222 Responses to MONDAY OPEN THREAD…

  1. Frank Words says:

    See Polly Toynbee has been busy outside “New” Broadcasting House thiis morning.

    At least with all the BBC sackings to come The Guardian will get more revenue in their Jobs Section. They might keep gping for an extra week or so.

    Black cloud – silver lining eh Toynbee?

       49 likes

    • Tuscany Polly says:

      Yes indeed I might be able to keep my Tuscany villa going a bit longer.
      US lefty’s love pushing other lefty’s under the bus.

         36 likes

    • +james says:

      The irony is that it was the Guardian’s front page exonerating Lord McAlpine that has bought the BBC to it’s knees.

      And yet the BBC still blames Murdoch and the ‘right wing’ press.

         60 likes

      • Invicta 1066 says:

        Dimbleby on Today said Entwistle should have been more on the ball and would have been if he read Pravda-sorry the Guardian every morning. A wonderful revelation about the BBC mindset. I suppose Humphrys could have pointed out that there are other newspapers available to read, but they don’t follow the party line, so he didn’t. Anyway so ingrained is the BBC /Guardian mindset that Dimbleby’s comment did not raise a single warning flag about the BBC’s bias.

           45 likes

        • Selohesra says:

          To be fair it was the Gaurdian who first claimed BBC had got the wrong man – it might not make up for all their other failures but should not knock them when they get it right

             11 likes

          • johnnythefish says:

            Presumably they’ll accept Monbiot’s resignation, then.

            Should it ever arrive.

            Could be a long wait.

               35 likes

          • Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling says:

            Yes but it was also the Grauniad who killed off the News of the World by falsely printing that the NotW had deleted messages on Milly Dowler’s phone.
            So, anyone would take with a large pinch of salt the Grauniad’s ‘revelations’.
            Just like they should have done with Steven Messham’s wild accusations, for which he is well-known (except to the BIJ and bBBC, apparently).

               33 likes

    • PrangWizard says:

      It is interesting to note that both the Marxist Polly Toynbee and Lord Patten are both accusing ‘the Murdoch press’ of the same thing.

         17 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        On words and deeds of ‘interest’ by the BBC and its camp followers, anything that issues from busted flushes like Toynbee or Patten they will warrant coverage, but probably then require that famous ‘analysis’ much beloved of market rate editors (at least any who can figure out as far as the wisdom of poking a large bear to distract from the wasp’s nest of a mess their employers are in by way of a rescue plan)…

           3 likes

    • GeoffM says:

      Isn’t it jusr amazing. They are drafting in all their friends like Toynbee to say how wonderful the BBC and defend them.

      Andrew Neil today asked “after all the good work over the years why focus upon what has gone wrong now”. I didn’t see the BBC take that attitude over Murdoch or anyone else for that matter.

      One talkinhead on the news actually said that this should stop and the BBC be allowed to sort things out for itself.

      Unbelievable.

      They think they are above reproach. A special case. Untouchable.

      The BBC needs to die the death of a thousand cuts.

         39 likes

    • +james says:

      Best tweet about new DG so far

      Tim Davie gets a grip of his takeaway coffee cup #BBC— Ms TG Renzy ™ (@MsTGRenzy) November 12, 2012

         3 likes

  2. uncle bup says:

    Anyway what’s the view on all this from our resident haflwits, Dim Jandy, Dole, and Dopey Dez The Dimwit Droid.

    Not that I care – I’m just mocking.

       30 likes

    • Jim Dandy says:

      Let me set out my stall.

      My view, with some exceptions, is that the BBC does a good job of meeting its impartiality requirements. Most examples offered up on this site don’t alter my view and are readily disregarded and refutable.

      The real strength of this BBC though is that in its new coverage it provides a level and depth unparalleled in this country, is a trusted source of news and is widely respected and values by UK citizens.

      The McAlpine incident is not an example of impartiality slipping but does represent a significant blow to its reputation for integrity and excellence.

      Will it be fatal? No. Will it improve the BBC? Yes, if it leads to a significant reorganisations and refocusing of its news gathering operation. Dimbleby this morning had it exactly right.

         5 likes

      • ltwf1964 says:

        care to list the exceptions for us?

           13 likes

      • noggin says:

        “BBC does a good job of meeting its impartiality requirements” ?
        “a trusted source of news ” ??
        “level and depth unparalleled” ???

        it is deliberate right?
        it is intentional?

        don t want to rain on your parade
        or someones ahem “stall ” 😀
        at the car- boot whose forgotten the rain cover as the heavens open.

        you couldn t be that … wilfully ignorant?
        maybe its just your sense of irony? eh!
        goodness jim … i hope so

           12 likes

        • Guest Who says:

          ‘don t want to rain on your parade
          or someones ahem “stall ”

          Isn’t that what happens when a kite gets launched and comes crashing back to earth through poor handling?

             6 likes

      • Ralph says:

        Forgetting fun things like Kirsty Wark, friend of the the then Labour leader in Scotland and whose production company was getting contracts from the then Labour run Scottish Government, giving Alex Salmond an oddly harsh grilling, and things like that is it a sign of impartiality to attribute a political allegiance to a supposed child molester?

           14 likes

        • noggin says:

          the latest behemoth interview
          from “terrible” tim davie

          herrrreeesssss timmy ;-D

             14 likes

          • Guest Who says:

            No description available.
            None really needed.
            A car crash is, well, a car crash.

