BBC drama must keep us glued to our sets: "Gripping series are the way to stop the creative rot at the corporation, says Neil
Midgley."
Friday 26 March 2010
Question Time 25th March - Biased BBC
Question Time 25th March: "
Question Time this week comes from Glasgow, home of the Red Clydeside socialist movement and not home to a Tory MP since 1982.
On the panel we have Chief Secretary Treasury and Unite member Liam Byrne MP, the Conservative Shadow Minister for Communities Baroness Warsi, the Liberal Democrat communities spokesman Julia Goldsworthy MP, the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond and businessman Sir Martin Sorrell.
Liam Byrne is a late replacement for Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy who has pulled out - just possibly because last time he did something significant in Glasgow it was attending a Labour Party fundraising dinner with Gordoom and Steven Purcell, who then mysteriously resigned in a cocaine and financial scandal which has oddly not gained the prominence the story deserves.
For those who wish to take part in the Biased-BBC Buzzword Bingo, we will be playing by the 'Blatantly Political Budget Rules' meaning that anyone with 'Spending Up', 'Taxes Up' and 'Borrowing Up" on a diagonal line will win Greece, which is in much better shape than us now. Please note that for the duration of this game, living in Belize will result in your tax status being randomly targeted.
At the helm of the ship once again TheEye and David Mosque will be scanning the horizon for icebergs, and we look forward to the pleasure of your company at 10:30pm UK time.
"
On the panel we have Chief Secretary Treasury and Unite member Liam Byrne MP, the Conservative Shadow Minister for Communities Baroness Warsi, the Liberal Democrat communities spokesman Julia Goldsworthy MP, the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond and businessman Sir Martin Sorrell.
Liam Byrne is a late replacement for Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy who has pulled out - just possibly because last time he did something significant in Glasgow it was attending a Labour Party fundraising dinner with Gordoom and Steven Purcell, who then mysteriously resigned in a cocaine and financial scandal which has oddly not gained the prominence the story deserves.
For those who wish to take part in the Biased-BBC Buzzword Bingo, we will be playing by the 'Blatantly Political Budget Rules' meaning that anyone with 'Spending Up', 'Taxes Up' and 'Borrowing Up" on a diagonal line will win Greece, which is in much better shape than us now. Please note that for the duration of this game, living in Belize will result in your tax status being randomly targeted.
At the helm of the ship once again TheEye and David Mosque will be scanning the horizon for icebergs, and we look forward to the pleasure of your company at 10:30pm UK time.
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
Thursday 25 March 2010
ITV regional news bidders told: don't count on BBC licence fee funds - Guardian
ITV regional news bidders told: don't count on BBC licence fee funds: "
Move designed to thwart Tory threats to block legislation enabling long-term public funding in the digital economy bill
Consortiums bidding to run ITV regional news pilots have been told to develop plans to operate without funds from the BBC licence fee, a move designed to thwart Conservative threats to block legislation enabling long-term public funding in the digital economy bill.
Richard Hooper, the chair of the selection panel responsible for choosing the preferred bidders for the pilots in England, Wales and Scotland, said that 'political uncertainty' over the project meant consortiums should plan for life with no public funds.
If Labour wins the general election, which is expected to be called within days for 6 May, the pilots can be run until the end of 2012.
However, the Tories have pledged to block the necessary clause in the digital economy bill that would then enable Ofcom to fund an ongoing, national and regional ITV news services with public funds after 2012.
The Conservatives have also pledged to scrap the plan for regional news consortiums if the party wins the general election.
'We asked bidders also to think about longer term sustainability without public funds,' said Hooper. 'Given the political uncertainties surrounding IFNCs, my colleagues and I were particularly impressed by the sustained enthusiasm and resource commitment of the bidders and the momentum that has built up to deliver innovative multiplatform multilayered news in Wales, Scotland and the Borders/Tyne Tees region of England, competing with the BBC.'
ITV, which appears to be rethinking plans to dump its regional news service, greeted the news of the selection of the preferred bidders coolly.
The company, which is in the throes of a strategic review being led by new chairman Archie Norman, said that it would take no action until after the general election. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is aiming to have final contracts signed with the bidders, which also require deals with ITV and Scottish ITV licencee STV, by May.
'We will review the proposals to see how they would fit with our schedule, brand and the need for vibrant innovative news,' said a spokesman for ITV.
'We will then decide how to proceed after the election and in the context of the company's ongoing strategic review. There will be no further steps taken until the election outcome is known and the position on future funding is clear. Whatever the outcome of the general election, ITV remains committed to great regional and national news and our approach to this will be part of our strategic review,' he added.
