in Oxford in answer to a question that the BBC Trust should have the power of approval over senior salaries.

In a wider defence of the trust, she said it was the 'least worst option' compared with a regulatory model such as Ofcom and an integrated board usually employed in the commercial sector. 'I have one word [answer] to an integrated board: banking,' Hodgson said.

The decision to ditch the name governor when the BBC Trust replaced the board of governors in 2007 was 'politically disastrous' and ended an 80-year association with the notion of independence, she added.

Her view gained some support from Kip Meek, former partner at Ofcom, who is now a consultant at media finance specialist Ingenious Media. 'Having been at Ofcom I don't think it's appropriate' for it to be regulator of the BBC, he said.

The session on whether the BBC Trust was fit for purpose also saw the outgoing chairman of Channel 4, Luke Johnson, launch a sustained attack on the corporation and its management.

'The BBC has so much money it... can spend £1bn on something it already owns,' he said, speaking about the refit of Broadcasting House.

It is believed that a National Audit Office report on the Broadcasting House renovation, due to be published next month, will be critical of the BBC's handling of the project.

With both the Tories and the government, led by culture secretary Ben Bradshaw, criticising the model of governance provided by the BBC Trust, Hodgson and Johnson collided over whether or not the body was politically vulnerable.

Hodgson admitted that the questions over the trust would continue 'as long as it exists' but suggested that nothing would or should be done until the next BBC charter review in 2016.

Yet Johnson, who is chairman of the Royal Society for the Arts, said with a slight note of pleasure in his voice: 'If you want to get into power you won't be hacking off [BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael] Lyons and Thompson and co, but once in power it will change.'

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly 'for publication'.

• BBC Trust
• BBC
• Television industry
• Radio industry

Jane Martinson

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NAMP Sore Affronted - Biased BBC

NAMP Sore Affronted: "Muslim Police Say Islam Not to Blame for Terror Attacks.
Everybody’s talking about it except, to date, the BBC.
They tell us that the anti-terror Police need Muslims.
But the NAMP has, it seems, some dodgy friends.
Discuss.
Update.
That was a bit skimpy, sorry.
The Telegraph report is on the Front Page of the paper (tree version.)
A highlighted quote from the NAMP says: “Hatred against Muslims has grown to a level that defies all logic”

Unfortunately it doesn’t defy all logic at all. What does defy logic is that while the so-called peaceful majority of moderate Muslims fail to explain exactly where their religious faith differs from that of self-proclaimed “true” Muslims like Anjem Choudary or any of the myriad Jihadi martyrs, they expect anyone to accept this ridiculous sounding theory.

It’s all very well to say ‘”that’s not the real Islam.” So what sort of Islam is moderate Islam, and what good does it do?

The veiled threat in their statement amounts to: “If you don’t stop saying we’re violent, we’ll bash yer brains in.”

I presume the government will be suitably intimidated, and issue a statement that it’s the far right they’re really concerned about, and will re engage with the MCB for some more lovely advice. Oh no, they’ve done that already.

So what will Newsnight be saying about all this? Who will they bring in to pacify the NAMP? Or will they ignore it and hope it goes away.

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"

'Set BBC targets to partner its rivals', says ex-Channel 4 chief - Guardian

'Set BBC targets to partner its rivals', says ex-Channel 4 chief: "

'There should be more pressure in place,' says Andy Duncan – after BBC had failed to reach a partnership with Channel 4

Former Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan has said the BBC should be set targets to ensure it meets its commitments to create partnerships with rival broadcasters.

Speaking at the Oxford Media Convention, Duncan, one of the architects of a plan to set up a joint venture between the BBC and Channel 4, which has still not come to fruition, said: 'There should be more pressure on the BBC. A proper framework should be put in place ... A bit like the indie quota system.

'The corporation is obliged to commission a certain number of shows from independent production companies. BBC managers must answer to the BBC Trust if that target is not met.'

His comments about the BBC will be interprated as a broadside against BBC management, who have so far failed to reach a partnership deal with Channel 4.

Duncan insisted he was 'philosophical' about the lack of an agreement and emphasised that his successor may yet agree one, but added that many of the BBC's partnership proposals have 'come to nothing'.

In Duncan's first speech since he stepped down as chief executive, he berated politicians, policymakers and industry executives, accusing them of failing to rise to the challenges posed by the digital age.