               11 likes

            • ltwf1964 says:

              they seem to be getting good at car crash interviews

                 8 likes

              • Guest Who says:

                ‘they seem to be getting good at car crash interviews’
                Possibly as a result of this odd notion that only they hold other powers to account?

                   10 likes

          • jonsuk says:

            oh my god…looks like this one’s going to be worse than the last one

               8 likes

          • George R says:

            Did Davie get a text from NUJ, or from Patten, telling him not to associate with with News International?

               8 likes

          • David Preiser (USA) says:

            Good old Dermot. He’s apparently a scumbag in real life (publicly cheating on his wife), but he’s been good in interviews like this the few times I’ve seen him. I shall miss him on Eggheads if it all goes south.

            Davie is clearly a well-credentialed management maven. The doublespeak is strong in this one.

               5 likes

          • bendybus says:

            Look closely at this video.

            See the man in the suit reflected in the glass on Davie’s left?

            The man who is nodding and who finally makes a pointing gesture as if to say “off!”.

            Davie then dries and shortly after follows his handler (?).

               7 likes

          • PrangWizard says:

            Clearly taking instructions from his minder, notice how he constantly looks off to his right.

               4 likes

      • wallygreeninker says:

        The Beeb throw judgment to the winds in their haste and eagerness to run a story about a senior Tory from the Thatcher era being a paedophile – that has no connection to impartiality?

           20 likes

      • Rufus McDufus says:

        You are ‘Hugs’ Boaden and I claim my £5.

           6 likes

      • Scrappydoo says:

        “The real strength of this BBC though is that in its news coverage it provides a level and depth unparalleled in this country, is a trusted source of news and is widely respected and values by UK citizens.”

        You should know you are talking absolute rubbish. I turn to sky for breaking news, the bbc is like supertanker it takes too long to respond. Sky News does a better job on a much smaller budget. Jeff Randall makes BBC news 24 look like the telletubbies.

           13 likes

        • Reed says:

          I agree entirely, Scrappy. This idea that the BBC provides the kind of depth of coverage not found in any other broadcaster is just plain nonsense – a throwback attitude of yesteryear. Whenever there is a large scale news event Sky News is the place to be – they always manage to get hold of the most informed experts and commentators to answer all the right questions. BBC News 24 seems half asleep most of the time. I swear I see people wandering about in the background in their pyjamas.

          The coverage of the events in Libya last year demonstrated only too well that Sky manages to do far more with much less, and the BBC seems to have become both lazy and complacent through a combination of guaranteed funding and a reliance on an outdated view of it’s own reputation.

             11 likes

          • Wild says:

            The BBC is the go to source of information for anti-Tory spin – the Left would rather give up the Labour Party than the BBC.

               6 likes

      • David Preiser (USA) says:

        Jim, the only reason the BBC is able to provide a level and depth that nobody else can is because it existed decades before the others, never had to worry about money or competing in the free market, and until now had direct government funding for its overseas operations, which is a significant portion of the breadth of coverage it proivdes. It can provide a wide range of coverage not because it has the best journalists ever and is the best media organization ever, but because it is a behemoth, the largest media organization on the planet. Who’s to say that another, better run organization of equal size and funding couldn’t do better? Actually, the fact that it is so ginormous is part of the problem.

        The public trust in the BBC is due as much to the cultural heritage and legacy which spans generations as it is due to any quality reporting today. Today’s crop of Left-wing ideologues don’t deserve to carry that mantel.

        You seem to be going along with the view that the McAlpine fiasco had nothing whatsoever to do with a political bias. That needs to be addressed rather than dismissed out of hand.

           16 likes

      • johnnythefish says:

        Enough already. Such non-specific and blatantly biased waffle does not warrant so much attention, especially as Jim and his fellow defenders-of-the -indefensible are always very noticeable by their absences when specific and very damning threads are on the go, of which this is but one example:

        http://biasedbbc.tv/2012/11/roger-the-dodger.html

        Not too late to mount a rearguard action, Jim, so the floor is yours.

        And whilst you’re on, give us an update on where Balen is up to.

           5 likes

      • NotaSheep says:

        So do you believe that the BBC is impartial in its reporting of the Israeli/Palestinian issue?

           2 likes

  3. DJ says:

    We’re really up against it now. According to Approved Thought for the Day, the real message of the Bible is that the BBC is a good thing.

    Who knew?

       43 likes

  4. As I See It says:

    Oh dear, Labour have gone off message on the BBC.

    The Beeb were busy putting out the line that they ought to be left alone to sort all this mees in their own good time. A long line of friends of the Beeb were being interviewed to bolster the Beeb. The PM was keeping out of the matter.

    Then Hattie Harman goes and calls for a Commons Statement.

    Feel sorry for Ben Bradshaw. He was just mid-interview saying politicians should keep out of it when the BBC interviewer had to break the news. Ben performs a quick hand break turn to tell us that Labour are quite in order to bring up this matter in Parliament.

    Now this is exactly how the BBC should report the news – separate their message from that of Labour – rather than the usual echo of one another.

       45 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      Would that be instant U-Turn Ben, renowned handbrake-turn doughnutter, he of the BBC eulogies?

      The smell of the smoking tyres is just about masking the stench oh hypocrisy.

         15 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      Harman is just grandstanding and trying to protect the BBC from “enemies waiting to pounce”. They’ll love her more than ever. You’re now witnessing politicians from both sides sucking up to the BBC, and it’s not a pretty sight.