The Liberal Democrats came out in support of the government's initiative arguing that Tory plans are 'short sighted' and will not help the UK media industry.
'If regional news is to survive in the digital age, we need to think beyond business as usual,' said a spokesman for the Liberal Democrats. 'The IFNC pilots are an excellent opportunity to explore new ways of delivering regional and local news. Tory attempts to block the pilots are short sighted and will do nothing to help struggling media outlets.'
• 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'.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
"
Lindsay Lohan prompts on-air battle - Guardian
Lindsay Lohan prompts on-air battle: "
BBC3's controller, Danny Cohen, is no stranger to defending his output from critics, not least the Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan's investigation into child trafficking for the channel. Celebrities help bring in viewers to difficult topics, says Cohen. But he came in for some persistent questioning from Eddie Mair on BBC Radio 4's PM programme yesterday, which turned into the 'When Eddie Met Danny' show and had echoes of Mark Thompson's recent mauling by Paxo on Newsnight. Forget about Lohan, the issue became Cohen's absolute refusal to say anything negative about his programmes or presenters in public. Ever. Listen for yourself - the report begins at 46m 30secs. Here's a few highlights.
Eddie Mair Celebrities get you viewers don't they?
Danny Cohen Sometimes, and sometimes they don't. I mean you can do something with a celebrity and you realise they weren't the right person for that thing or they weren't quite the person that should be related to it and they don't.
EM Have you got examples of that?
DC None that I'm going to give you because I don't like criticising individual programmes and programme makers.
EM How do they get better then?
DC Well I know and my team know but I don't think it's right. I've never thought it's right to criticise in public.
EM So the people who appear on your channel, you are only prepared to say positive things about them?
DC I'll say negative things about them sometimes in private, but I won't on the radio criticise ...
EM In front of the licence payers? Aren't they paid enough to take a bit of constructive criticism in public?
DC I don't think the airwaves is the right place to do it, no. I'm happy on an individual basis to talk to people but I don't want to criticise individuals on the radio, no.
EM Is [Lindsay Lohan] any good?
DC Yeah I think she asks some good questions and I think she ...
EM But then you wouldn't tell me if she was bad by your own admission.
DC I wouldn't criticise my talent directly on the radio to you now, no.
So, folks, you will clearly have to watch it for yourself. Monkey, like Eddie, no doubt, can't wait.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
"
Bring back Play for Today, says McKellen - Telegraph
Bring back Play for Today, says McKellen: "Sir Ian McKellen has criticised the BBC for abolishing plays on television in
favour of reality TV formats."
favour of reality TV formats."
"BBC Radio's gang of Lefty comedians" - Biased BBC
"BBC Radio's gang of Lefty comedians": "Telegraph blog - Patrick West on BBC Radio comedy. He makes many of the same observations as I did in The Two Generics.
"
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
CONSPIRACY (PART2) - Biased BBC
CONSPIRACY (PART2): "Following up the COMplus post, something that those who do not work in television might not realise is that organisations that are linked to it, such as the Television Trust for the Environment (TVE) would not exist unless they were adept beggars and propagandists and because of the BBC. TVE poses as an independent production company but it is not; the organisation is only economically viable because it receives lavish support from a clutch of warmist NGOs, including WWF, Oxfam, Christian Aid and World Vision.
All of these, of course, as I noted in the original post, have a massive climate change/political agenda, and they receive funds from governments and the EU. They turn to TVE to make films (supposedly 'independent' but rigidly sticking to the warmist agenda) because it's cheaper to fund a specialist producer on a collective basis. They might not get exactly what they want, but it's damn close.
It's also true that TVE could not exist unless it had a guaranteed outlet - and the BBC has provided that certainty for 25 years. In turn, the BBC itself leeches on TVE's subsidies because it uses its capacity often, not only on regular slots like Earth Report, but also to make material for programmes such as Newsnight, where TVE's alleged 'environmental expertise' is judged to be the reason why it is qualified to make and publish such material. The reality, of course, is that the resulting programming spreads the greenie propaganda message - exactly in line with the NGO agenda. Time and time again, in such BBC programming, spokesmen for warmist NGOs appear, but sceptics never do.
Thus the BBC does far more than work with TVE. It provides it with its very lifeblood, access to airtime. In turn, the BBC - by using TVE programmes - gets access to the millions of pounds of donor cash that go to NGOs. I wonder how many of the donors that so generously give to charities such as Oxfam know how their hard-earned cash is actually being spent? To me, it's fraud on a massive scale.
"
All of these, of course, as I noted in the original post, have a massive climate change/political agenda, and they receive funds from governments and the EU. They turn to TVE to make films (supposedly 'independent' but rigidly sticking to the warmist agenda) because it's cheaper to fund a specialist producer on a collective basis. They might not get exactly what they want, but it's damn close.