Speaking to MediaGuardian.co.uk after his speech, Duncan said: 'The problem is the government policy cycle is quite slow, the civil service policy cycle is quite slow and the broadcasting policy cycle is quite slow'

He said it was 'out of kilter' with the pace of change on the ground. 'We've got to find a quicker way of making decisions'.

Duncan said that some of the goals set out in Lord Carter's Digital Britain report, including universal broadband access, could be 'a really big part of solving some of the economic and social problems we have got'.

He continued: 'None of the main political parties get this point,' before pointing out: 'In the Netherlands, I you want to get your unemployment benefit you have to go online'. He said the internet could be: 'A fantastic way of delivering public services.'

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

• If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly 'for publication'.

• Andy Duncan
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James Robinson

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BBC to spend more of licence fee on 'quality' shows - Telegraph

BBC to spend more of licence fee on 'quality' shows: "The BBC will spend a higher proportion of the licence fee on 'quality'
programmes in the wake of the row over BBC salaries."

Question Time 21st January 2010 - Biased BBC

Question Time 21st January 2010: "

Question Time tonight comes from Milton Keynes and the panel will feature Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Caroline Spelman, Sarah Teather, retail expert Richard Madeley and historian Andrew Roberts.



Those wanting to get an idea of the political feel of the area - these are the General Election results in the old (now redrawn and renamed) constituencies of Milton Keynes NE (Con) and SW (Lab).



For those who wish to take part in the B-BBC Buzzword Bingo, we will be playing by the 'Scott Brown Rules' meaning that 'Palin's are wildcards and a 'Obama' and a 'healthcare' on the same card mean a missed turn. The usual prizes will be awarded.



As usual, the live chat will begin here at 22:35 UK time. Please come and join us!

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Panorama (Non Culinary Version) - Biased BBC

Panorama (Non Culinary Version): "I’ve been thinking about the influence the BBC still has over the general public. I hope it’s diminishing, what with other sources becoming part of everyone’s normal news-gathering. But for now it still seems hugely significant; even if it were to cease tomorrow, the residual effect would take time to wear off.

Monday’s Panorama was so one sided that I didn’t even attempt a point-by-point analysis, but chose instead to express my despair in the form of cookery.

Robin Shepherd took the bull by the horns in a more masterful fashion, setting out the programme’s flaws with his customary thoroughness and accessibility. For example he revealed that the individual who was supposed to represent the voice of impartiality and reason was in fact “Danny Seidemann, a well known (but not to British viewers) left-wing lawyer-activist.”
He also added the bits (in bold ) that Jane Corbin neglected to mention, vital bits that changed the entire focus:
“When the State of Israel was born in 1948 — following Arab and Palestinian rejection of a peace agreement accepted by Israel which would have seen the internationalisation of the city — Jerusalem was divided.
The West of the city became part of Israel and the East was controlled by Jordan — which expelled Jewish residents and forbade Jews from praying at all of the city’s holy sites.
In 1967, Israel annexed East Jerusalem after seizing the West Bank following war with its Arab neighbours. That war was caused by Arab governments and the Palestinians who had the aim of eliminating the state of Israel in its entirety and expelling its Jewish residents.”
When I saw the trail, before seeing the programme, I referred to the same bias by omission on the open thread, and asked:
“Does she think Israel started an unprovoked expansionist war in 1967? It looks like it. She must surely know that that is almost the exact opposite of the truth.”

Honest Reporting delves deeper, setting the record straight and unravelling the misconceptions that Jane Corbin was so eager to perpetuate. In summary, the distortion and denial of the Jewish historical link with East Jerusalem, the allegations of racism and ethnic cleansing in the housing policy, the facts behind the notorious Hanoun family eviction, the shooting incident, and various other notable omissions and half truths.

All of this is not so unusual for the BBC. Does it matter? There are after all, some saving graces. The Newsnight report from Sderot ( scroll to 27:25 ) that was more balanced, though someone mentioned that it took a member of the British Army to do that, and not a BBC employee. (I note that Paxo revised the obligatory Pali war dead figure down from the usual 1400 to 1300, presumably for one day only.)