         11 likes

  5. Doublethinker says:

    Even another dozen step asides, you would think they were quick footed rugby backs wouldn’t you, won’t be enough.
    Firstly, the new DG must be an outsider. The BBC is implicated at so many levels that it has clearly demonstrated itself to be institutionally unfit for purpose.
    Secondly, the DG must appoint a team of external people to help him/her sort out the BBC from top to bottom. If necessary there will have to be mass sackings to create positions into which competent people can be placed.
    Thirdly, the regulation of the BBC must be placed in the hands of OFCOM and the trust abolished.
    Fourthly, currently the BBC seem to be exempted from several regulations eg FOI . This exemption must be removed and they must be treated as any other broadcaster in this country.
    The above is the minimum that the Timid Tories should do. Of course if they have the balls to go further and get rid of the News and Current Affairs arm so much the better.

       38 likes

    • Scrappydoo says:

      If the conservatives do not take this opportunity to cut the BBC down to size then they are finished.

         51 likes

      • ltwf1964 says:

        cameron needs to grow a set

        I suspect he’s incapable,so he’ll have to borrow Norman Tebbit’s,who has bigger plums than cameron has brains

           24 likes

      • Doublethinker says:

        Just heard a Tory right winger on The Daily Politics saying that he respected the BBC and hoped they would sort this mess out and get back to be trusted once more.
        My despair deepens with every passing day. An opportunity to sort the BBC out and get rid of the bias, or the corporation itself, will not come again for decades and by then it will too late. It’s nearly too late already!
        The Timid Tories will rue the day they missed this opportunity as they sit in dwindling numbers on the opposition benches and watch Britain become a one party left wing disaster.

           36 likes

        • johnnythefish says:

          With ‘climate change’ now the religion of every political party and nobody prepared to extricate us from the EU (the next lot of opportunists from Eastern Europe will be invading Treasure Island very soon), we’re already there mate.

             26 likes

    • Rueful Red says:

      Perhaps we need a rugby forward – a hooker with top legal experience. Brian Moore for DG!

         6 likes

  6. David Brims says:

    Put this up on the Tebbit thread by accident.

    Why I hate Kirsty Squawk part 97

    Paxman is a shit stirrer and mischief maker, it’s all a front to get ratings, he doesn’t really care.

    But Squawk does , this pretentious , pseudo intellectual is ideologically locked into socialism / marxism. She is personal friends with Gordon Brown. She went on holiday with her chum Jack McConnnel, Labour party Leader in Scotland.

    Conflict of interests ?

    She reminds me of those Commissars in the Soviet Union, they drove nice Zil cars, had special shops, nice houses but the people were living poverty. Squawk is a true believer in the Labour party, a champagne socialist.

    Secondly, this hard faced harpy puts on an act of being a lover of culture, a bohemian, a bon vivant. She reviews books, theatre, films, art exhibitions, etc etc.

    It gives the fake impression she’s cultured and very busy, but she doesn’t actually write or paint or play a musical instrument. She’s a critic and as we all know critics are the lowest of the low in the food chain.

    Thirdly, she’s a bad mother, when she’s presented Newsnight for 20 years. Who’s looking after her kids ? Who’s reading them bedtime stories ?

    A cold heartless bitch, she’s got a voice like fingernails scratching down a window pane. Unbearable.

    Ps. Mutton dressed as Lamb

       44 likes

    • Aerfen says:

      “she’s a bad mother, when she’s presented Newsnight for 20 years. Who’s looking after her kids ? Who’s reading them bedtime stories ?”

      Unwarranted sexist attack. She presumably was there in the morning to look after her kids and see them off to school, and their father would have been home in the evening to read them bedtime stories. Whats wrong with that?

         9 likes

      • David Brims says:

        No, she works and stays in London 4 or 5 days and lives in Glasgow at weekends. Her husband is also a busy ” high flying / raking in the money television executive. So I don’t think he has time either.

        Both of them come accross as selfish, driven by their careers, when the most important thing is, looking after ones own children.

        http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/18/stephen-moss-kirsty-wark

           30 likes

        • Tuscany Polly says:

          Why doesn’t she send her children to boarding school like I do?
          Problem solved.

             18 likes

          • Prof. Dingle says:

            Maybe a minimum wage Philipino is doing the job. The feminist sisterhood are very good at this type of hipocracy.

               5 likes

            • Earls court says:

              Thats the only way these champagne socialists experience thier precious multiculturalism.

                 8 likes

      • johnnythefish says:

        Think nannies and housekeepers – the must-have accessories for every upper middle class bien pensants too busy telling everyone else what to think to have time for their own kids.

           16 likes

        • Earls court says:

          Just like socialworkers telling people what they can and can’t do with their children and they have never had any.

             17 likes

    • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

      Err…….i’ll assume that she’s not on your xmas card list then?
      ROFL.

         5 likes

  7. Phil Space says:

    ‘Acting director general Tim Davie says he’s determined to provide clarity and leadership and promises “there will be no handbrake turn”.’

    Is what they are saying that Tim’ll Fix it?

       38 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      ‘‘Acting director general Tim Davie says he’s determined to provide clarity and leadership and promises “there will be no handbrake turn”.’’
      From that SKY clip, he doesn’t seem clear on left or right and the only lead I could eventually discern was him heading out stage…. left.

         10 likes

  8. David Brims says:

    The great thing about Twitter, these BBC nonentities grass themselves, you get the info / dirt on them.