It's also true that TVE could not exist unless it had a guaranteed outlet - and the BBC has provided that certainty for 25 years. In turn, the BBC itself leeches on TVE's subsidies because it uses its capacity often, not only on regular slots like Earth Report, but also to make material for programmes such as Newsnight, where TVE's alleged 'environmental expertise' is judged to be the reason why it is qualified to make and publish such material. The reality, of course, is that the resulting programming spreads the greenie propaganda message - exactly in line with the NGO agenda. Time and time again, in such BBC programming, spokesmen for warmist NGOs appear, but sceptics never do.
Thus the BBC does far more than work with TVE. It provides it with its very lifeblood, access to airtime. In turn, the BBC - by using TVE programmes - gets access to the millions of pounds of donor cash that go to NGOs. I wonder how many of the donors that so generously give to charities such as Oxfam know how their hard-earned cash is actually being spent? To me, it's fraud on a massive scale.
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
CONSPIRACY? - Biased BBC
CONSPIRACY?: "B-BBC has already established that the BBC World Service Trust is an organisation that exists mainly to spread climate change lies. Now, the redoubtable EU Referendum has gone a very important step further. The so-called trust is a founding partner of a body called COMplus, which describes itself as a 'diverse global alliance of organisations committed to scaling-up the impact of sustainable development communications through partnership and collaboration.' Thus the BBC is a prime mover in shadowy - but highly organised - international efforts to foist the greenie ethos upon us all. To add insult to injury, COMplus, surprise, surprise, is funded by your money, via the Department for International Development (and of course through WST itself).
The scale and modus operandi of this activity beggars belief, and the BBC is in every sense a key component, putting it firmly in bed with the main greenie activists around the world.Look for example, at just one of the COMplus partner organisations, the Television Trust for the Environment (TVE). Naturally, its main goal is to make greenie propaganda (the annual report is a manual about the chilling art). The main outlet is on the BBC World television service; its programmes such as Earth Report reach 172 countries and notch up audiences of 100m plus. Principal funders of TVE include the World Wildlife Fund, Christian Aid, and Oxfam - the usual suspect NGOs who, in their pursuit of climate change nonsense, have become polticial activists whose main aim is to spread the lie that the West is to blame for all the developing world ills. Predictably, TVE is run by one Cheryl Campbell, a former BBC journalist (and greenie fanatic) who was also communications chief of Christian Aid.
Also in on the act is the Reuters Foundation, which, as B-BBC also established in a previous post is the founder of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. This body is run partly by BBC journalist James Painter, a climate change activist who is a model of his type; Goebbels would have been proud of him.
Before the AGW myth was formed, I was not a great believer in conspiracies. But in every stage of investigation of climate change, there's evidence that this is a propaganda exercise on and unprecedented scale. And the BBC is at the epicentre of it all. It's no coincidence that men like snout-in-trough and ultra Blairite Stephen Byers are also involved as one of the main cheerleaders for COMplus.
Update: Hat Tip to B-BBC reader Cassandra King, who (I had not seen) had posted on this earlier; also to EU Referendum's Richard North, who told me last night about COMplus and also ensured that the previous B-BBC postings on WST were linked to his post.
"
The scale and modus operandi of this activity beggars belief, and the BBC is in every sense a key component, putting it firmly in bed with the main greenie activists around the world.Look for example, at just one of the COMplus partner organisations, the Television Trust for the Environment (TVE). Naturally, its main goal is to make greenie propaganda (the annual report is a manual about the chilling art). The main outlet is on the BBC World television service; its programmes such as Earth Report reach 172 countries and notch up audiences of 100m plus. Principal funders of TVE include the World Wildlife Fund, Christian Aid, and Oxfam - the usual suspect NGOs who, in their pursuit of climate change nonsense, have become polticial activists whose main aim is to spread the lie that the West is to blame for all the developing world ills. Predictably, TVE is run by one Cheryl Campbell, a former BBC journalist (and greenie fanatic) who was also communications chief of Christian Aid.
Also in on the act is the Reuters Foundation, which, as B-BBC also established in a previous post is the founder of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. This body is run partly by BBC journalist James Painter, a climate change activist who is a model of his type; Goebbels would have been proud of him.
Before the AGW myth was formed, I was not a great believer in conspiracies. But in every stage of investigation of climate change, there's evidence that this is a propaganda exercise on and unprecedented scale. And the BBC is at the epicentre of it all. It's no coincidence that men like snout-in-trough and ultra Blairite Stephen Byers are also involved as one of the main cheerleaders for COMplus.
