Monthly Archives: September 2008

What poll?

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Did the Today programme really get through the entire morning without mentioning the polls, which see the Tories leading by 28 points on 52%? I wasn’t able to listen to it all, but I did catch Naughtie’s two way with their political correspondent, his interview with Prescott on the chances of Labour’s recovery and the news summary on the same topic, as well as the paper review: No mention. The website is doing no better. But can the Beeb really get through the day without giving the figures?

UPDATE: I have spotted a reference to the poll in the last paragraphs of this story. Of course, it’s a shame the Conservatives’ best polling in about 20 years doesn’t get a little higher up the story, and that the journo feels it necessary to balance the figures for those certain to vote (the normal headline figures) with the only slightly better ones for support among the general public – something none of the fuller accounts I linked to felt compelled to do. But, still, it’s better than Naughtie.

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General BBC-related comment thread!

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Please use this thread for comments about the BBC’s current programming and activities. This post will remain at or near the top of the blog – scroll down for new topic-specific posts. N.B. This is not an invitation for general off-topic comments, rants or chit-chat. Thoughtful comments are encouraged. Comments may also be moderated. Any suggestions for stories that you might like covered would be appreciated! It’s your space, use it wisely.

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Not a fan

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The BBC’s Climate Wars receives a less than glowing review from James Delingpole in the Spectator:

A Church of England official has issued an apology to the descendants of Charles Darwin for the Church’s ‘anti-evolutionary’ fervour towards his Origin of the Species.

I wonder if in about 150 years’ time the BBC — presuming it still exists which I won’t let it do, I promise, once I’ve become your emperor — will make similar amends for having been wrong about absolutely everything from Israel, Europe, Islamism and multiculturalism to women, children, animals and, above all, global warming.

‘God, what a bunch of complete and utter ****ers we all were,’ their apology could say as it floats in shimmery holographic form over icy London streets dominated by minarets, wind turbines and huge packs of semi-domesticated polar bears. ‘We could have contributed something useful or interesting to the climate-change debate. Instead we gave you Earth: The Climate Wars (BBC 2, Sunday).

It’s worth reading the rest. Is this the worst review the programme received or are there other nominations?

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General BBC-related comment thread!

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223 Comments

Please use this thread for comments about the BBC’s current programming and activities. This post will remain at or near the top of the blog – scroll down for new topic-specific posts. N.B. This is not an invitation for general off-topic comments, rants or chit-chat. Thoughtful comments are encouraged. Comments may also be moderated. Any suggestions for stories that you might like covered would be appreciated! It’s your space, use it wisely.

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BBC blog round-up

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If only the English weren’t such chavs, says Mardell, “with no intention of censure and certainly not moral superiority”, as he reports on a tantalising and – to me – baffling and pointless curry-house conversation.

England’s crowded: so what(’s new), says Easton – just in case anyone was a little misled by his earlier blog entry which, er, seemed to suggest it wasn’t. Still, he remains “unpersuaded that we cannot cope with the extra people”. Whodathunkit.

Paul Mason is hallucinating. He’s amazed some people have never read Atlas Shrugged. I’m amazed he’s economics editor but read music.

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Aiming left

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Paul Mason has replied to a comment on his blog criticising it for being, well, a bit left wing. “Where the hell do the BBC actually find people as left wing as you?” asks the reader. Mason’s response:

If you are American you may not be used to this but the UK consensus is “liberal” and I am happy to be slap in the middle of it. On science, on the desirability of avoiding mass unemployment, on the world being older than 3,000 years.

To start with, I’m not sure a Trot who – as an adult – is still fond of aping Che is really even in the middle of the left-wing. Surely he’s closer to the Galloway fringe? But it’s instructive that’s where he’s aiming, so let’s have a look at that left-wing consensus in the UK:

All positions, I’m sure, we can see are well reflected in the Beeb’s coverage.

Hat-tip to Libertarian in the comments

UPDATE: Tories are now on 52%; Labour on 24%. Looking forward to the BBC reports reflecting this new consensus.

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Financial crisis: Is it time for stricter regulation?

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Not my question, the Beeb’s. The reflex never fails, does it? These have your say things are a joke when the question more or less determines the whole structure of debate. One question, which some would consider moot, means that reasonable answers to that question will inevitably tend to fall within the BBC’s comfort zone.

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“A honky bitch from Alaska”

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When you hear a sub-Mockney accent attacking a politician from the left on Radio Four, you’ll usually find it’s a comedy show featuring several privately educated left-wing comedians who met at university. For some reason, privately educated left-wingers appearing on the Today programme are allowed to keep their middle-class accents.

I think this is Marcus Brigstocke on Radio Four’s “Charm Offensive”. They got half the name right.

Brigstocke :

This phrase, ‘you can put lipstick on a pig’ has been used by Obama before, and by McCain talking about Hillary Clinton – it’s been wilfully misinterpreted – and they deliberately do this, you know, Fox news and lots of the right-wing press in America deliberately misinterpret stuff that the Democrats have said – I mean he also said in that speech “You can nominate Sarah Palin but she’ll still be a honky bitch from Alaska” (laughter) – and they just grab that … (laughter)

Iannucci :


“It’s just another phrase for hockey mom”

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Trotsky’s guide to the credit crunch

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More from the home of Trotskyist economics at Newsnight, this time on the Lehman debacle. It’s a place where irresponsible lending is ‘forcing debt down the throats’ of low income families; where the bank’s failure is really down to fat cat investment bank bosses trying to protect their future earnings; and where the real question when it comes to assessing the scale of the crisis is ‘so how does this compare to the miners’ strike?’

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Bouncing all over the place

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I had high hopes for Justin Webb’s latest blog entry. At last, some decent coverage of Palin’s bounce. The BBC’s audience might be a little surprised to read that such a thing exists, but at least he’s gone to the effort of remedying that, I thought. Which is why I was a bit surprised to find myself reading about the 1953 execution of the Rosenburgs (Soviet-like behaviour, reckons Webb); a plug for a new BBC series on America; coverage of Russell Brand’s reference to Bush as a ‘retard’ (of which a piece by India Knight reckoning he let America off lightly is the best, says Webb); the fact that Webb hasn’t seen the whole of Sara Palin’s ABC interview (as North American editor, why would he?); and then, finally, that it will be tougher for Palin from here on in, although it’s difficult to imagine how it could be from the Beeb’s point of view. It ends with some food for thought for Palin: “Geraldine Ferraro’s bounce lasted two months,” warns Webb gravely in a reference to the first female vice presidential candidate. In fact, that should be just enough time to put McCain in the White House, but I’m guessing that’s not what he meant.

UPDATE: Anyone not already a little wary of the new Radio 4 series on America given Webb’s endorsement (and the BBC’s involvment) should read this by its presenter David Reynolds. “Empire and liberty have been recurrent and often conflicting themes in America’s development and I think they’re also reflected in this year’s rival presidential candidates,” he begins. Guess which candidate “embodies the martial, imperial America”, reminding us “that the United States is a country made by war” and which candidate could “help expunge the original sin of slavery from Jefferson’s empire of liberty”… In fact, from there the article improves (in terms of balance anyway) but still I’m not sure I’ll be tuning in.

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