    I looked up Kirsty’s Squawk’s Twitter page, Christ it was nauseating / vomit inducing in it’s pretentiousness.

    ”while I’m on food ..Henri’s deli in Morningside in Edinburgh is worth visiting the city for.Great cheese,mushrooms, knowledge..& friendly.”

    She want’s to show us that she is a connoisseur, good house wife that can cook. It’s all a phony act.

       26 likes

  9. Privatise the BBC says:

    Anybody put together an F.O.I. request to find out how much of our money was used ‘buying’ the Newsnight scoop from the B.I.J?

       27 likes

    • deegee says:

      McAlpine will probably sue the BBC. Is the BBC then entitled to sue the B.I.J.? That could get interesting. All that material coming out in open court about BBC procedures.

         23 likes

    • Angry Licence Fee Payer says:

      Apparently the Beeb is immune to FOI requests because they are considered to be a private organisation not a public one.
      Surprising no? What with the Licence fee and all.

      That’s how they’ve been able to refuse to respond to FOI requests regarding their decision to only tell one side of the climate change story.

         30 likes

      • Andy S. says:

        If a judge considers the BBC as a private institution, then surely we are within our rights to refuse to pay the TV licence. Since when are the public forced to pay money to “private institutions”?

        Surely a “private institution” using intimidation to demand money is guilty of demanding money with menaces?

           23 likes

    • Rufus McDufus says:

      They don’t seem to have any qualms outsourcing their journalism (despite employing probably more journalists than any other media organisation in the world) but are the first to complain at the possibility of the NHS being privatised.

         5 likes

      • David Preiser (USA) says:

        Paxman fussed about it at the time, and there is probably some internal grumbling. All part of the poisonous atmosphere created by brilliant management and egotistical journalists who think they alone can save the world.

           5 likes

  10. Number 7 says:

    Peter Mullen has posted a resume that comprehensively summarises many of the threads on this site:-

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/petermullen/100189084/can-we-just-get-rid-of-the-bbc-please/

    “What a joke! The BBC has a social and political agenda immoveable as the laws of the Persians and Medes. Look no further than the recent US election when its journalists and presenters cheered relentlessly for Obama. Or the arrogance with which the Corporation doesn’t even bother to deny – because realistically it can’t – its tireless promotion of the superstitious fad of global warming. The BBC was accused of bias against Israel which it denied, setting up its own internal enquiry into the matter. When the result of the enquiry became available, the BBC refused to publish it and even went to the lengths of incurring hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal costs to have the proof of its anti-Israel policy hushed up.”

       40 likes

    • GCooper says:

      Peter Mullen’s piece was the highlight of the Telegraph today. It almost revived my faith in the CofE. Almost.

         19 likes

      • Frank Words says:

        It was a fine piece indeed. But I do love reading the demented comments from pro BBC nutters almost foaming at the mouth in their impotent rage at what has happened to the beloved Beeb.

        According to those zealots: the BBC did nothing wrong because they did not actually name McAlpine.

        They are not biased to the left because some people (who – Morning Star readers perhaps) say it is right wing.

        If complusory licence fee is ended the lalternative is “Fox News”.

        Oh. I forgot. The Christian Churches are to blame for paedophiles cover ups, not the BBC.

           23 likes

  11. Guest Who says:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9671353/How-the-BBC-can-salvage-its-reputation.html
    A child is abused by an adult.
    Other adults come along later, and in the name of helping them, when in fact they are helping an institutional agenda, abuse their trust again.
    Then, once caught in a spotlight they created, they ignore said innocents and engage in self-consuming navel-gazing that ensures no focus on any crimes that were committed, but do at least pad their bank balances.
    If such a child, now grown, asked me if I felt they should trust them again, on anything, I’d tend to say not.
    But maybe that’s because if a flea-infested dog bites you multiple times, it may be best not to lie down with them again.

       18 likes

  12. David Brims says:

    Peter Allen , no fool like an old fool on BBC Radio 5 Drivetime show, after Obama’s victory speech oratory .

    ”He’s rather good at that, isn’t he ?”

       12 likes

  13. James says:

    Does anyone listen to ‘A point of view’ on Radio4 at 8.50 on Sundays?
    For the previous 4 weeks we have been treated to someone called Martin Jacques saying how wonderful communist China is. Looking him up, I see he was for many years the editor of the GB Communist Party’s journal. I don’t think the BBC mentioned that when they introduced him.
    Now, the speaker is Mary Beard. In her first programme she talked about the awful oppression of the poor by the rich from ancient Rome to today, saying that there aren’t any benefit cheats.

       32 likes

    • David Brims says:

      He doesn’t like monocultural China, he prefers the true ” wonders ” of multiculturalism .

      I lasted 10 seconds, l had to throw up .

         20 likes

    • GCooper says:

      Martin Jacques was editor of Marxism Today. Moreover he is a visiting professor at two Chinese universities and a regular writer for both the Guardian and the New Statesmen.

      That concludes the evidence for the prosecution, m’lud.

         31 likes

    • DB says:

      I don’t listen to A Point of View any more, but here’s a tweet of mine from a year ago. Sounds like nothing has changed.