Update: Hat Tip to B-BBC reader Cassandra King, who (I had not seen) had posted on this earlier; also to EU Referendum's Richard North, who told me last night about COMplus and also ensured that the previous B-BBC postings on WST were linked to his post.
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
Sympathy For The Devil's Mother-in-Law - Biased BBC
Sympathy For The Devil's Mother-in-Law: "Unbelievable. And no byline. Hat tip Pounce.
"
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
Forecast Wrong Again - Biased BBC
Forecast Wrong Again: "Via Tim Blair, a reminder of stark warnings from BBC Radio 4's Costing the Earth in 2007:
"
The Australian of the year 2007, environmentalist Tim Flannery, once predicted that Perth in Western Australia could become the world's first ghost metropolis, its population forced to abandon the city due to lack of water.Perth this week:
While some critics scoffed at this idea, there is no doubt that it has forced the city to wake up to the fact its water is running out and that it can no longer rely on its natural supply.
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
BBC asks "Why so sensitive on immigration?" - Biased BBC
BBC asks "Why so sensitive on immigration?": "From this morning's Today programme:
It's a bit rich of the BBC to suddenly start asking why politicians from the mainstream parties are reluctant to talk about immigration when the BBC itself has shown such antagonism towards those who have raised the issue in the past.
"
As the election approaches, immigration has become a primary concern for many voters but the sensitivity around it is preventing election candidates from making immigration a central issue.Could that sensitivity and reluctance perhaps have anything to do with the way the BBC has dealt with the issue in the past? When immigration - or more specifically Tory immigration policy - became a major topic during the 2005 election campaign, the Today programme responded by doing an outside broadcast (on St George's Day) from Leicester. The leader of the Conservatives on Leicester City Council was invited on to defend his party's policies; he faced a hostile audience and a clearly biased Carolyn Quinn who sided with the crowd and lobbed easy leading questions to a pro-immigration community representative.
It's a bit rich of the BBC to suddenly start asking why politicians from the mainstream parties are reluctant to talk about immigration when the BBC itself has shown such antagonism towards those who have raised the issue in the past.
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
Tuesday 23 March 2010
BBC is not just ageist against women, says John Simpson - The Independent
BBC is not just ageist against women, says John Simpson: "
"
He once claimed to have liberated Kabul. Now, John Simpson is facing a different kind of war much closer to home: ageism at the BBC. Many female correspondents have railed against age discrimination and now it is the turn of the men. 'There are not many of us left,' said Simpson, the Corporation's 65-year-old world affairs editor. 'We have mostly died out or retired. I'm certainly the oldest person in the BBC newsroom.'
 |  |
BBC under fire for putting Weakest Link Anne Robinson in £1,500-a-night luxury Glasgow hotel - Daily Mail
BBC under fire for putting Weakest Link Anne Robinson in £1,500-a-night luxury Glasgow hotel: "
The BBC was embroiled in another row after it emerged presenter Anne Robinson has been staying at one of Britain’s most luxurious hotels while recording The Weakest Link."
The BBC was embroiled in another row after it emerged presenter Anne Robinson has been staying at one of Britain’s most luxurious hotels while recording The Weakest Link."
BBC defends 18-hour sports blitz after dropping popular entertainment programmes - Daily Mail
BBC defends 18-hour sports blitz after dropping popular entertainment programmes: "
On Saturday, football and back-to-back Six Nations rugby matches took over the schedule, with almost 13 hours of continuous coverage."
On Saturday, football and back-to-back Six Nations rugby matches took over the schedule, with almost 13 hours of continuous coverage."
EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Why would the BBC ask U.S. actress Lindsay Lohan to present a child exploitation documentary?
EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Why would the BBC ask U.S. actress Lindsay Lohan to present a child exploitation documentary?: "
BBC3 controller Danny Cohen says Lohan, 23, 'fits our reach and remit perfectly'. But Radio Times calls it 'a crass pairing even though her presence will doubtless double the audience for such a critical issue'."
BBC3 controller Danny Cohen says Lohan, 23, 'fits our reach and remit perfectly'. But Radio Times calls it 'a crass pairing even though her presence will doubtless double the audience for such a critical issue'."
BBC One has fewer presenters over 50 than ITV - Telegraph
BBC One has fewer presenters over 50 than ITV: "The BBC has come under renewed criticism for ageism after a study showed that
only one in five of BBC One's presenters are over 50, compared to one in
four for ITV1."
only one in five of BBC One's presenters are over 50, compared to one in
four for ITV1."
