Ordinarily, I will tune in to Radio 4 “Today” or else check out the BBC main news portal as a means of assessing the presentation of news by the State broadcaster. But this morning, I am in London on business and I can only watch the TV news in my hotel room. So, for a change, I tuned in to the “Breakfast” programme on BBC1. It’s an eye-opener because it too has a rampant bias which is ever so subtle and aimed at the wider audience watching at this time in the morning. In that regard one could argue it is all the more dangerous in terms of its’ malign influence.
The lead story was concerning how people are being aggressively pursued by debt collection agencies. And who did the BBC choose to interview about this? A lady, clad in full Niqab gear, who claimed she was the victim of identity confusion. The fact that we could not even see her face because she chose to wear Islamic garb seemed an irony lost on the BBC. Cut to fluffy dog story – and then we had a story about Lord Rumba of Rio’s bail-out to the UK car industry, with an touching human interest interview with an ever so grateful car industry worker. Good ol’ Mandy – he’s providing much needed job security. Cue more feel good news about the octuplets. Then a story about rising child care costs in GB which are, thank goodness, being obviated at least in some areas by progressive local Councils and our wise government. It’s the proverbial curate’s egg, inane in some bits, toxic in others!
Case proven David. Your work here is done.
Breakfast Time epitomises the ‘Jackanoryization’ of BBC News.
David, it’s not a bail-out of the car industry.
I heard Lord Mandelson of Whatever himself say so yesterday, so it must be true.
I find this subtle, associative, kind of propaganda more disturbing than simple ‘agitprop’ because I can see my teenage sons absorbing it daily through their skins.
We can all look forward to a Mandy bung –if we are in a union and subidise Labour.
mikewineliberal:
“Case proven David. Your work here is done.”
(Pantomime chorus) “Oh no it isn’t!”
mikewineliberal: “oh yes it is!
B-BBC: “Oh no it isn’t!”
AndrewSouthLondon | 28.01.09 – 8:12 am | #
LOL.
And so, with some regret (as there have in the past been worthy, factual, relevant, considered responses), another moves to my ‘skip list’. Pity, as tackling the point rather than the person is of value in almost all cases, and even the original posters do need to be challenged on occasion.
Re the identify theft thingy…was she confused with a some carpet or summit? 🙂
Mailman
‘Skip list’ – perfect phrase! I know who I nominate for it….
Chuffer – “jackanoryization of the news”. I’ve been looking for something like that for ages – an excellent phrase! I gave up watching/listening to this programme long ago, but I accidentally catch a snippet of it now and again. The triviality of it just astounds me, I often wonder who it’s aimed at, the lowest common denominator I presume, just there to compete with GMTV. News? pop music, films, goody goody stories, obviously these are the things that matter in the world, and the people involved are paid vast sums by the BBC poll tax payer.
The BBC seem to always single out some dopey cow dressed in traditional suicide bombers garb to interview.
Last night it was some crappy centre in the West Midlands and the only sound bite was from a Muslim woman (I was actually confused at first as I only saw the article halfway through and didn’t know what Country they were reporting from)
I don’t normally watch GMTV but caught a bit this morning of a young girl who had been beaten for years because she refused to take part in an arranged/forced marriage.
After seeing Lauren Booth dressed up as a Muslim on Press TV last night I just wonder how thick liberal females are?
Case proven David. Your work here is done
Very witty, but don’t give up your day job – selling indulgences to BBC scum.
Well since you mention it DV, I was thinking of you when they had that headline roundup bit which explained that Unionists were opposed to payments to the families of those killed in the ‘Troubles’. You had to listen to the end of the round-up to find out that the opposition was actually actually to payments to families of ‘IRA members’. So that’s two lots of bias in one headline segment.
After seeing Lauren Booth dressed up as a Muslim on Press TV last night I just wonder how thick liberal females are?
The antisemitic shit LB is ‘liberal’? Nonsense.
Thanks Jim T.
And the ultimate Jackanory newsreader has to be George Alagiah, who presents the news while sitting on a Spacehopper and adds useful hand movements for all the children watching. When unemployment went up, we had a ‘two hands moved towards the ceiling, palms upward, as if lifting something’ movement. Oh, George, so that’s what ‘up’ means. And when reporting on the cold snap in Decenber, the palms were reversed, and the hands were moved towards the floor, because that what temperatures were doing. ‘Down’, see? Thanks George. Can I have a sweetie, now?
I’m glad it’s not just me being doubled up! Is it something to do with using the ‘preview’ facility?
Apparently so.
Just in passing, was MWL’s opening sneer the sort of thing some commenters have been upholding as a valuable contribution?
I apologise for my first posting. In my defence, I was sitting on the toilet when I wrote it. Please don’t put me on your skip list.
Had I watched the programme, I would have sought to rebut with facts. But it did to me seem a supremely lame piece from David which demonstrated the square root of chuff all. And to my shame I couldn’t resist a sneer.
GCooper | 28.01.09 – 2:00 pm | #
Indeed.
Though does seem to seem to stir up rather well in a divide and rule sense, mind.
Just because a commenter doesn’t swear, doesn’t mean he isn’t a troll.
Hear, hear.
At least MWL accepts that his sneer was out of order, but it was still a sneer, with or without swear words.
In my defence, I was sitting on the toilet when I wrote it.
mikewineliberal | 28.01.09 – 2:06 pm |
Too much information
I did hear “Today” this morning (as is my wont, ’til 0630). The business news usually has some bias in it, and somehow the Beeb manages to cue its visitors on using the “correct” terminology – e.g. “the global downturn”.
They’ve had several soothing voices about the recession recently, including Richard Lambert of the CBI saying silly things, but this morning I nearly fell into my porridge when two interviewees from the motor industry both said that the Mandelson “bail-out” (or non-bail-out) will have virtually zero effect on the current problems, and by the time it has any effect – precious little as I understand, on future ones – it will be all too late.