         29 likes

  14. wallygreeninker says:

    Didn’t bother to note where and by whom it was said, last night on the radio, but some Beeboid female was saying that a Romney win would have been a nightmare for Cameron: as it was Obama’s victory confirmed his view that you don’t win elections by moving to the right but by occupying the centre ground. Another lesson from the Ameican elections had been noted earlier in R4’s election hour, was that 55% of American women voted for Obama -it may well have swung him the election – so we are likely to hear more from the government in the near future about initiatives on such things as flexible working and childcare. This take on the Republican defeat may well be where Conservative leadership and Beeboid minds meet.
    I’d imagine call-me-Dave would see root and branch reform of the Beeb as a right wing thing to do and therefore a definite no-no. Despite the corporations current troubles it may be that when the bell tolled for Romney, it tolled for those calling for radical reform of the Beeb by a Conservative government, as well.

       18 likes

  15. PhilO'TheWisp says:

    Acting DG Davie just walked off camera part way through live interview on Sky. It certainly caught Murnaghan by surprise. He said “Bet he wouldn’t treat the BBC like that.”

       33 likes

    • ltwf1964 says:

      sky really need to start putting the boot in

      they’re missing a great opportunity

         33 likes

      • PhilO'TheWisp says:

        He was on message though. He said “grip” a lot. Before he ducked out. Sky now discussing his poor performance in the interview. On balance George E was actually better. At least he stayed until the end of his difficult sessions.

           26 likes

      • Sres says:

        No, sky shouldn’t put the boot in, their coverage should stay impartial as it has been.

        This is why the Beeb are in such shit, what goes around comes around.

           11 likes

        • ltwf1964 says:

          sky are being waaaaaaayyyyy too charitable at the minute

          they could still stamp on the snake without impinging on impartiality

             5 likes

        • mat says:

          Agreed Sky can sit back and enjoy this car crash ! well OK maybe they can do a little pushing lol!

             3 likes

        • Reed says:

          Agreed, Sres. Sky News is a quality outfit. It should remain even-handed.

          The BBC would be on full attack mode now, however – as their obsession with hacking has demonstrated. Sky News has more class, and more professional presenters. Steve Dixon is perhaps one of the best TV news journalists around – a smart bloke.

             7 likes

    • #88 says:

      See the clip and the reflection in the glass of the suited and booted figure who seems to be prompted Davie, nodding to encourage his responses and then pointing to the door to indicate that he should end the interview.

         7 likes

  16. Deborah says:

    While I am gathering my thoughts on the BBC Trustees giving away over £200,000 of license payers money to Entwistle, beyond what they needed, I thought I would have a rant again about Countryfile.

    The blond bimbo – Ellie – whilst talking about disease in larch trees said that the spread would be made worse because of ‘the warming climate’. It isn’t so long ago that I thought I didn’t need a winter coat – but this year by early November we have already had several night frosts and my mother’s fur coat is looking attractive.

       23 likes

    • It's all too much says:

      Strange how the BBC has stopped running all those stories about French viticulturalists flocking to Southern England to buy up land for vine yards – due to the immanence of huge temperature hikes

      Here is an absolute classic from the archives – the theme was a BBC meme for months

      “Britain’s winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives.

      Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain’s culture, as warmer winters – which scientists are attributing to global climate change – produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries.”

      http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/snowfalls-are-now-just-a-thing-of-the-past-724017.html

         16 likes

      • David Preiser (USA) says:

        We had earlier snow in NYC this year than in quite some time. Stupid global warming.

           3 likes

  17. George R says:

    ‘Daily Mail’: is very good today on BBC crisis, with coverage on pages 1 ,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 14.

       19 likes

    • Mike Fowle says:

      Yes, apart from the fawning references to John Humphreys.

         9 likes

      • Sres says:

        I thought JH did a good job on his bosses, bosses, bosses, bosses, bosses, bosses, bosses, bosses, bosses boss on Saturday.

           5 likes

  18. martin white says:

    The breaking news that Abu Qatada has won his appeal against deportation to Jordan is all over the BBC at the moment. How is it being reported? Well you might think that they would report it as a travesty of justice against the British people who deserve to have the right to deport this terrorist freeloader. But no, it is being headlined as a personal defeat for Theresa May and the Tories as if they are somehow culpable.
    Paralleling this story, we are told that the real story of ineptitude and dithering, that of Entwistle’s 54 day reign, is to be rewarded from our purse to the tune of £450k
    How do they broadcast with a straight face?

       40 likes

    • ltwf1964 says:

      because ther’s no-one in power with the will or the swingers to castrate them

      don’t rely on Cameron…….complete waste of space

         28 likes

      • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

        ” don’t rely on Cameron…….complete waste of space ”

        I’ll second that!

           15 likes

  19. George R says:

    ‘Daily Mail:

    The excellent Peter Sissons, re- Lord Patten, etc –

    “The chairman has failed. Now he must go too”

    By PETER SISSONS.

    [Excerpt]:

    “It is my experience, after 20 years in the BBC newsroom, that when the going gets tough, the Corporation uses the notion of independence as a smokescreen behind which to act in its own best interests.

    “Political correctness and a pervasive Left-of-Centre mindset have infected much of its news agenda, writing and reporting. There was an almost gleeful tone across all BBC outlets to the titillating repetition recently of Newsnight’s impending revelations about a ‘leading figure from the Thatcher era’.

    “The Lord McAlpine smear may have been a one-off. The bias against Margaret Thatcher is ongoing.

    “It’s still the case that the quickest way to sabotage your future at the BBC is to tell a promotions board — the internal appointment boards that decide on promotions — that Britain’s first woman Prime Minister is the post-war politician you most admire.”

