You’re on the ropes on inheritance tax. You need to take over the news agenda. What do you do? Get your bruiser of a spin doctor to phone up Nick Robinson and tell him some troops might, at some indeterminate time in the future, just possibly, be pulled out of Iraq. Sure enough, it becomes the lead item on the BBC News bulletins with copious use of the phrase “The BBC has learned”. Strictly speaking that is true. But a more accurate way of putting it would be “The BBC has been spun a line and has fallen for it”
And he’s right about that damn phrase “The BBC has learned…”. Why can’t we have the news without constant BBC horn-tooting throughout?
Update (7.20pm): I meant to add a great line from Biased BBC reader Ashley Pomeroy, commenting last night on BBC Views Online’s then top story, PM considers cut in Basra troops:
It’s bafflingly vague and limp – there’s no real story at all. It’s just a trailer for a possible announcement of something that might not happen. A cynic might think that the government has spun up some spurious nonsense in order to spoil the Conservative Party conference; and that the BBC, dazzled by having some insider information, has spun out the government’s spin. The more I think about Nick Robinson, the more I think of a little clockwork toy bashing its head into the sideboard, and rebounding, and bashing its head again, with a silly little grin over its face, wagging its tail etc.
This afternoon on News 24 one BBC journalist after another raised the ‘spin’ or manipulation angle in relation to Brown’s timing of the Iraq troop reductions.
So no-one at the BBC has ‘fallen for it’ in the slightest.
The ‘withdrawal’ was the number one item on the One O’Clock news today. It was also the lead item overnight on BBC Views Online, and of course was on last night’s Ten in the style Iain Dale relates.
Fortunately it looks like Nick Robinson et al have wised up in time for the Six O’Clock News, just begun as I write.
What was that Churchill quote about a lie being half way around the world before the truth has got its boots on?
I’d say James Hardy (BBC) has fallen for Brown….
Withdrawing troops ‘a neat trick’
By James Hardy
Political correspondent, BBC News
“It was a gesture typical of a politician renowned during his days as chancellor for pulling unlikely economic rabbits out of his budget-day hat.
Note the picture caption “Did Mr Brown work his magic?”
Excuse me while I puke….
Well he worked his spell on the lefties at the BBC.
This is just great. Read the story then wonder WHY the BBC chose to use that quote from Cameron
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7023735.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7024595.stm
“Ever the showman, Gordon Brown, produced with a flourish a surprise Christmas present for the British Army.”
Oh yeah?
Like when he made a one-off cut in Council Tax for pensioners just before the 2005 general election? That wasn’t showmanship; that was a cynical election bribe.
And what about the remaining 4,500 troops? Will they able to defend themselves adequately? What sort of “Christmas present” will these members of the British Army receive?
Since when has Brown been a “showman” anyway? I thought he was ‘dour’?
And is ‘James Hardy’ Nick ‘Arslikhan’ Assinder in disguise?
Withdrawal my a**e. Our troops have effectively been defeated in Basra, and have been forced to flee to the airport, miles outside the city. Why are none of the MSM admitting this?
Ritter,
As fawning as James Hardy’s article appears at least it doesn’t pull it’s punch on the matter of counting half the troop withdrawl twice.
It also isn’t afraid to call the move a ‘trick’. Though I cannot work out who Hardy is quoting for the headline. At best he appears to be paraphrasing himself.
Something that doesn’t quite compute regarding Iain Dale’s article is that it was posted in the wee hours of this morning. Prior knowledge of a PM visiting a warzone should not really have been available for security reasons.
Just watched the six o’clock news – seemed to me that Brown’s spin was shown up fairly and squarely. Nick Robinson’s report pulled no punches. I was actually impressed. Contrasted with C4 who tried their best to bat for Brown. To be fair – I think the BBC – somewhat rather late in the day – have now got round to some decent reporting. Sure it won’t last…
Gareth, the notion of a troop cut was afoot last night, in time for the Ten, courtesy of Brown’s spin machine. News of his trip emerged today.
