As I write this, there is a bomb scare at Belfast International Airport. The fruits of peace, I guess. The BBC on their main news portal for Northern Ireland choose to illustrate this with an image of two Irish airlines, one of which does not even fly into Belfast International! Could it be that the BBC think Belfast is in Dublin? The following arlines also fly from Belfast International; Easyjet, BMIbaby, Jet2g0, Manx airlines, Zoom, Air Transat, Continental, Fly globespan…but apparently only images of Irish carriers are available on a Sunday.
This isn’t bias, this is incompetence. Get it right, Vance!
‘Incompetence’, eh? That’s alright then. We’ll let them ( and their billions of pounds in tellytax) off, shall we?
Yes you should. The name of this blog is ‘Biased BBC’, not ‘Good God We Hate The BBC’. Portraying mildly amusing laziness as virulent left-wing bias is dishonest.
lol – poor Alex. Not angry, just incompetent!
That doesn’t really answer my point Vancy. How is this bias and not incompetence?
Once again Alex, are you this rude to people in real life ?
I think you are a whiney Student Grant who wouldn’t say boo to a goose in actuality, but I suppose there is a 0.0000001% chance I’m wrong 🙂
Biased BBC, or Private Eye?
‘Selectivity’ my arse. Not even incompetence. It’s a stock photo, the first appropriate one the sub could lay their hands on no doubt, and it neither adds nor detracts anything from the editorial quality of the story in question.
Every time the BBC runs a story about trains they use one of the same few generic ‘trains!’ images, and a few rail spods go up in arms that it doesn’t feature the right class of train or the right stretch of line. The rest of the world doesn’t notice and gets on with their lives.
hexenducation,
A stock photo of a foreign airline masquerading as an image of a domestic airport is something rather different to what you paint. Do professional standards not matter? If the BBC ran an item on British trains with imagery of — oh let’s see – SNCF trains – would that be your idea of a professional broadcaster??
Look here, Angry Young Alex, if you’d been visiting this site for as long as some of us regulars have been, you’d know that we’re as keen on pointing out journalistic incompetence as we are on pointing out bias. In fact, bias is a form of journalistic incompetence. Mind you, I suspect that you were about nine when this site started, and you’re now firmly in that awful Clearasil stage, pus-splattered mirrors an’all that.
‘Good God We Hate The BBC’ is an excellent suggestion, though.
Of course it wouldn’t, it’d be a minor subediting screwup – but either this case nor your hypothetical one have got anything to do with editorial bias or selectivity. You’re just ranting now.
A minor subediting screw-up which infers that oddly enough has an anti-British inference…lol but the BBC apologists need to try a little harder..
And, young Alex, are you angry because the last 15 entries on your thrilling site have attracted, ahem, three comments? Do you suffer from Comment Envy?
Chuffer: “bias is a form of journalistic incompetence”
Possibly, but the reverse is not true, yet that seems to be what David Vance is attempting to claim here.
“A minor subediting screw-up which infers that oddly enough has an anti-British inference”
I don’t know what you think happened. Did a Beeboid think “I shall make people think Belfast is in the Republic of Ireland by putting a photo of Dublin airport”, or did it think “What’s the capital of Irishland? Oooh it’s Belfast, that’s the one that’s on the news.”
They probably just thought “Picture of planes + Irish logos = airport in Ireland or that sort of area, this is a nice picture which will give readers a vague feeling of what the story is about.” It does, mildly, imply that the whole place is Ireland, but that is sort of dwarfed by the fact that, by definition, airports have all kinds of airlines in them.
And Ryanair ain’t one of them SO … which Airport was this?
David Vance: “A minor subediting screw-up which infers that oddly enough has an anti-British inference”
Grammatical calamities aside, what you say essentially exposes what is wrong with the paranoid rantings I see posted so often here. You can infer anything from anything and the obsessive misinterpretation that B-BBCers often resort to in order to eke out an incredibly thin ‘example’ of supposed bias is, quite often, laughable.
Now, you’d probably start arguing that because no-one has to pay for Biased BBC, you can be as sloppy, rabid and inaccurate as you like – which is completely true. However, don’t expect everyone to always agree with you and expect to be opposed when you get it wrong. That’s not much to ask.
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there Hex. Vance’s procedure is not
“Read the BBC article -> Look for bias -> Post entry”,
but
“Hear a news story -> Become enraged -> Find the BBC article -> Rant for half a side or so -> Have a cup of tea to calm down -> Add an accusation of bias -> Post”.
You haven’t answered my question Alex – are you this rude in the real world ?
David:
Look up ‘infers’ and ‘implies’.