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2231547/BBC-crisis-The-chairman-failed-Now-too.html

       27 likes

  20. Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling says:

    The bBBC is giving another of their insiders another opportunity to plug more of his books on their second-favourite subject, Hitler.
    Adolf Hitler was an unlikely leader but he still formed a connection with millions of German people, generating a level of charismatic attraction that was almost without parallel. It is a stark warning for the modern day, says historian Laurence Rees.
    Yes, truly a stark warning for the modern day that a man with no discernible talent, except the ability to make speeches, can come to power in a great nation.
    Barack Obama, anyone?

       19 likes

  21. Daniel Smith says:

    Oh dear. The new DG was given an intense grilling by Dermot Murgahan on Sky News just now. Tim Davie seemed decidedly out of his depth denying that anyone knew anything about the unwise newsnight broadcast before it went out. He then stormed off, to which Murghanan said, “i bet he wouldn’t do that on the BBC!”

       14 likes

    • uncle bup says:

      I knew about the Newsnight story early on the day of broadcast, I knew about the Guardian front page early on Friday morning and I’m NOT editor-in-chief of the BBC.

      What is it with these people.

         17 likes

    • AngusPangus says:

      Reposted from another thread, so apologies if you’ve seen it before:

      Bizarre interview on Murnaghan just now with Tim Davie. TD constantly looking off-screen for reassurance from somebody out of shot. Then, in the glass behind TD, you can make out a shady figure of a bloke in a suit evidently standing behind the camera, nodding and seemingly coaching TD with his answers.

      Hardly inspires confidence.

      Just who the hell is Davie’s crutch?????

         15 likes

  22. ltwf1964 says:

    all this crap from the bbc is obscuring one major thing

    they employed/protected/turned a blind eye to one of the most serious serial paedos this country has ever known

    what about JIMMY SAVILLE beeboids?

    what’s that I hear…….the sound of sweeping under the carpet?

       27 likes

  23. uncle bup says:

    Has Nikki Campbell apologised on air yet for his smear,

    ‘yerve only gorragoogle ‘thatcher and paedophile’.?

    Or is he keeping his head down hoping the sackings won’t reach his level.

    Not sure that’s a sound tactic, after all, keeping your head down only got Entwhistle so far.

       20 likes

    • Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling says:

      Have you tried googling ‘Nikki Campbell’ and ‘sack’?

         17 likes

    • David Brims says:

      You mean Nicky ” I joined Radio 1 the week after Jimmy Savile left ” Campbell.

      That Nick Campbell ?

         17 likes

    • NotaSheep says:

      Can anyone find the audio for that? Now that would make a lovely Christmas present.

         1 likes

  24. George R says:

    “Can we just get rid of the BBC, please?”

    By Peter Mullen

    [Excerpt]:

    ” The BBC has a social and political agenda immoveable as the laws of the Persians and Medes. Look no further than the recent US election when its journalists and presenters cheered relentlessly for Obama. Or the arrogance with which the Corporation doesn’t even bother to deny – because realistically it can’t – its tireless promotion of the superstitious fad of global warming. The BBC was accused of bias against Israel which it denied, setting up its own internal enquiry into the matter. When the result of the enquiry became available, the BBC refused to publish it and even went to the lengths of incurring hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal costs to have the proof of its anti-Israel policy hushed up.
    The BBC displays incompetence, partisanship and self-satisfaction in equal measure. ”

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/petermullen/100189084/can-we-just-get-rid-of-the-bbc-please/

       18 likes

  25. George R says:

    “State regulation did nothing to prevent this smearing of an innocent man – but a free Press exposed it.”

    By MELANIE PHILLIPS

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2231571/BBC-crisis-State-regulation-did-prevent-smearing-innocent-man–free-Press-exposed-it.html

       16 likes

  26. Phil Ford says:

    The BBC propaganda site is going into overdrive – the ‘Live Feed’ on their page seems to contain endless numbers of approved tweets from ‘on-message’ useful idiots calling for the license fee to be protected, claiming how ‘great’ the BBC is, etc, etc.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20294771

    This is simply naked propaganda from the Pravda-like BBC. These wretched people, this dreadful organisation, is going to learn absolutely nothing at all from all of this. We see all too clearly how they will ‘get a grip’ – by doing absolutely nothing at all but putting their fingers in their ears and shouting ‘lLa, la, we’re not listening!’ All day the BBC has been interviewing itself about how it’s vital to retain the ‘trust’ of the proletariat, congratulating itself on it’s ‘honesty’ and it’s ‘truthful reporting’.

    People, we are through the looking glass.

    The rot is simply too deeply ingrained, too far embedded, within this monolithic bureaucracy, riven with indoctrinaire policy and an acute inability to see it’s own blatant left-wing bias, visible in everything it does from Newnight and Today affairs to Countryfile and kids TV.

    Kill it. Kill it now, while it’s wounded, before it has a chance to rise again.

       31 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      1308: Diane Abbott MP tweets: My view is that despite the current problems and the current media coverage, the BBC remains one of the finest broadcasters in the world
      The ‘views’ of those embedded financially and ideologically with the BBC being worth what in this… [ahem] … context?
      Fine broadcasters don’t try and stitch up the political opponents of staff and parties they happen to wish back in power.

