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Kevin Myers has written a sterling article on the BBC’s coverage of Northern Ireland. Some might say that the BBC’s coverage of terrorism in that country is the prototype for their muddled and misguided coverage of terrorism worldwide.
Myers has some harsh logic for those who see BBC bias as insignificant, who preach that it’s not worth getting uppity over Aunty and her wee antics:
‘We really shouldn’t be too surprised by anything the BBC does these days: the Dyke legacy has taken a terrible toll, and so there is no point in being angered by what we see on our screens. After all, it’s only television, isn’t it? Except it’s not.’
‘One of the central and abiding problems of Northern Ireland is the role of perception in influencing politics. For the BBC to be subsidising a Sinn Fein version of the history of the Troubles isn’t merely wrong in itself, but is profoundly irresponsible, a kind of down payment on further conflict in the future.’
Following this theme up, here’s a post I found at A Tangled Web, agreeing with Myers in no uncertain terms:
‘I have yet to see a BBC drama illustrating Provo detritus in a poor light. Everything is done to facilitate the maximisation of republican interpretations of history relating to the Province. The majority of the population in Ulster is pro-Union; thus, the majority of licence payers in the Province will also be pro-Union. When are they going to get something in return for the extortion which passes for the BBC licence fee?’
Well, the Republicans were never big fans of the ultimate glamourisation of the IRA by those in Hollywood even though that made them out to be something other than cold blooded killers. Brad Pitt etc. I’m not sure they are fans of the beeb.
Myers article is flawed as the RUC clearly was involved in shoot to kill policies, torture, collusion and more. Didn’t Sir John Stevens find them at fault recently?? I didn’t see the programme, but it doesn’t surprise me that bent coppers in Northern Ireland or the rest of the UK get cast as the baddies. Did you watch Simon Ford’s documentaries??
Whereas the IRA were saints and did not hurt anyone?
It is not being argued that the conflict got dirty and, as in all conflicts, it is not possible to control the actions of all participants.
It is being argued that one side is usually presented in a favourable light. Whereas one is usually presented in an unflattering light.
It is being argued that one side is usually presented in a favourable light. Whereas one is usually presented in an unflattering light.
On the other hand, the IRA were/are very clearly a bunch of murderous thugs, while the RUC was an arm of the democratically elected government of the UK.
“Murderous thugs commit thuggish murder” is somewhat less interesting, newsworthy and dramatization-worthy than “Agents of the state commit thuggish murder”. So it’s reasonable for the media to concentrate more on outrages committed by the later.
I understand that the BBC Charter demands ‘balance’ in its programmes, something it has failed to do in its coverage of NI for years.
The BBC has pursued a United Ireland policy for many years. It takes every opportunity to stress all Ireland contexts. It even has an all Ireland correspondent despite the vast and obvious discontinuities in political life between the North and the South. For some reason it seems to think it has to give equal prominence to the Republic of Ireland football team when the “Home nations” play.
Its drama department has always favoured the republican slant.
It has never given any weight to such issues as the driving out of Protestants from Southern Ireland after partition.
The simple truth about the island of Ireland is that there are two separate political communities on that island. They no more have to be joined in one polity than does Scotland have to be joined to England because they share the same island.
Geography is no subsitute for community.
David Field
Hi Lee, I didn’t say the IRA were not terrorists or murderers, but stated the Telegraph article is flawed, which it is as the RUC were involved in collusion and murder from top to bottom.
Like I said, the BBC does seem to have something against the police in general. Simon Ford’s panorama seemed to suggest police officers had killed a black man with the most scant evidence I have ever seen. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/3624407.stm This is more of an indictment of the BBCs attitude to the police than any drama.
As it happens I would like to see more evidence to suggest the BBC were always favourable to the IRA. I seem to remember they were called terrorists while every murder of a catholic was a retalliation killing. I don’t remember Paxman or the rest giving Sinn Fein an easy time either.
“So it’s reasonable for the media to concentrate more on outrages committed by the later.”
I disagree. As Fintan O’Toole pointed out in the Irish Times, the IRA killed 73 children under the age of 18. How many did the RUC kill?
The IRA killed building workers on their way home. How about the RUC?
The IRA killed shoppers having cups of tea, female census form collectors, young couples drinking in Birmingham pubs, mothers going to a fish and chip shop, and those honouring the dead of two world wars. How many did the RUC kill in those groups?
How long will we wait for dramatists to make a production about the reality of IRA terror at licence-payers expense?
(Thanks to Eoghan Harris for alerting me to the above stats.)