But the general consensus that Israel’s legitimacy itself is questionable persists.
I wonder why the UK tries so hard to misrepresent a country that it ought to admire, why the BBC has orchestrated a delegitimising campaign that ignores Israel’s wonderful achievements and altruistic deeds, and distorts and twists everything it possibly can to depict it in a bad light, concentrates on its flaws and shortcomings, magnifying them out of all proportion while glossing over that of its - and our own - enemy.

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Retired Cumbrian producer attacks BBC over religious coverage - News and Star

Retired Cumbrian producer attacks BBC over religious coverage: "A retired Cumbrian BBC producer is to attack the corporation over its coverage of religious and ethical issues."

Hewitt on Obama - Biased BBC

Hewitt on Obama: "A celebratory tip of the Red Sox cap to David Preiser for pointing out this rather fine commenter's fisk of Gavin Hewitt's latest blog.

It's a bit rich of Hewitt to now pass comment on the Europeans who 'had fallen for Obama' when his own presidential campaign diary read like a romantic novel. Even I was inspired at the time, offering this as a suggestion for a book cover:

Unfortunately it didn't get past the BBC moderators.

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Sunday Mornings on Five Live - Biased BBC

Sunday Mornings on Five Live: "A couple of weeks ago Heat magazine editor Sam Delaney appeared on Kate Silverton's radio show as her sidekick for the day, and he left listeners in no doubt about his political leanings with a rant about Cameron and the Tories. I assumed at the time that Silverton would have a different 'studio friend' each week, reflecting a broad spectrum of political opinion. That was pretty stupid of me, this being the BBC (and Radio Five Live in particular). As part of the station's new year shake-up Delaney's role on the show is actually permanent. No surprises, then, to read this in Monday's Guardian:

Sam Delaney… was once a researcher for Harriet Harman and Gordon Brown...
In the 1990s, as a self-confessed '19-year-old stonehead', he was passionately into Labour politics and one of his jobs as Harman's researcher was to deliver her tuna sandwiches when she was in shadow cabinet meetings. His boss at Millbank was Ed Miliband. 'Most of the people who were part of the research group, and would have a pint with each other or lunch in the canteen, are now cabinet ministers, whereas I am editor of Heat.'

Having listened to the mockney tones of the former Labour researcher, one can stay tuned for 7 Day Sunday, presented by Tory-hating Chris Addison. The Independent's radio reviewer wasn't impressed with the first programme:

Chris Addison, the comedian who plays the weedy Ollie Reeder in The Thick of It, has been given his own topical news show 7 Day Sunday.
As usual, there is a certain amount of 'category error' in this choice. As Ollie in The Thick of It, Addison is hilariously funny, but this is because his lines are written by the comic genius Armando Iannucci. On 7 Day Sunday, however, Addison is writing his own lines, assisted by a studio gang who would laugh at a pig's bladder on a stick. On The Thick of It there is snappy dialogue at a thousand miles an hour, but if you talk like that on radio without enough jokes or substance then the listener's mind skitters all over the place trying to concentrate, before giving up. The show's brief was to 'pull apart the week's big news stories', but in the event the only news covered was snow. Weirdly for someone who made his name in a political satire there wasn't any. Why not? The Gordon Brown coup should have provided acres of material, but it took ages to get round to, and then got a paltry two minutes.

This reluctance to make fun of the Labour government contrasts sharply with Addison's attitude to the Tories. This week he joked about dancing on Margaret Thatcher's grave. Classy.

Radio Five Live. Gearing up for the general election.

Update. In the comments Ryan reproduces an email from R5L controller Adrian Van Klaveren re Delaney.

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SLIPPERY SLOPES...Biased BBC

SLIPPERY SLOPES...: "Richard Black is a willing conduit here for some furious back-peddling and spinning; that the IPCC totally false prediction that Himalayan glaciers were going to melt by 2035 was 'only one mistake'. Oh yes? What about this?

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AND THE LIGHTS ALL WENT ON IN MASSACHUSETTS! - Biased BBC

AND THE LIGHTS ALL WENT ON IN MASSACHUSETTS!: "Poor BBC. I listened with bated breath to their coverage of the stunning defeat for Obama's Democrats in the heartland seat of Massachusetts. I mean, how would they spin this one? Well, strategy seems to be so far today to not talk about it too much, to then suggest it is Obama's first real defeat since he ascended to power (So whitwashing the stunning defeats he suffered back in the Gubernatorial races last November) and finally to Blame Bush - after all, poor old Obama is getting the kickback from voters because he hasn't solved the economic crisis, yet. A wonderful day to hear the BBC in denial of the obvious fact that it is Obama's radicalism - the thing they drool over - that is handing victory after victory to the GOP.