I can’t listen thereafter, but I wonder whether those “faux pas” – known elsewhere as “telling it like it is” were repeated in later slots.
The pop papers all seem to be running a story, presumably planted by BBC marketing officers, that ‘Christians’ are sending hate mail to dear old Sir David Attenborough because he’s doing a series on evolution.
I’m not convinced.
mikewine 2:06
I am a little puzzled as to why you think anyone here is interested in your toilet habits. No need to give an incontinent answer.
Mike Spilligan 4:15
On PMQs today, Brown was still talking about the “downturn”. He just can’t bring himself to use the “R” word !
this morning I nearly fell into my porridge
Not sure why we need this information about your dietary habits 😉 . 😉
On second thoughts – much more pleasant to know about than MWL’s toilet training.
On PMQs today, Brown was still talking about the “downturn”. He just can’t bring himself to use the “R” word
He simply doesn’t do truth. The man is a pathological liar.
I too don’t wish to know about the man’s bathroom visits, thank you.
We long since stopped watching BBC Breakfast so-called news. We always watch Sky News thesedays but even they leave something to be desired on occassions.
Nearly Ox. 5:51
You are right, with Brown, lying is natural, so much so that he cannot tell the difference between truth and lies.
I suspect that he is not even aware of it !
Breakfast is the television equivalent of Peter Allen s Drive time. It tries to give its self a human face by asking viewers / listeners stupid things to comment on. News should be serious – presenting news as a kind of entertainment is patronizing.
Like today we get the news that supermarkets are talking on thousands of staff – but no one asks – “but how does this help a skilled engineer or builder”? Is it really going to help Britain’s future – not a nation of shopkeepers – but a nation of check out operators or trolley collectors.
Sorry for “talking on” read “taking on”
haven’t watched BBC ‘Breakfast’ in some years now. It always seemed like right-on froth aimed at commuters who’d be picking up that cruddy ‘Metro’ freepaper later in their morning journey for a further dose of indoctrination into being good PC consumer-citizens. GMTV seems hard-hitting and authentic by comparison…and at least they have a laugh.
Please, no apostrophe in the possessive “its”!!!
Agree with Alison Bond.
Sorry if you feel patronised, but remember:
his toy -no apostrophe
her toy -ditto
their toy – ditto
its toy – ditto
it’s means it is, or it has
the sun has got its hat on – correct
it’s a nice day because it’s got its hat on – correct
means:
it is a nice day becasue it has got its hat on
because
And “teacher” ends in the letter “r”.
In the ticker commentary on the bottom of the screen during BBC daytime news they often make grammatical errors, including the “it’s” error. I am not saying every individual who contributes to blogs should spell or punctuate correctly (as I am not the best speller myself), but what I am saying is, a news broadcaster should be able to employ a proof reader if they are a competent organisation.
Teach,
How do you suppose people who can’t sort their “its” from their “it’s” are going to remember all that?
All they need to remember is that it’s = it is/it has.
(Therefore NO apostrophe when forming the possessive its etc.)
The other day I saw the funniest example of apostrophes astray in an ad in my local post office:
“I am looking for someone who wants me to clean hi’s or she’s flat or house”.
To be fair, it wasn’t placed by a native speaker of English.
You try and type a name as long as mine that ends in ‘r’ and you will find that you will have trouble with your Rs.
Be careful how you read this.
I would of thought you would of realised, how can we teach apostrophe’s when we dont understand them ourselve’s? Of you never wondered that?
Millie Tant | 29.01.09 – 11:47 am
The most common rogue apostrophes on this blog don’t seem to be the ones that creep into the possessive its, but the ones that insinuate themselves into plurals.
People here are always going on about ‘the Nazi’s’. The only other place you see it is on market stalls: cabbage’s, Jersey Tom’s etc.
We have a particular problem with its and the rogue apostrophe on this blog. I will not mention any esteemed and hardworking bloggers in this connection…THEY know who they are…
/ wink, wink/
Just the other day, I was amused to see that one blogger’s rogue apostrophe had migrated from it’s to its’. Maybe it is on its way out and will fall off the edge next time, I thought to myself.
We’ll see.
Not saying we don’t have the problem with plurals also.
Anyone who reads the comments on Mel’s blog at the Speccie will be familiar with commenter ‘Phil’ who is a master of commas etc. His punctuation is unique. He hardly ever uses a full stop, opting instead for the hyphen – so a sentence can be endless – but all commas and (the rare) full stops are disconnected to the sentence they’re attached to , by a space . This often leads to the comma appearing all on its own on the next line . Another peculiarity of his is to use a comma instead of an apostrophe which gives an upside down effect. It,s disconcerting .
Someone who was in a spat with him yesterday did his comment-reposte in the same way which was subtle but funny, even though he was an evil poisonous antisemite.
Sue,
Which antisemite was that? I tend to lurk on Mel’s blog instead of posting.
Just had a look.
It was “Carl”
January 29th, 2009 9:57am
He’s not an antisemite, just a hater of Israel.
(Thread “A selective approach to the facts”)
Hate to spoil the party, but what has this to do with BBC bias ?
Grant | 29.01.09 – 3:43 pm
Hate to spoil the party, but what has this to do with BBC bias ?
On Toady this morning there was a sequence of experts bemoaning how difficult English is to learn and how it’s only to be expected that a huge proportion of school leavers can’t read and write.
The BBC are always against grammar, against proper spelling (elitist innit?). They will leave no infinitive unsplit and think standard English is socially divisive.
As part of a cunning ruse to subvert the language, they have therefore unloaded a truckload of unwanted apostrophes, which are now in general circulation.
Watch out.