A double whammy from Evan Davis on the first paper review of this morning’s Today programme. Not only did he treat us to the paper review catchphrase (“The Guardian leads with the same story as us”) he went on to tell us that the Telegraph’s main headline (about the IMF) was “slanted”. Thanks for the editorialising, Evan, but how about letting us make up our own minds?
What was it that former BBC journalist Peter Sissons said again?
By far the most popular and widely read newspapers at the BBC are The Guardian and The Independent. Producers refer to them routinely for the line to take on running stories, and for inspiration on which items to cover. In the later stages of my career, I lost count of the number of times I asked a producer for a brief on a story, only to be handed a copy of The Guardian and told ‘it’s all in there’.
Perhaps the Guardian has such low circulation figures because the lefties choose to listen to the broadcast version on Radio 4 every morning instead.
The BBC narrative that the Guardian, left-wing think-tanks, Huffington post etc. are unbiased whilst the Telegraph, any other think tank and Fox are biased to the right. It’s a mindset and one that I don’t think the BBC are capable of changing.
‘Not only did he treat us to the paper review catchphrase (“The Guardian leads with the same story as us”) he went on to tell us that the Telegraph’s main headline (about the IMF) was “slanted”.’
It is, of course, ‘just one day’, so one presumes the clear-up crew will be around soon to ‘explain’ how the Graun got boosted and the Telegraph trashed, and by pure coincidence, on the purely impartial BBC programme already obsessing about being nailed on other ‘preferential’ coverage.
Unique.
I listened to today’s Today and heard Justin Webb’s interview with Margaret Hodge re university funding. Would she be calling for David Willet’s resignation, he threw in as a final question. (It would have been useful for their headlines). Lady Hodge did not rise to the bait.
So for the 7.30 headlines the Today programme had to make do with one of the options suggested by the Public Accounts Committee that some universities may have to close because of the Tory policy for university funding affecting the poorer students implied.
Ah Margaret Hodge…our girl from the alley in Barking wasn`t it? Pal of Lord Bragg of Burton Bradstock as I recall!
Married to a fat cat Labout Lawyer-lets care home scandals go unremarked upon by assassinating the characters of those who were in them-and gets clean away with it all, because she`s Labour London…like Harman and our Ken, Frank and Glenda.
The only reason the Olympics are coming is so that they can learn how to be more corrupt and more efficiently without that expenses embarrassment again.
Blatter will be there with his workshops in shamelessness and ballots of one, and DSK will probably get a guest spot on anti-racist best practice.
DSK could learn from our Madge in how best to stick the stiletto in.
Truly a product of all that is wrong with politics, and how low we`ve sunk in public life-so JUST what the BBC likes to invite in to show the rest of us how best to pull ourselves out of the cesspit.
Willetts is a nothing-but for Hodge to have a view on anything apart from the need for F$J shows us all what Evan,Justin and their scribblers are used for…muck spreading and nothing more!
cj,
I was just about to post “Who is Margaret Hodge ? “, but you have answered the question.
Hallelujah!
Have just discovered this site. Thank God people are paying attention to this now. It took everyone long enough.
One of my many exasperated witterings on the subject:
http://otherthingsnotme.blogspot.com/2011/04/bbc-left-wing-slant.html
Just had a look at your blog. Totally agree with it. 🙂
Good blog that Henry!
The BBC has decided to be the political arm of the left liberal elite-and,knowing that there is no market for their Pollyanna reflexes: they have not even decided to march through the instiutions anymore-too much like hard work for too many dopeheads from 1968.
So they have chosen to squat throughout the nodal institutions like schools,hospitals and public sector unions that run them for their own convenience. They have the BBC, The Guardian and all the progressive right thinking types.
Their views are monocultural-“let a thousand flowers bloom” is for the birds in Shenzhen!. Privileged pampered elitists who want to put us through the mincer-but keep their own guilt tripping state funded and enforced.
THis site is able to predict a BBC response to anything. Reflex sentimental drivel on behalf of the “vulnerable victim”…as long as we the independent drones will keep opening our veins for them.
So we get Israel hated-the USA despised-anyone not sucking up to Bono,Dawkins,Gore or Greer ignored. Yet we shall win and we know it!
Geert Wilders, Peter Hitchens, Melanie Phillips-and (to my mind!) some good `uns on the left too but I`d not ruin their career prospects by naming them!