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Won't You Listen To The Children? - Biased BBC

Won't You Listen To The Children?: "

The dust has long settled over Hoaxenhagen and we are all still alive. 50 Days To Save The World turned out to be merely alive in a combination of Gordoom's head and the hand-wringing siren call of the Warmists. Despite ClimateGate and a growing body of evidence to the contrary, rather like a George Romero zombie, the hysteria of AGW just won't die.



Consider this BBC 'look back' over the conference - when schools around the world shared their views through Climate Change Interactive, a BBC World Class project with the British Council (which means you funded it both ways! Bonus!).



These are selected excerpts from the BBC site which make for scary reading in their drone-like rote. Of course these children are all being drip-fed with this nonsense by their respective education authorities, but as all 29 contributions are slavishly pro-AGW one has to ask: Were no non-conformist views submitted for this list? If none, were the BBC asking a balanced question or was a question framed to deliver these responses? Were the responses filtered to remove any sceptical input? And why does the BBC not inform children that there is a contrary school of thought...as a neutral news source should?



We believe that we're affected by climate change because it seems like winter starts earlier.

Sleepy Hollow High School, New York State, USA

Many dust storms blow in the area where I live. There is dust everywhere. Mostly it is very hot, sometimes exceeding 50 degrees Celsius. The duration of summer is increasing.

Government Boys Middle School, Kamboh Nagar, Khanewal, Pakistan

I've noticed the water getting further up the side of the pier and the banks.

Sanday Community School, The Orkneys, Scotland

Bournemouth's main industry is tourism and the wet, drab, grey summers we have been having recently, as well as our beaches are getting washed away with the storms are seriously affecting our income as a town.

Avonbourne School, Bournemouth, England

We are affected by climate change, because in winter it gets colder than before and hotter too in summer.

Al Baihani High Model School, Aden, Yemen



There are a couple of gems though. You've got to admire this entry:

There are no 'seasons' in our country; it's just hot, hot, and hot!

Dhahran Ahliyya Schools, Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia



Erm, yep. 'Saudi Arabia' was my clue. Steering into dangerous BBC waters we also have:



The only one who controls it is God.

Njad School, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia



How did that get through? Nonsense with a hat on.



Hat-tip to G.O.T. for the graphic, and this post crossed with John Horne Tooke mentioning it on the previous thread.

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RAIN DANCE - Biased BBC

RAIN DANCE: "One of the great greenie apocalyptic lies is that flooding is on the increase because of 'climate change'. Every time a river breaks its banks, Richard Black and his cronies mutter with smug satisfaction that it proves yet again that the science is 'settled'. Their main partner in crime in this alarmism is the so-called Environment Agency, who have been proudly trumpeting - with full BBC assistance - a new report purporting to show that unless we cough up an extra £1bn a year in flood defences, we are all going to drown. As usual, in such BBC reporting, there's not a flicker of a mention of factors such as building on flood plains or - shock horror - that it has always rained in the UK, sometimes quite a lot.

A few minutes browsing on this rather neat little archive shows that not only has Britain frequently experienced floods, but also that they were happening long before BBC greenie panic merchants fingered CO2 as the cause. I was particularly chilled by this, from 1770:

The accounts that have been received during the course of the present month...of the floods in several parts of the Kingdom, exceed any thing of the kind that has happened in the memory of man. The cities and towns situated on the banks of the Severn have suffered very great distress; those on the Trent have suffered still more; the great Bedford Level is now under water; horfes, mills, bridges, in almost every brook, have been borne down; but the most affecting scene of all happened at Coventry, where the waters in the middle of the night came rolling into the lowermost street of the town, and almost instantaneously rose to an alarming height. The poor there, fill the houses from top to bottom; those who occupied the lower apartments perished immediately...