Sir David Jason accuses BBC of 'empire building' at expense of programmes - Telegraph
Sir David Jason accuses BBC of 'empire building' at expense of programmes: "Sir David Jason has accused the BBC of 'empire building' and said it should
concentrate on making dramas and comedy programmes."
concentrate on making dramas and comedy programmes."
Lindsay Lohan needed to create interest in 'poverty' docs, says BBC boss - Telegraph
Lindsay Lohan needed to create interest in 'poverty' docs, says BBC boss: "The only way to get young people interested in documentaries about poverty is
to get celebrities to present them, according to the controller of BBC3."
to get celebrities to present them, according to the controller of BBC3."
PIE IN THE SKY... - Biased BBC
PIE IN THE SKY...: "You've got to hand it to the BBC. They won't give up one some things - and especially their relentless advocacy of AGW. No matter what the facts, they will twist them. Take this item, on wind power on Orkney. It's one long commercial for the joys of 'renewables', an ode to the importance of us all buckling down and accepting these bird-chopping, landscape-defacing monstrosities. Notice that the one thing missing from the article is the 's' word, the elephant in the room: subsidy. The author recounts how the community will benefit by £200,000 a year from their new toy, but he fails to spell out that without the government's huge subsidies for wind power, wind turbines would be prohibitively expensive. Notice, too, that there is no mention of another vital issue - that the wind is so unreliable as a source of power that no matter how much propaganda is spread about the benefits,it will never, ever, be able to provide anything but a small fraction of our overall power needs. But eh,ho, it's a nice patronising story about country folk doing nice greenie things. And that's all that matters to the BBC.
"
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
Nasty Party Narrative Dusted Off - Biased BBC
Nasty Party Narrative Dusted Off: "Matt Frei:
Funny, I assumed from decades of BBC coverage that the Republicans were already America's nasty party. Judging by Frei's warning it would appear that there's room to crank up the anti-Republican rhetoric even higher.
"
Funny, I assumed from decades of BBC coverage that the Republicans were already America's nasty party. Judging by Frei's warning it would appear that there's room to crank up the anti-Republican rhetoric even higher.
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
Budget2010: The LiveChat! - Biased BBC
Budget2010: The LiveChat!: "
On Wednesday afternoon at 12:30pm here on Biased-BBC we will be live blogging the last Budget before the General Election. The Budget will be carried on all major television channels except for BBC1 which will be showing Bargain Hunt (no, really!).
Importantly for us here on Biased-BBC, we will be looking carefully at the different ways that channels report and editorialise the announcements. We'll be able to compare, for the first time here, one event reported several ways in a live environment. Good for bias checkers as well as important for everyone who pays tax in the UK.
The Chancellor’s speech will certainly be a political affair rather than a fiscal exercise, so we can expect plenty of unaffordable goodies deferred until after the Election with a challenge issued to the Conservatives to oppose them.
This chat will be a collaboration between A Tangled Web, All Seeing Eye, Barking Spider, Biased-BBC, Corrugated Soundbite, Dick Puddlecote, Governmentitus, GrumpyOldTwat(thanks for the pic!), Man Widdecombe, and Subrosa - all excellent and highly recommended blogs. If you haven't been to some of them before then please take this chance to try them out.
From Biased-BBC, All Seeing Eye and David Mosque will be in the moderators chair so it'll feel just like our regular Question Time evenings. To catch the live blogging, come back here on Wednesday, March 24th just after noon.
"
On Wednesday afternoon at 12:30pm here on Biased-BBC we will be live blogging the last Budget before the General Election. The Budget will be carried on all major television channels except for BBC1 which will be showing Bargain Hunt (no, really!).
Importantly for us here on Biased-BBC, we will be looking carefully at the different ways that channels report and editorialise the announcements. We'll be able to compare, for the first time here, one event reported several ways in a live environment. Good for bias checkers as well as important for everyone who pays tax in the UK.
The Chancellor’s speech will certainly be a political affair rather than a fiscal exercise, so we can expect plenty of unaffordable goodies deferred until after the Election with a challenge issued to the Conservatives to oppose them.
This chat will be a collaboration between A Tangled Web, All Seeing Eye, Barking Spider, Biased-BBC, Corrugated Soundbite, Dick Puddlecote, Governmentitus, GrumpyOldTwat(thanks for the pic!), Man Widdecombe, and Subrosa - all excellent and highly recommended blogs. If you haven't been to some of them before then please take this chance to try them out.
From Biased-BBC, All Seeing Eye and David Mosque will be in the moderators chair so it'll feel just like our regular Question Time evenings. To catch the live blogging, come back here on Wednesday, March 24th just after noon.
