General BBC-related comment thread.

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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58 Responses to General BBC-related comment thread.

  1. Tom says:

    Hmmm… a case of the BBC choking on it’s own output – I see that Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe on BBC 4 has been pulled from iPlayer.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00jf3hx/Newswipe_Episode_1/

    Anybody got a sniff of why?

    There’s loads of reasons I know… I’ll put £5 on El Papa

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  2. ady says:

    I wonder when the BBC will go live on the globul warming population control agenda.

    Apparently Mr Porritts comments concerning a drastic reduction in the UK population don’t merit a mention.

    UK population must fall to 30m, says Porritt
    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5950442.ece

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  3. ady says:

    I wonder which of us untermenschen he’ll want to reduce to reach his target of 30 million peepul.

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  4. NotaSheep says:

    Did he manage it? Did John Humphrys manage to get the parents of the murdered teenager to blame it on “Thatcher”? I only heard the first few minutes of the 08:10 interview and that seemed to be his target…

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  5. DB says:

    Yes We Can! The Lost Art Of Oratory
    The remarkable election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States has been propelled as much by his exceptional skill as an orator as by any other factor.
    From the silver-tongued to the tongue-tied, the sublime to the ridiculous, this programme takes a fond look at the art and history of the political speech.
    Alan Yentob joins the crowds at the inauguration in Washington, and traces the awesome power of orators from Cicero onwards, via Cromwell, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, Martin Luther King and many others.
    Among the contributors are Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Bob Geldof, Neil Kinnock, Ted Sorensen, Tony Benn, William Hague, Geoffrey Howe, Diane Abbott, Charlotte Higgins, Alastair Campbell and Germaine Greer.
    What makes a good speech great? How much is content, how much is presentation? And has Obama brought eloquence back to 21st-century politics for good?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jt42v

    I think we can all predict who Yentob will use for his example of a “tongue-tied” and “ridiculous” political speaker, and it won’t be Obama when his teleprompter fails; in fact, it’s an odds on bet that Obama’s reliance on the teleprompter won’t be mentioned at all.

    Yentob, like so many of his BBC colleagues, clearly loves Obama. He was on the panel of judges which chose the Obama campaign poster as the “most innovative and forward thinking design of the past 12 months”. Tom Dyckhoff for one was not impressed with that choice:
    http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/architecture_and_design/article5940571.ece

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  6. will2001 says:

    Did he manage it? Did John Humphrys manage to get the parents of the murdered teenager to blame it on “Thatcher”? I only heard the first few minutes of the 08:10 interview and that seemed to be his target…
    NotaSheep | Homepage | 30.03.09 – 8:38 am

    It was Naughtie, & no there was no specific mention, but we did get “over the past 30 years”. In addition I wonder if the parents hd ben told to keep off Christianity, the mother just managed to sneak in “& our faith” as the final rushed words.

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  7. Liquid P Gasse says:

    DB – Lost Art of Oratory

    –oratory is fantastic – but I notice the list of contributors is heavily lefty biased – I wonder if the excellent speech by Dan Hannan will ever be referred to by them.
    Ironic that it should happen just as Beeb launched a show on oratory – and then proceeded to ignore it!

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  8. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Jon | 29.03.09 – 9:08 pm |

    A BBC spokesman said: ‘It is for the BBC to be the interpreter of its own rules, and no evidence has been put forward to suggest any of the people mentioned have done anything which could compromise our impartiality.’

    This bit stuck out at me:

    Those who express a controversial viewpoint on an issue can be banned from reporting on it.

    Justin Webb reports on – even advocates – embryonic stem cell research. He has a stated personal interest in the issue: his son’s diabetes. He should be banned from covering the issue, yet he is allowed to advocate for it on air, as part of his official capacity as a BBC editor and reporter.

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