: Having ignored former BBC Governor Dame Pauline Neville-Jones’ devastating broadside in last week’s Mail on Sunday, this week they managed to include Jeff Randall’s article from the Sunday Telegraph, All the BBC needs is proper management, and then ignored an article from Monday’s Daily Mail, Faked footage, rigged votes and a culture of bias. No wonder we’ve lost faith in the BBC, where Melanie Phillips goes to town on a number of BBC issues.
What is the point of BBC in the news if it’s dishonest and partial in reporting genuine cases of BBC in the news?
And again we must ask, why has the option for the public (the people who pay for the BBC) to comment on BBC in the news been removed?
What are The Editors so afraid of that justifies such evasiveness?
Excellent article by Phillips, at last the MSM are starting to articulate the concerns many of us hold regarding the inate left wing bias of the bbc and how that is inconpatible with the receipt of public funds.
BTW , there is an excellent clip bbcpioneers.htm in the comments collumn on the Sith piece on Guido. Suggest you all send it to your MP.
Andrew
You, of all people, should appreciate the distinction between BBC in the News and BBC in the Views.
Both Dame Pauline’s and Mel’s contributions were very much the latter category.
Apologies if this has appeared elsewhere.
The blame game – http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_cox/2007/10/the_blame_game.html
Just wanted to share. It seemed this was a good place, and time, to do it.
As one who simply wants a quality national broadcaster with professional standards and a commitment to good journalism*, I am still trying to comprehend the ‘keep the tat’ rationale when confronted by what may indeed need to be some efforts to trim the fat.
*selectivity in editing inc, as already noted:)
Peter
It’s always “keep the tat” when trying to limit public expenditure. When local government is “forced” to cut back, it’s always the rubbish collection, road maintenance etc which suffers: not one diversity coordinator loses his or her job. You see, the public must be punished for its effrontery in wishing not to see its money wasted. So with the BBC: the diversity tsar (or tsarina in the BBC’s case) will continue her vital work while the stuff for which, arguably, the BBC was established (and on which the BBC’s rapidly diminishing “reputation” is based) is threatened with being sacrificed. In any event, £3.5 billion is not enough but nor would £4.5 billion or £10 billion (cf the NHS and our risibly-termed “education” system). Yes, as CiF says, the present government must take its share of blame. However, this is due to the government’s simple-minded view (shared, I might say, to a great extent with the opposition and those who run the BBC) that the only way to solve a problem is to throw (our) money at it.
“John Reith”:
If the Daily Mail’s pieces were not “news” then the Telegraph piece is neither “news”. It’s even on the “opinion” page for god’s sake. So by your logic, either they should’ve included all 3, or none of those articles.
Oh dear JR. Look at today’s BBC in the news – and what do we spy, why yes, it’s a leader article, Winds of Change. Correct me if I’m wrong, but leader articles are, by definition, opinion, aren’t they?
Rather blows your distinction from yesterday between ‘news’ and ‘views’ out of the water (though the good ship Reith was already severely holed by Kid Gloves earlier observation).
Can you advance another plausible reason (beyond the obvious one of BBC bias) for the BBC Editors Blog to be so selective in what counts as BBC in the news and what doesn’t?
While you’re at it, would you care to offer an opinion on why public (tellytaxpayer) comments on BBC in the news are no longer permitted either?
Thank you.
I’d agree that entirely predictable cut n’ paste jobs by professional ‘commentators’ such as Mel P aren’t news but I fail to understand how the views of a former BBC governer and leading spy aren’t.
[The Moderator: Peter, if you want to discuss our moderation policy, e-mail us on biasedbbc@googlemail.com (but in short, off-topic comments are likely to be deleted).]