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
SPHERES OF INFLUENCE... - Biased BBC
SPHERES OF INFLUENCE...: "Oxfam, one of the BBC's favourite political organisations - spreading dissension and hate in the name of climate change - has spent megabucks of donor cash (no doubt given in the mistaken belief that it would help the poor)in a project to try and understand how the blogsphere supports sceptical thought about the causes of warming. In so doing, it's drawn up this diagram (with the heading 'how to combat sceptics') showing the 'pro' and 'anti' sides. Guess which organisation is at the centre of the 'pro' side? There's dear old auntie, right next to the Guardian, the New York Times and the World Bank. I suppose this only confirms what we already know - but now it's official. The greenie fanatics know exactly what they are doing and they know that the BBC is a an ultra-safe pair of hands and friend, ready to do their bidding and puff any alarmist press release that's spewed their way.
"
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
Hopin' For Change - Biased BBC
Hopin' For Change: "On BBC Radio world service yesterday Jon Donnison reported Ban Ki-moon’s depressing reaction to his Gaza visit. Somewhere along the line someone has used the word ‘medieval’ in connection with Gaza, language modelled on Michael Buerk’s iconic ‘Scene of Biblical Proportions’ speech.
This emotive word must have appealed to the BBC; it appeared again and again in various news bulletins.
Jon Donnison’s report contained the parts of Mr. Ban’s statement that were critical of Israel with particular emphasis on Israel’s denial of permission to import concrete and the continuing state of disrepair of Palestinian houses.
A news bulletin that was broadcast immediately afterwards included the bit in Mr. Ban’s speech about recognising Israel’s need for security.
The juxtaposition of these two reports delivered a perfect example of bias by omission. The exclusion from Jon Donnison’s report of the only bit in Mr. Ban’s statement that was vaguely supportive of Israel was highlighted by its inclusion in the news bulletin that came next.
By ignoring the matter of security for Israel, Jon Donnison’s report exaggerated Mr. Ban’s already biased condemnation of Israel and provided a fairly typical example of the way the BBC’s reporting meddles with public opinion.
Another small but subliminally emotive trick was the ambiguous sentence “Israel only allows in limited humanitarian aid.”
That could either mean Israel cruelly deprives Palestinians of sustenance by only letting in some of the vital humanitarian aid, or, with the addition of a comma or two, it could mean that it lets in vital humanitarian aid but nothing more; nearer to the truth I think.
***
Robin Shepherd invites readers to suggest a way forward.
Most contributors realise that unless Israel is confident of going it entirely alone, without outside support of any description, they need urgently to address ‘getting the message across.’
That would necessitate a massive change of direction from the BBC.
Firstly to allow the public access to full and fair information.
Secondly, to put a stop to interviewers behaving like adversarial inquisitors when they’re trying to bring forth vital and illuminating information from someone like the mayor of Jerusalem. Justin Webb was positively discourteous this morning. Who does he think he is? Jeremy Paxman?
I would have no objection to Justin Webb putting the other side of the argument to Nir Barkat, but first he must fully comprehend the background, get the facts straight and allow the discussion the breathing space it needed.
Robin Shepherd’s newest post links to Charles Krauthammer’s JPost article. If Justin Webb were to read that article before jumping in with his inquisitorial attacks, he might be equipped to conduct an interview with an Israeli spokesperson.
The power of telly is such that Delia Smith only needed to make a passing reference to some ingredient or other to start a stampede at the supermarket. If the BBC were to give more air time to people like Douglas Murray, and commission Robin Shepherd to make a documentary or two it might go some way to undo what has been done.
But people are being kept ignorant, and the puzzle is whether it’s through malevolence or stupidity.
"
This emotive word must have appealed to the BBC; it appeared again and again in various news bulletins.
Jon Donnison’s report contained the parts of Mr. Ban’s statement that were critical of Israel with particular emphasis on Israel’s denial of permission to import concrete and the continuing state of disrepair of Palestinian houses.
A news bulletin that was broadcast immediately afterwards included the bit in Mr. Ban’s speech about recognising Israel’s need for security.
The juxtaposition of these two reports delivered a perfect example of bias by omission. The exclusion from Jon Donnison’s report of the only bit in Mr. Ban’s statement that was vaguely supportive of Israel was highlighted by its inclusion in the news bulletin that came next.
By ignoring the matter of security for Israel, Jon Donnison’s report exaggerated Mr. Ban’s already biased condemnation of Israel and provided a fairly typical example of the way the BBC’s reporting meddles with public opinion.
Another small but subliminally emotive trick was the ambiguous sentence “Israel only allows in limited humanitarian aid.”
That could either mean Israel cruelly deprives Palestinians of sustenance by only letting in some of the vital humanitarian aid, or, with the addition of a comma or two, it could mean that it lets in vital humanitarian aid but nothing more; nearer to the truth I think.
