The BBC reports:
The US vice president’s communications director Jay Carney has been named as the next White House press secretary, to replace Robert Gibbs.
With unusual modesty the BBC doesn’t report that Jay Carney is married to ABC correspondent Claire Shipman, co-author of a blog and book with BBC US correspondent Katty Kay.
How many negative stories have you seen or heard about Joe Biden on the BBC while Carney has been his director of communications for the past two years?
Not many, I bet.
Just sayin’, is all.
Update 10.30pm: Mention of Shipman now added to BBC report, the Kay link not so much.
Update January 28, 3.50pm: Katie Connolly has added a glowing profile of Jay Carney, and Katty gets a mention in the penultimate paragraph (h/t Craig):
Mr Carney’s wife is also a celebrated journalist, ABC correspondent Claire Shipman. Ms Shipman is the co-author of Womenomics, an examination of the economic contributions of working women, with the BBC’s Katty Kay.
The Connolly article includes this insight:
Journalists who once sniggered over gaffes made by the garrulous Mr Biden have, at Mr Carney’s encouragement, focused more on his contributions to the Obama administration.
And the BBC has been more obedient than most.
This does help explain how the BBC adheres so close to the White House talking points on any issue.
As ever, you’re lead to woonder why no one on the genetically unbiased BBC’s payroll ever turns out to have these kind of links to Sarah Palin or the Tea Party.
Good spot DB – well done for outing them on this one
Thanks for the update, DB. Journalists obeying White House talking points is a success story to them. Shameless to the end.
I think David P may like this.
And two years after the Shah was kicked out, so was Carter. We’ll see if that trend continues.
Mark Steyn is standing in for Rush Limbaugh at the moment (5-8pm). Always good value. He’s already mocked Joe Biden’s recent comments about Egypt, so you know this ain’t the BBC. Listen live here.
Obama got Iraq and Afghanistan mixed up during an interview yesterday, but this sort of thing is only of interest to the BBC when it involves white Republican politicians, preferably female.
And talking of stories the BBC ignore – here’s more on the New Black Panther case.
I don’t remember any BBC journalists “sniggering over Biden’s gaffes”.
From the “You Couldn’t Make It Up” department:
Biden on Mubarak: ‘I would not refer to him as a dictator’
Asked if he would characterize Mubarak as a dictator Biden responded: “Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things. And he’s been very responsible on, relative to geopolitical interest in the region, the Middle East peace efforts; the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing relationship with — with Israel.… I would not refer to him as a dictator.”
Now we know where the BBC got their talking points yesterday. Every single discussion involved some Beeboid saying it was a difficult situation for the US President, Mubarak is a great ally, etc.
And is there a Biden gaffe being dutifully swept under the rug by a compliant media? Of course there is:
Biden urged non-violence from both protesters and the government and said: “We’re encouraging the protesters to — as they assemble, do it peacefully. And we’re encouraging the government to act responsibly and — and to try to engage in a discussion as to what the legitimate claims being made are, if they are, and try to work them out.”
We don’t know if there are legitimate claims from the protesters? Is he kidding?
BBC: ZZZZzzzzzz