“You haven’t answered my question Alex – are you this rude in the real world ?”
Sorry, I didn’t think it was worth answering at the time. But since you insist, no, I’m not this rude in the real world, as generally people are not this rude to me. None of my offline associates, for example, randomly refer to me as incompetent or make pointed comments about my mirror.
Hexy,
First of all, I am delighted you have found a soul-mate in Angry Young Alex. I suspect he leads a lonely life.
Second, well done on spotting my grammatical calamity. It’s just a shame your laser vision cannot see the rampant BBC bias that this site exposes time and time again. Then again they do say that there are none so blind as those who do not wish to see.
Third, since you fail to explain why the BBC illustrates a atory concerning a British Airport, with an image of two Irish airlines one of which has just entered the Northern Ireland market and the other which has never flown into the Airport concerned, we can safely conclude that either stupidity is institutionalised or bias is so endemic that it is invisible to some.
You rightly point out that Biased BBC does not force readers to pay a mandatory tax – unlike the BBC. But then again, when we read sloppy, rabid and inaccurate tripe on Al Beeb – and given its £££billions, what’s is its’ excuse????
Between you and me – and don’t tell anyone else now – I agree with your last few sentences. I do not expect everyone to agree with me – which is why balance is such a good idea. Maybe you should ask the BBC when it is planning to introduce this radical concept into its output?
Left, left, left – still the beat goes on.
Now – you go off and play with Deluded Young Alex – I think you both will get on so well.
I think everyone should agree with me. People should hang on my every word.
My Mum used to get furious after I had had a particularly good zit-blitz.
However, don’t expect everyone to always agree with you and expect to be opposed when you get it wrong. That’s not much to ask.
hexenduction | 02.03.08 – 5:47 pm | #
Luckily enough hexenduction this is not the Socialist Workers Paradise that is the BBC DHYS, here dissenting voices are both allowed and encouraged.
Why does the government insist I pay for BBC TV news just because I want to watch footbal on Sky TV?
David,
You admit yourself these airlines are in the NI market and fly from various British airports. This is a winge on the BBC, there is no bias or story here, they ran the caption to say there had been a security alert at the airport THAT ought to be your main point of this and not a picture, which is as the others have said, most likely nothing more that a sub editing screw-up.
Typhoo:
‘….most likely nothing more that a sub editing screw-up.’
But who pays the wages of these uselss subs? Yes, the poor old tellytax payers!
Mr Orange:
On a par with your “how-dare-the-BBC-support-road-safety” whinge, but a little below your finest achievement to date, non-existent-interview-gate.
Many of us still savour your stentorian complaint about the way the BBC conducted an interview which they didn’t actually film, because it was actually recorded by a foreign broadcaster, RTE.
Still, full marks for breaking with your tribal tendency to be relaxed about other people’s flags, colours, badges and so forth. Achieving the right intensity of flag-based obession obviously doesn’t come naturally, but you got there, didn’t you?
Biased BBC: The Orange Pimpernel
Sorry but trolls don’t get a response…
Go to Ryanair’s website – Belfast City airport is on their network, but NOT Belfast International.
So, the clods at al-Beeb could have used a shot of Easyjet and BA aircraft and that would have been more accurate even if the shot was taken in Gatwick; the shot they did use was clearly not taken at Belfast International.
It is perfectly valid for bloggers here to point out the multiple inaccuracies of the telly tax-funded shower of shite. And yes, this post does highlight a subtle bias – the use of non British airlines to illustrate this incident at a British airport.
Exactly right anonymous – it’s subtle but it’s biased. Some of those who come here to apologise for Al Beeb think that all bias is delivered in neon – but rather like white lies, the wickedness lies in the details.
Mr Orange:
Hillhunt is mixing DV up with Peter Hain.
Typhoo,
I fear he is mixing reality and coming out the loser. Over here, we look on Hillhunt as the circus freak who turns up to give us a laugh….
David Vance:
Third, since you fail to explain why the BBC illustrates a atory concerning a British Airport, with an image of two Irish airlines one of which has just entered the Northern Ireland market and the other which has never flown into the Airport concerned, we can safely conclude that either stupidity is institutionalised or bias is so endemic that it is invisible to some.
Maybe a bit of both. It’s common in England (or GB) to say ‘Ireland’ when referring to Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. Also, many even seem to think the latter is a part of the uK!
It’s common in England (or GB) to say ‘Ireland’ when referring to Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. Also, many even seem to think the latter is a part of the uK!
Shouldn’t al-Beeb be employing people who can make these distinctions?
Of course , the BBC would never promote Southern Irish , anti-British sentiment !