***
Robin Shepherd invites readers to suggest a way forward.
Most contributors realise that unless Israel is confident of going it entirely alone, without outside support of any description, they need urgently to address ‘getting the message across.’
That would necessitate a massive change of direction from the BBC.
Firstly to allow the public access to full and fair information.
Secondly, to put a stop to interviewers behaving like adversarial inquisitors when they’re trying to bring forth vital and illuminating information from someone like the mayor of Jerusalem. Justin Webb was positively discourteous this morning. Who does he think he is? Jeremy Paxman?
I would have no objection to Justin Webb putting the other side of the argument to Nir Barkat, but first he must fully comprehend the background, get the facts straight and allow the discussion the breathing space it needed.
Robin Shepherd’s newest post links to Charles Krauthammer’s JPost article. If Justin Webb were to read that article before jumping in with his inquisitorial attacks, he might be equipped to conduct an interview with an Israeli spokesperson.
The power of telly is such that Delia Smith only needed to make a passing reference to some ingredient or other to start a stampede at the supermarket. If the BBC were to give more air time to people like Douglas Murray, and commission Robin Shepherd to make a documentary or two it might go some way to undo what has been done.
But people are being kept ignorant, and the puzzle is whether it’s through malevolence or stupidity.
Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
Carrying on a long tradition - Biased BBC
Carrying on a long tradition: "File under 'Bears shit in the woods' - Dr Who luvvie hates the Tories.
Becoming part of the Dr Who team must be similar to joining The People's Front of Judea:
'Can I join Dr Who?'
'No. Piss off.'
'But I hate the Tories as much as anybody.'
'Are you sure?'
'Oh, dead sure. I hate the Tories already.'
'Listen, if you wanted to join Dr Who, you'd have to really hate the Tories.'
'I do.'
'Oh yeah? How much?'
'A lot!'
(Pause) 'Right. You're in. But first, we might have another little job for you. How d'you fancy writing an episode of Basil Brush?'
"
Becoming part of the Dr Who team must be similar to joining The People's Front of Judea:
'Can I join Dr Who?'
'No. Piss off.'
'But I hate the Tories as much as anybody.'
'Are you sure?'
'Oh, dead sure. I hate the Tories already.'
'Listen, if you wanted to join Dr Who, you'd have to really hate the Tories.'
'I do.'
'Oh yeah? How much?'
'A lot!'
(Pause) 'Right. You're in. But first, we might have another little job for you. How d'you fancy writing an episode of Basil Brush?'
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HOT AIR (AGAIN) - Biased BBC
HOT AIR (AGAIN): "Put together a potty, unneccessary EU directive abour air quality, an EU-fanatical greenie nutter like Tim Yeo, and the BBC, and what do you get? A well-tried formula of alarmism warning us that unless we stop keeping ourselves warm with nasty power stations, refrain from using petrol, and wind down our industrial base completely, we're all gonna die. One thing missing from the equation? Recent peer-reviewed research that shows that all the scare stories about air-borne pollutants should be taken with a huge pinch of salt, and that claims of massive death tolls from the type of matter involved in the EU directive are abject nonsense. But that, of course, can't be mentioned because it would spoilt the political agenda; the boys and girls at the BBC want to send us all back to the greenie idyll of the stone age.
Oh, and build thousands of wind farms to replace the pollutant-belching fossil-fuel power stations. Ignoring completely the fact that they are hugely expensive, subsidy-guzzling monstrosities that don't work.
Update: apologies, but this last link didn't work when the blog was first posted, but it should do now.
"
Oh, and build thousands of wind farms to replace the pollutant-belching fossil-fuel power stations. Ignoring completely the fact that they are hugely expensive, subsidy-guzzling monstrosities that don't work.
Update: apologies, but this last link didn't work when the blog was first posted, but it should do now.
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Nasty Nasty Breeeetish - Biased BBC
Nasty Nasty Breeeetish: "Or, as the BBC more prosaically put it yesterday, 'Lethal landmine legacy from battle of El Alamein'; accompanied by a picture of two blokes, a flock of sheep, several buildings, some power lines with masts and a tree - and captioned 'featureless'. So why the sudden interest 68 years down the line?
Right, that'll be the time we saved all of Europe from the Germans, the Italians and their allies but let's not worry about that small factoid because we're about to find out who the real villain of the Second World War is.
You've found one *just one* person to feature in the story and it's an injured 11 year old girl who likes football. Brilliant. Her father chips in:
You've had sheep in those fields for 68 years and only now there's a problem? Could this article be leading somewhere? Enough! Someone must be responsible! Name names, BBC, we demand it!