Oscar, tend to agree – see my earlier comment. Let’s see see how the counter-counter-spin spinners spin things for tonight’s Ten.
How much coverage is BBC TV news giving to the Tory conference today?? About nothing!!! A bit strange (or predictable from the BBC) considering the response that Liam Fox gave, to Broon’s tasteless excercise in spin, at the conference today. And uttlerly failing in the concept of fair representation, as usual, especially as there might be an election called soon!!!
Brown has been allowed to steal the BBC’s gaze, how nice of the Beeb to oblige!
Best of all, I beat Iain Dale by three hours. Take that Iain Dale. It wasn’t so much the troop cuts that struck me, or the announcement of the troop cuts; it was the fact that the story was an announcement of a possible announcement of a possible decision.
I notice that the story I referenced has been extensively rewritten. The second half is very different and more thorough, whereas the original literally ended with a series of paragraphs prefaced or suffixed by “our correspondent said” and “said our correspondent”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7023176.stm
How much coverage is BBC TV news giving to the Tory conference today?? About nothing!!!
You’re right – it’s an absolute disgrace. I’ve just been reading about IDS speech which sounds very impressive. But absolutely no coverage of it on the BBC. And it’s about all the issues the BBC are supposed to care about. What’s emerging (as far as I can work out not being in Blackpool) is that the conservatives have a really fine, heavy weight front bench – a real team – not just a ‘leader’ surrounded by a bunch of stage managed midgets. But the BBC aren’t about to let the public know that.
Shocking! That would mean that Labour politicians are actually behaving like politicians?
Say it ain’t so!
Meanwhile in other news: Pope “discovered to be Catholic”. US Park Rangers admit woodlands seen as “prime location for ursine defacation”.
Yes. Shame the BBC didn’t point out that most of the troops being removed from Iraq are going to……. AFGHANISTAN.
Andrew,
I saw some of Newsnight last night and have rewatched it to refresh my memory.
Mark Urban’s piece on this matter was less then 4 minutes long, said nothing of substance and glossed over the surprising lack of violence (relatively speaking) despite it being Ramadan. It stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the show. What it did say was that there would be an announcment about troop numbers next week.
What puzzles me is vague mutterings yesterday evening, about a troop reduction of 2000 by the middle of next year, are a million miles away from the PM visiting Iraq this morning to make an announcement and the real (pretend) figure turning out to be half that.(And in actual practice half again, with no guarantee all extra 500 would be home for Christmas.).
What cynical BBC coverage there has been, has been a pleasant surprise. Perhaps it was a spin too far even for them.
We may be being a mite hard on the PM.Perhaps it is more of a strategic decision to remove our men from Basra and Brown was forced to spin it before it becomes obvious.Things look very dangerous in that region indeed and our troops are in an exposed and very hard to defend position.we will have to wait and see but i would not be surprised at anything.Sorry to be crptic but work it out for yourselves.
Bob Ainsworth got a rough ride from Paxman last night.
Of the 1000 troops to come home, half were announced earlier in the year and half of that half are already home. Of the other 500, they aren’t in Iraq, they’re in Germany. They just won’t be going to Iraq in the first place.
Oscar | 02.10.07 – 8:34 pm |
What rubbish you are writing about the BBC ‘not covering’ this or that.
The BBC is broadcasting all of the speeches at the conference – and is I think the only media group to do so.
John Reith:
“What rubbish you are writing about the BBC ‘not covering’ this or that.
The BBC is broadcasting all of the speeches at the conference – and is I think the only media group to do so.”
Gasp! Can’t. Stop. Laughing. He really believes this rubbish doesn’t he? Broadcasting all the speeches? Get away! 😎
“The BBC is broadcasting all of the speeches at the conference” is true, up to a point – i.e. that BBC Parliament has covered all the speeches, so those with Freeview etc. can see them, if they are interested enough and if they make the effort to watch the speeches live or get lucky watching out of hours.
Coverage during news bulletins, where most people get their news, is, of course, another matter entirely.