And this, from a couple of years earlier:

The heaviest rain fell at London and the country round it that has been known in the memory of man. It began in the evening, and in a few hours the waters poured down Highgate Hill with incredible violence; the common shores in several parts of the town not being able to carry off the torrent, the adjacent houses were filled almost to the first floors; immense damage was done, and as it happened in the night, many were awakened from sleep in the greatest consternation. The Serpentine river in Hyde-park rose so high, that it forced down a part of the wall and poured with such violence upon Knightsbridge, that the inhabitants expected the whole town to be overflowed...

I noted especially the rather sonorous apocalyptic tenor of the newspaper reports; would that BBC journalists could command such lyricism to leaven their contemporary leaden reports of doom.

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Exclamation Mark! - Biased BBC

Exclamation Mark!: "Here's the blurb to a Mark Mardell report about Obama's first year:

In a BBC/Harris Poll 20% of Americans would give President Obama an 'A' for the job he's done in year one.
But an equal number of people give him a 'C', and the same percentage gives him an F! Mark Mardell reports.

An F! About Obama! Beloved Obama! It's inconceivable! It's outrageous!

Update. I see the BBC has flown heavyweight political analyst Richard Bacon over to the States to celebrate the first anniversary of O's inauguration (written into his latest R5L contract, no doubt). Let's hope the voters of Massachusetts give him something to really talk about.

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Cooking with Corbin - Biased BBC

Cooking with Corbin: "Cookery programmes are still popular, and last night’s Panorama offered another traditional and much loved recipe for making Israel look really evil.

Ingredients.
Two or three bright-eyed fanatics.
One grey-haired self-hating lawyer with American accent.
One or two Chosen People, with multiple progeny.

Spicy Topping:
Assorted Palestinians. (select: sad, angry, wounded, bereaved, evicted from home, tearful child.
Before use, carefully remove all traces of religiously based anti-Semitism and murderous intent.

Garnish.
Available off the shelf: Ready-made clip of small group walking towards camera in religious fancy dress. Must include one large furry hat made from enormous car tyre.

Method.
Pre heat audience by drip-feeding propaganda for 40 years till boiling. Scrupulously remove and discard all historical context. Mix together, dish up and present, preferably by woman who has stolen Clare Short’s face.


If this is facetious, there is a serious side. Panorama used to be an important programme, a flagship BBC product. Now it’s superficial, sensational and slapdash. A microcosm of the BBC.

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HOMOSEXUALITY NEARLY COMPULSORY? - Biased BBC

HOMOSEXUALITY NEARLY COMPULSORY?: "Interesting insight from someone who worked for the BBC

'My sexuality was formed behind bike sheds and in school dormitories, a most unimaginatively clichéd pattern of pubescent fumbling. This propelled me into a lifestyle, reinforced by a social milieu of flamboyant media gays. At the BBC, where I worked for seven years, homosexuality was very nearly compulsory.'

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SHILLING FOR LABOUR..- Biased BBC

SHILLING FOR LABOUR..: "During 'Today' this morning, there were two instances of outrageous BBC grovelling to Labour. Just after 7.38am who pops up but John Reid to position himself as a champion of 'individual freedom of conscience'. I thought this a bit rich coming from someone who has been at the centre of this ever more totalitarian government but he was given an easy ride. Then, just a few minutes later, we had Alan Johnson on to announce punitive legislation against Pub Licensees who dare to hold Happy Hours and the like. Again, Johnson was not pushed in any way and was allowed to waffle on as if Labour itself had not been involved in bringing about 24 hour booze culture.

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LOVING THE TALIBAN..Biased BBC

LOVING THE TALIBAN..: "Have you picked up on BBC coverage of the Jihad attacks carried out by the Taliban in Kabul today? I suggest to you that the tone of the coverage was almost one of....admiration. The BBC seems to take perverse delight that these dark ages barbarians can carry out such atrocities.

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Why does the BBC use the same presenters over and over again? - Telegraph

Why does the BBC use the same presenters over and over again?: "An interview with Kirsty Wark in the the Guardian serves to remind me of a question that has long exercised me. In the course of promoting the launch of her new programme – a revamped version of Newsnight Review to be called The Review Show and broadcast from (guess where?) Glasgow – she points out that she has no [...]"

BBC's 'marginalisation' of religion to be criticised by Church of England's governing body - Telegraph

BBC's 'marginalisation' of religion to be criticised by Church of England's governing body: "The BBC's 'marginalisation' of religious programming is to be criticised by
the Church of England's governing body."