Yay! It's our fault!Perhaps we could apologise and pay them some...
....damn, they got there before me. So remind us all again, why did we send tanks into North Africa in the early 1940's? Without drawing breath the article informs us:
Ah yes, Churchill was testing the waters for the whole turn of the century invading-countries-for-oil thingy. And we have 'Evil Capitalist Pigs Caught Only Clearing Some Mines Shocker'.
Christian Fraser has been fed a plea for cash because the Germans and Italians haven't been daft enough to fall for it. The BBC swallows the whole thing in one gulp. If only the other side in those battles had a self-loathing media as naive as ours then they too could enjoy journalism of this standard.
"
The battle of El Alamein was a turning point in World War II but the unexploded munitions it left behind continue to kill and maim the local population, as Christian Fraser reports from Egypt.
Right, that'll be the time we saved all of Europe from the Germans, the Italians and their allies but let's not worry about that small factoid because we're about to find out who the real villain of the Second World War is.
...no country is prepared to accept responsibility for owning or laying the unexploded ordnance. Who then is to blame for the maiming of 11-year-old Mawa?
You've found one *just one* person to feature in the story and it's an injured 11 year old girl who likes football. Brilliant. Her father chips in:
"I used to have sheep but I had to sell them because the children refuse to go to the fields now because they're too dangerous.
You've had sheep in those fields for 68 years and only now there's a problem? Could this article be leading somewhere? Enough! Someone must be responsible! Name names, BBC, we demand it!
'Psychologically and economically we have been badly affected. And we've had no compensation.' The detonator could have been of Italian or German origin but Abdulaziz blames the British. "It was their battle," he said. "They brought the war to Egypt."
Yay! It's our fault!Perhaps we could apologise and pay them some...
Now though, a group representing some 660 registered injured is compiling a formal dossier to bolster claims for compensation.
....damn, they got there before me. So remind us all again, why did we send tanks into North Africa in the early 1940's? Without drawing breath the article informs us:
The region is rich in natural resources. There is a huge amount of natural gas that lies buried underground and the Egyptian government suggests there could be 4.8bn barrels of oil, potentially doubling the country's existing reserves.
Ah yes, Churchill was testing the waters for the whole turn of the century invading-countries-for-oil thingy. And we have 'Evil Capitalist Pigs Caught Only Clearing Some Mines Shocker'.
International oil companies that have cleared their own access roads through the mines have already been rewarded with considerable finds.
Christian Fraser has been fed a plea for cash because the Germans and Italians haven't been daft enough to fall for it. The BBC swallows the whole thing in one gulp. If only the other side in those battles had a self-loathing media as naive as ours then they too could enjoy journalism of this standard.
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sotto voce - Biased BBC
sotto voce: "As Craig and Cassandra have been pointing out in the comments, the Beeb have been subtly downplaying the cash for influence scandal of senior Labour figures. First there's the fact that the headline to their article says 'Ministers attack 'MPs for hire''. Ah, so senior Government figures are on the side of the angels then? The Gvt is acting decisively? What exactly is 'for hire?' Is that anything like soliciting bribes? Then it's noticeable that only one of the miscreants, Stephen Byers, is even identified directly as a Labour MP in the article. Moreover, they are described as 'ex' ministers- for whose actions it would surely be churlish to blame the Gummint; be rather like a husband being blamed for his ex-wife's behaviour, wouldn't it? How about 'senior Labour figures caught in bribery scandal'? How about 'three senior Labour former ministers have been caught in a sting operation soliciting payments for influence. These are Stephen Byers, Labour MP for... who was minister of..., Patricia Hewitt, Labour MP for... who was minister of... and Geoff Hoon, Labour MP for... who was minister of...'
I've only talked here about the framing sentences of the BBC article. The rest is rather detailed detail. By the time they get to it readers will have given up the will, and just be glad that 'due process' is being followed and isn't it wonderful our media is able to bang to rights those grubby 'not Gordon's Labour but ex- Labour' types.
Incidentally, it's no surprise that washed up pols peddle influence for cash- but then it wasn't back in '97 either ands that's when the BBC was washing down 'things can only get better' with flutes of champagne.
"
I've only talked here about the framing sentences of the BBC article. The rest is rather detailed detail. By the time they get to it readers will have given up the will, and just be glad that 'due process' is being followed and isn't it wonderful our media is able to bang to rights those grubby 'not Gordon's Labour but ex- Labour' types.
Incidentally, it's no surprise that washed up pols peddle influence for cash- but then it wasn't back in '97 either ands that's when the BBC was washing down 'things can only get better' with flutes of champagne.
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