         23 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      ‘Kill it. Kill it now, while it’s wounded, before it has a chance to rise again.’
      There are some noble souls who seem to feel the hand of friendship needs to be outstretched.
      Having seen the results with rabid (it’s a disease that reaches then radiates through every fibre from the brain, BTW) animals, a Trojan horsebox-full may not really be the wisest to trust, frankly, if you wish to keep that hand.

         6 likes

      • chrisH says:

        Quite right!
        When you see the dupes that roll round the BBC outlets like carousel horsies, you KNOW that the likes of Abbott, Harman, Toynbee, Dimbleby would be nowhere, nothing without the BBC and its witches tit of vinegar for us, but ambrosia for the lotus eating scum we`ve “perhaps let go on too long”.
        We are all Geoffrey Howes now!

           6 likes

    • ltwf1964 says:

      1233: The National Union of Journalists says the broader backdrop to the problems at the BBC is “the remorseless cost cutting across the corporation”. In a statement, its general secretary Michelle Stanistreet calls for a moratorium on cuts.

      yeah,ok then LOL

         21 likes

  27. pah says:

    Just caught the One o’Clock News on BBC 1. They had some senior journalist (don’t know his name but I think he’s the chap that got shouted at outside No 10). Anyway, describing the fix the BBC is currently in he said ” … the BBC has to ensure that it wins back trust from the electorate … ” ( I paraphrase).

    So the BBC wants to be trusted. But why by the ‘electorate’? What is so special about the electorate as surely all their viewers, voting or not, should ‘trust’ the BBC?
    That chap Freud might have been onto something?

       25 likes

    • Deborah says:

      I was scrolling down the posts to add a comment about ‘trust’ when I read Pah’s post.
      On the lightest level – I was watching Strictly last Saturday night. An unexpected result of who was in the bottom two – Kimberley Walsh had done a rather good waltz – but every year around this time in the series there is somebody unexpected in the bottom two – and then saved. How can we trust the BBC to tell us the real number of votes when there is no trust? Additionally Tessa always says that the results are ‘in no particular order’ when they obviously are. This is of course very minor but it is even at this lowest level that I have no trust for anything on the BBC.
      What has surprised me is that the BBC has spent so much money fighting the release of the Balen report. Surely they have had the time to rewrite it so that it says what the BBC wants the outside world to read – it is obviously takes longer to rewrite a report than I would have anticipated. And then the BBC has spent money to prevent us finding out who was at their climate change meeting – why will they not release the details? Again the fact they they will not tell their paymasters (ie the licence paying public) destroys trust. If they will not tell us who was there it means that they cannot justify their choice of people.

         16 likes

      • Jim Dandy says:

        I think ousting Fern from the show is a scandal. The Dandy family voted early and often to keep her in; to no avail.

           1 likes

  28. David Brims says:

    How come the BBC is a great news gathering organisation as Chris Patten said.

    Yet they knew NOTHING about Jimmy Savile for 50 years.

    Is anyone buying that ? the BBC is complicit in covering up the crimes of Savile.

       29 likes

  29. George R says:

    “Will Paxman quit Newsnight?
    Host blames ‘cowards and incompetents’ as he jumps to defence of director general”

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2231325/Jeremy-Paxman-Newsnight-anchor-lambasts-incompetents-cowards-BBC.html

    Paxman has been weak in his lack of public critique of BBC as a publicly funded propaganda organisation.

       9 likes

    • Beeboidal says:

      Chris Patten has admitted he knew about the Newsnight paedophile investigation but did not think it right to warn George Entwistle, the then director-general, about it, as to intervene would have been ‘absurd’.

      Eff me. What would have been wrong with a word in George’s ear along the the lines of ‘ Newsnight is working on a very big story. In view of the Savile affair, make sure it’s watertight.’

      Patten has to go.

         21 likes

    • capriole, peter says:

      I’m wondering why we are not hearing anything from Gavin Esler. it was he who headed the Newsnight peado slur that night. Is he keeping his head down?

         9 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        Is he keeping his head down?
        Isn’t that rather what got them started down this cliff?

           8 likes

  30. George R says:

    A song for BBC’s new man facing the music, TIM DAVIE?

    ” I Entwhistle a happy tune ”

    All together…

       1 likes

  31. As I See It says:

    EVENING ON THE VERANDA
    I say Curruthers, I see, you’ve come out to join me.
    Gad, but it’s just as hot out here!
    You can’t escape the heat, or the flies. Care for a spot of Tiffin? Or a nip of something stronger?
    Don’t mind if I do, chin chin!
    This heat, the flies, that incessant anti-Tory drumming – it’s enough to drive a chap crazy!
    What must they be thinking out there?
    I know, it’s absolutely relentless. Non-stop. Everywhere you go – just can’t escape it – it’s deep in their culture, you know.
    Do you hear that? That chanting, that anti-Murdoch note again – it shows the natives are unbowed.
    It’s the Labour spin doctors who stir them up into that frenzy. Their twitter goes through the jungle like wildfire.
    Watch out, here comes the new DG!
    Hello chaps, mind if I join you? Best get acquainted with the troops, so to speak.
    We’re most pleased to meet you Sir!
    Now, now chaps don’t let’s stand on ceremony – “Pinko” and “Leftie” isn’t it? Gad but it’s hot out here!
    You’ll get used to that – and the flies – and the anti-Tory drumming.
    I hear the last chap didn’t last long – 55 days wasn’t it? Not much of an innings, what?
    Some say 54 – it was the anti-Tory drumming that did for him.
    I heard that at the end he was something of a willing sacrifice?
    The natives did for him of course; the details were somewhat unpleasant.
    Well, I’ll have to face up to it – tell me the worst.
    By the time they had finished with him he was more than happy to emasculate himself and to willingly jump into the pot.
    The savages!
    But what with all that drumming – you can’t blame the last DG – it’s enough to drive any normal chap dullay.
    The previous DG – where did he go wrong? What would you advise? How should I try to run things out here?
    First and foremost read your Guardian. Appoint plenty of the Memsahibs. Always promote your loyal Fuzzie-Wuzzies and Dervishes. If something kicks off – blame the Jews. Don’t trust the Yanks.
    But always look to the other Europeans – they won’t help you in return, mind you.
    It’s crucial you don’t upset the Mad Mullahs and remember to Kowtow to the great Panjandrums.
    Most important, don’t do anything to upset the angry tribesmen. Give their spin doctors plenty of air.
    Do all that and with a bit of luck you should survive to retire comfortably enough.