The suggestion that the Royal Ulster Constabulary was ” involved in collusion and murder from top to bottom” is scandalous. The RUC lost three hundred and two officers to the murdering terrorists who the BBC see fit to eulogise as men of peace in both their sickening fiction and news stories – not sure if there is a difference between this.
Kevin Myers is spot on in his analysis of the anti-British pro-Republican bent of Auntie Beeb – these self-loathers have made it into an art-form.
David:
The reason the BBC focus on Southern Ireland just as much as the UK FIFA members is because almost all of the Southern Ireland team consists of British players who have an ancestor from Southern Ireland from two or three generations back.
(FIFA rules are strange that way; Owen Hargreaves could have played international football for something like four countries — England, Wales, Canada, or Germany.)
Hi David Vance, well to back up my scandalous claims I can cite the Stevens inquiry as well as United Nations reports. Of course these are dismissed as proving only isolated cases of collusion by those who don’t find collusion so scandalous. I doubt you are very fond of Sir John Stalker who despite finding clear evidence of the RUC chief constables involvement in killings was arrested himself by the security forces. If that doesn’t indicate top to bottom murderous activity in the RUC I don’t know what does. He was obstructed by security forces in his investigation just as Stevens said he was.
Anyway, like the Royal Irish Regiment, another section of the security forces in Northern Ireland riddled with collusion and murder, the RUC is history. Given their record of passing hit lists to loyalist terrorist murderers who they were involved with that has to be a good thing.
Francis,
John Stalker was knighted? And arrested?
I recall his suspension and the investigation of his pal Kevin Taylor, but I didn’t know he had been arrested – please tell me more.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/22/newsid_2535000/2535029.stm
Sorry, perhaps my memory serves me wrong, although he was certainly alleged to have links with criminals in Manchester and was questioned by police at the time. all this seemingly to discredit him. In his book I seem to remember him recounting one interview where they had so little on him they even went back to his childhood and questioned him about stealing a bag of potatoes.
Hi Francis,
The United Nations, eh? Well, I suppose they would recognise a terrorist or two seeing as how they are run by terrorists.
The Stephens Report does not prove anything of the sort – and I challenge you to provide evidence for your allegation.
The RUC, like the UDR and the B Specials before that, served this nation proudly in the face of hateful IRA brutality. It is to the eternal shame of the UK Government that it betrayed the RUC in order to appease the IRA…but then, it is not the first time that a British Government chose craven appeasement to muscular defence.
Well, there’s that little matter of Brian Nelson and the force research unit assiting him. Colonel Kerr, the head of the FRU was even shown to have lied in court for Nelson.
How about Ken Barrett who plead guilty today? Didn’t he state explicitly on Panorama that “The peelers” gave him assistance to murder Pat Finucane. Oh I’m sorry, that murder doesn’t count does it. You say on your website that Finucance was a relative of an IRA member so was “a different kettle of fish from innocent victims of the slaughter”
Extending that logic makes many members of the RUC and UDR legitimate targets since their colleagues passed information to and in some cases were members of terrorist groups. I guess terrorist murder isn’t such a bad thing then if your victim isn’t like, proper innocent.
Francis,
I say nothing of the sort – revisit the site and you will see your error.
The problem is that Irish republicans, the most oppressed people ever in the history of the world, like to pretend that the British Government and the forces of law and order were JUST as bad as the IRA. This moral equivocation is at the heart of the matter. The likes of the BBC boldly participate in this disgusting charade. That is the point of Kevin Meyers’ article and it is the point that you studiously avoid. One wonders why?
Indeed, my error. No I haven’t avoided the point at all. There were many brave members of the RUC and UDR who tracked down loyalist and Republican terrorists at great risk to their own lives and many who died in the line of duty.
Myers stated in so many words that the RUC were not involved in murderous activity and that is what I have a problem with. I would never compare the RUC to the IRA. As far as I know the IRA wouldn’t give you any shot at a fair trial and always carried out the death sentence. Don’t take half of my argument and assume you know what I avoid and think.
My point still stands. Given the stalker and Stevens investigations it is not scandalous to say the RUC were involved in murderous activity from top to bottom.
Frances,
Thanks for acknowledging the erronerous claim.
We’ll not agree on this but we can agree on your second sentence.
Fighting terrorism, anywhere, is tough. Errors are made – but from my perspective, the terrorists carry culpability – be it in Belfast, Jenin, Baghdad, or Kabul.
Returning to the point of the article which was not whether the IRA or the RUC was more wicked.
The whole structure of the BBC is designed to ensure that the licence payer gets no say in BBC policy. Only when it is reformed will they “get something in return for the extortion which passes for the BBC licence fee”.
That’s the whole problem