It’s All About Me - Harry's Place

It’s All About Me: "

Newspaper columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown disagrees with the Communities Secretary that racism in Britain is less widespread now than in the past:

Racism is still blighting lives; indeed things may be getting worse again. The danger of Denham’s comments is that now, fewer people will believe us when we complain.

Evidence?

Yesterday I had to remind listeners on the Jeremy Vine show that middle-class, talented, highly qualified black and Asian Britons were still out there jobless and hopeless, some driving cabs, all losing heart, because of this kind of discrimination.

Now, I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist any more or shouldn’t be opposed wherever it rears its nefarious head: but does Alibhai-Brown seriously believe she’s doing the anti-racist cause any good by ignoring the fact that being jobless in the middle of a recession isn’t automaticaly proof of racism? That plenty of white people might be out of a job as well? That plenty of white people are?

Here’s her killer argument though:

Me, I have always had to accept that I get less money and status than my white peers. That’s the deal, you live with it. Race matters.

Eew! You can almost taste the sense of entitlement, can’t you? I deserve more moolah and peer recognition than I’m currently getting – and the only reason I’m not currently enjoying more is the attitude of my atavistic employers.

If our double-barelled professional chatterer genuinely gets paid less than her white colleagues I’d like to suggest it might be less to do with the relative melanin content of skin and more to do with the fact that an averagely drug-addled sixteen year old could put together a better supported argument - and show less self-centredeness to boot.

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AND THE LIGHTS ALL WENT OUT IN MASSACHUSETTS! - Biased BBC

AND THE LIGHTS ALL WENT OUT IN MASSACHUSETTS!: "Have you read Mark Mardell's item on the fierce battle taking place in the USA for the senate seat left vacant by the death of Ted Kennedy? Mark seems quietly confident that the Dem's will win this which strikes me as a bit odd since most other commentators are suggesting that Scott Brown is ahead in the polls and that Obama has been forced to do all he can to keep this iconic seat in the control of the Dems. Should the GOP win, it will be a terrible low for the BBC, as Obama's unpopularity will become all too visceral. His radical leftism may excite the BBC but evidently a significant section of the electorate thinks otherwise. How could this be - when the God-King is but within his first year? Mardell and the rest of the pro-Dem sycophants at the BBC better get used to this pattern of losing Dems - roll on the mid-terms.

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GAZING BLINDLY ON GAZA - Biased BBC

GAZING BLINDLY ON GAZA: "Anyone catch posh Ed Stourton's travelogue on that charming resort of Gaza this morning? (7.39am). I was touched hearing his all too evident admiration for the tunnelling skills of those fine Hamastan inhabitants although angered at the way in which the evil Jews have wrought all of this due to their 'Operation Cast Lead' a year ago. Good old BBC - ALWAYS fair and balanced on this topic.

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BBC may dump Met office after complaints about 'BBQ summer' and 'mild winter' predictions - Daily Mail

BBC may dump Met office after complaints about 'BBQ summer' and 'mild winter' predictions: "
The blunders could not have come at a worse time for the Met Office, which has provided forecasts for the BBC for nearly 90 years, as its contract with the broadcaster expires in April."

THE TRUTH - BBC STYLE (PART 2) - Biased BBC

THE TRUTH - BBC STYLE (PART 2): "The Sunday Times reports today that the IPCC 2007 report perpetuated a massive untruth about global warming, that the Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035. It's a truly astonishing story of how a supposedly scientific body that preaches unassailable 'facts' will take any alarmist titbit and magnify it to the nth degree. Guess who was foremost in reporting this nonsense? The BBC of course. To be fair, it has reported some doubt about the 2035 figure, but overwhelmingly, it has supported the 'we are all doomed' line. This, for example, is from June:

Glacier melting in the Himalayas is virtually certain to disrupt water supplies within the next 20 to 30 years. Floods and rock avalanches are virtually certain to increase. Heavily-populated coastal regions, including the deltas of rivers such as the Ganges and Mekong, are likely to be at risk of increased flooding.

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The BBC digs itself out of a hole - Telegraph

The BBC digs itself out of a hole: "An attempt to jazz up Gardeners' World - part of the corporation's relentless
quest for younger viewers - alienated millions of green-fingered viewers,
says Olga Craig"

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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