Keep on writing…I know there are thousands who`ve not bent the knee to Balls or Beeb!
Welcome Henry
Life does feel better when you realise that you are not alone in your feelings about the BBC – although I find my blood pressure is still high every morning whilst listening to the Today programme on Radio 4
Chill out Deborah, there are worse things in the world than the BBC …. well …err… there’s Prawn Cocktail Crisps for a start.
Yes, keep on posting, Henry. this website is an oasis of sanity in a desert of craziness. some good laughs as well, along the way !
I know the feeling!
Thanks folks, for the welcome. I’ll be reading as much of the posts here as I have time for. Very important blog
cheers
That’s funny, because I thought that yesterday’s Today segment about the IMF was slanted as well. Slanted the other way, of course. And all of the BBC’s reporting on it was slanted except when that IMF guy had the temerity to open his mouth and say the Tories had it right. The bastard.
I loved the way the BBC were setting themselves up for a big fall yesterday – all but announcing that we’re dooooomed, I was almost taken in by it myself. But then – early on – I saw an interview with Osbourne who very calmly said “let’s just wait and see what the IMF report has to say” – almost with a glint in his eye. I thought “aye aye” he already knows that it’s not as bad as being reported, and so I was thus able to continue listening to the BBC’s various doom-mongering coverage in a much more relaxed state of mind.
I stumbled across this and thought it… ‘pertinent’..
http://glinner.posterous.com/56078994
Just one, of many lines some may find resonate:
‘The style of debate practised by the Today program poisons discourse in this country. ‘
Not bad for a ‘flagship’ programme operating with impunity the length and breadth of the land, kept going by a mandatory tax on all who are suffering or destined to suffer its malign intent.
Or… ‘unique’?
The point Linehan makes in his final paragraph about BBC producers inviting on guests they expect will conform to a pre-determined agenda is one that the likes of Peter Hitchens, John Redwood and Dan Hannan have been making for years. The difference is that Linehan isn’t a mere Daily Mail columnist or politician, he’s a member of the all important Twitter elite (an insufferably self-righteous one at that, even by Twitter’s standards*). As such, the Today programme will probably beg him to return to discuss the subject.
(* Father Ted was great, though. I’ll give him that. IT Crowd had its moments too.)
That cheered me up immensely. And I wasn’t even in a bad bood.
Justin Webb = a pompous John Humphrys stand-in 😀
When Linehan raised his objection to being sandbagged, ol’ Justin laughed and insulted him. Typical Justin Webb, then. Then he denied that the Today Programme set it up. Just business as usual to a Beeboid. Fabricating a story is in their DNA.
It’s probable that if the Today producers called up Linehan and said they wanted him on to defend the idea of making the film in to a play, and would have on some critic to take the other side, he would have said no. It’s his right, yet not even necessarily the correct decision. It’s a legitimate point to raise from an artistic perspective, and Linehan ought to have something to say in his own defense or he shouldn’t have done the play in the first place.
But he wasn’t given the choice. He was sucker-punched. I’m sure all media does it all the time, and maybe Linehan is just an arrogant, slightly naive artiste who doesn’t think he should have to defend his “art” to anyone. But he should have the choice, especially from a show which claims such high standards.
BBC anonymous spokesman quoted in today’s Telegraph re. Linehan :-
“Our producers felt they had clearly explained in advance how the discussion would play out “.
Well, if that isn’t an admission of guilt, I don’t know what is.
Why don’t the BBC just write the script and get actors to read it out instead of maintaining the fiction that these are studio “discussions”.
Beeboids, big liars.
I just LOVED the Linehan appearance on Today, he popped their balloon very well. A juicily acid tone to his responses, the interviewer floundering.
A very competent playright being told that he has no right to write a stage play if there has been a prior film – hilarious.
Even Michael Billington sounded discomfited in the interview.
I heard the ludicrous non-event that was this interview!
Linehan is quite right-and ,as he wrote Father Ted and advised on Alan Partridge etc: he is entitled to far more respect fron little Webb.
Got the idea it was just aimed at that nights Theatre Royal patrons to “have a debate”-no matter how aimless!
Linehan knows a Partridge when he meets one-and I was surprised that Webb was not off sick this morning.
Thankfully,we`re all rumbling the tiresome tweenies methods of the Toady show…someone needs to give them the next instalment of the phone in course, because they are booged down in the “how to get a fight going in a minibar-when no one will bother to watch the result”