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/easterrising/songs/
I have searched in vain for the ” Orange song book ” section of their website .
Anonymous:
…
Shouldn’t al-Beeb be employing people who can make these distinctions?
Anonymous | 03.03.08 – 12:38 am |
Of course. I thought that without saying.
Lance,
I understand your point but is the BBC not supposed to have at least the basic intelligence to illustrate a story concerning a British Airport with images of ..erm…a British Airport?
The BBC is often quite sloppy with their choice of photographs and/or the captions they apply to them.
That is a question of competence.
These mistakes predictably reinforce the BBC slant on the news.
That is a question of bias.
It has been established over many years that both are appropriate to this blog.
This blog needs a F.A.Q. file if only to avoid repeated, boring rants from people who think they have discovered the wheel and the boring, insulting replies from those who know the troll couldn’t have discovered the wheel – because they discovered the wheel, first.
“As I write this, there is a bomb scare at Belfast International Airport. The fruits of peace, I guess.”
No mate, this was a couple of suspicious bags that have come to nothing. The fruits of peace are that a lot fewer people are being murdered in NI these days.
Good point about the photo though. Sloppy.
It’s in the UK, but it’s not a British airport.
Compare and contrast – Greenpeace protestors on the roof of Parliament last week? Front page of the BBC website all day.
Referendum protestors up a crane in Parliament Square today? Not a single mention on the front page, as far as I can see.
Well said hexenduction, someone who talks some sense: “The rest of the world doesn’t notice and gets on with their lives.”
David Vance, what you call subtle, I think most people would call non-existent.
‘None of my offline associates,………..’
Angry Young Alex | Homepage | 02.03.08 – 6:09 pm | #
What’s an ‘offline associate?’ You actually categorise your life into offline and online associates you moron? Hilarious. Almost as funny as Family Guy!!!!!!!!
Cockney,
The fruits of the peace process are murderers in government, mate. THAT is why fewer people are being murdered, though I doubt the mother and father of 21yr old Paul Quinn may join in the appreciation of this peace. He was murdered by the IRA, those harbingers of peace.
David, as a UK taxpayer I’m just pleased that there’s some sort of light at the end of the tunnel so that I don’t have to subsidise the cost of supervising ad infinitum conflicts that are completely alien to me. Hence my objection to the little bit of politics tacked onto the BBC bias example.
I do wholly agree however that it shouldn’t be beyond the Beeb to find a picture of Belfast international airport. I also share your suspicions that this might be part of the dewy eyed, ‘across the barricades’, all Ireland rugby team approach to NI that seems to infect Beeboids who, like me, just don’t understand the place.
Cockney, fair enough, but I think you’ll find there’s a fair few UK tax payers in Northern Ireland, so their views have every right to be aired. You’re right, though, that while this must be down to incompetence it does say something that the BBC doesn’t care enough about a distinction people were willing to kill and die to retain that they get this right. You would think they would be a bit paranoid about being accurate about this sort of thing given the political sensitivities.
“I do wholly agree however that it shouldn’t be beyond the Beeb to find a picture of Belfast international airport”
For sure. But a bog standard, and pretty trivial, error by a picture sub editor – assuming they and not the photo agency misnamed the picture – in which a picture of an airline that doesn’t fly into that specific Belfast airport is being dressed up, without a shred of supporting evidence, as some kind of sectarian bias.
It’s laughable mountain-out-of-molehill stuff. In fairness to Vance, it’s not just him. It reminds me of that silly post some months back when someone screamed bias because a beeb photo editor had dared to use a shot of two African men holding hands.
BBC apologists out in force, when in this case its open and shut.
In reality this shows incompetence OR bias.
That is why this site for YEARS has exposed BBC bias AND incompetence – as for the latter there may be argument over whether it was deliberate or not (and hence in reality bias).
If there was to be a BBC defence line it should presumably be that it was incompetence dealt with by internal procedures, can’t happen again, whatever, and that it was a matter of small import and not worth the big argument (a matter of opinion).
The other ‘defences’ are bogus and should be treated as such.
The matter is clearly important and an example of bias to many and they have every right to attempt to expose it as such.
Quite why I am having to write up both sides for people on this one I do not know but the standard of this thread with the trolling leaves me little choice in order to try and get some sense.
Why have a photo at all? BBCTV news runs all sorts of pointless little films to accompany news items. If petrol goes up we get film of a man filling his car with the stuff. If school exams are mentioned we are shown film of children taking them. And of course, that poor mad cow that has been shown thousands of times stumbling in the farm yard.
Why? These films cost money to make and serve no purpose. The licence fee payer should not have to pay for them, or for pointless photos on the website either.