       18 likes

  32. ltwf1964 says:

    all I can say is,if you actually believe the bbc is 2the country’s most trusted news organisation”,you really need to get out more

       9 likes

    • John Wood says:

      Which one is then?

      Sky?
      Mail?
      Guardian?
      Pathe?

         0 likes

      • ltwf1964 says:

        I’d trust my dog better than any of those

        bbc bottom of the pile though

           9 likes

      • Roland Deschain says:

        You make a good point. It’s like choosing between Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot for trustworthiness. The survey is meaningless.

           6 likes

        • Guest Who says:

          We are being served interesting ‘choices’.
          So far, thoughts from the BBC about the BBC featuring Ms. Abbott & Ms. Toynbee.

             6 likes

          • Guest Who says:

            Gives me a chance to go all biblical too: ‘by their friends shall thee know them’.

               9 likes

            • Wild says:

              ‘by their friends shall thee know them’.

              Spot on. When the Left rush to defend the BBC anti-Tory smear campaign on the grounds that they are impartial it tells you all you need to know about the BBC.

                 8 likes

  33. leha says:

    Is Entwhistle actually leaving the bBC and going on the dole, or is he just shifting offices?

       13 likes

  34. +james says:

    A word from the new Director General of the BBC.

       8 likes

  35. +james says:

    Tim the DG is even worse that Enwistle. Look at this Sky interview.

       6 likes

  36. prole says:

    I’m surprised just how few right wing angrywhitemen are posting on this of all days.

    You are a dying breed

       3 likes

    • ltwf1964 says:

      yawn

      a waaaaaycissssst troll

         19 likes

    • Darlastonian says:

      “You are a dying breed ”

      No, it’s the BBC that’s dying…with any luck. I hope Entwistle is the snowball that starts the avalanche.

      It’s interesting how all the pro-BBC trolls remained remarkably tight-lipped when the whole Savile scandal kicked off, but the very second that Dimbleby did that interview last Saturday, they immediately all sprang up again on here, spouting similar phrases, such as “OLD MEN!”, “FAR-RIGHT!”, “WITCH HUNT!” and, of course, “DAILY MAIL!”.

      No wonder they like the BBC so much. Without it, they wouldn’t have anyone to tell them how to think.

         24 likes

    • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

      My corridors are strewn with empty champagne bottles prole, so not much chance to post!
      Pip pip old chap!

         17 likes

    • TigerOC says:

      Na mate too busy laughing.

      They have spent the last 30 days putting foot in mouth then try someone else’s foot to see if that fits. When that doesn’t work they ask someone else to have a go.

      Party in a brewery………….

      These folk have spent their lives immune and isolated from the World with their cosy little arrangements of; you can ask me questions but I don’t have to answer them.

      Every damn interview this comes across as clear as day. There is nothing you can do or say I am the BBC and I am not answerable to you.

      Guess what the sh1t has just hit the fan and they are sinking in the quick sand and every talking head they bring on is worse than the last.

         12 likes

  37. Guest Who says:

    ‘Nick added analysis to:
    BBC not under threat, says No 10
    Many politicians are watching the BBC reeling from its self-inflicted wounds with a mixture of amazement and frustration but I detect little anger or desire for retribution’

    BBC Editor adds ‘analysis’ and concludes BBC is fine and dandy using his BBC ‘detecting’ wand.
    He may be right about No. 10.
    No.10 may not be so right about folk who can vote them, at least, out.

       8 likes

  38. Daniel Smith says:

    What a pity there are no real satirical programmes on anymore. I notice that this Friday is this year’s BBC Children in Need appeal, appearing on the schedules with almost impeccable comic timing. A true comedian would have a field day with this, but watch for the tumble weed on the BBC.

       15 likes

    • As I See It says:

      Richard Bacon today played host to the present pair of BBC Blue Peter dollards who have an odd idea – they want school kids to dress in their pyjamas for Children in Need.

      Eeeeerk, creepy!

      Or is it just me?

      cos Bacon thought it was all a grand idea

         11 likes

      • wallygreeninker says:

        The Now Show will have a field day making fun of that idea.

           1 likes

      • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

        well, I WAS going to make a comment that some folk just can’t see the wood for the trees.
        However on reflection that doesn’t seem to be a very good turn of phrase.
        Oh dear, one day they will make a carry on film using all of this stuff.

           0 likes

  39. Guest Who says:

    http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/13073
    It has exploded the idea, cleaved to by pretty much the entire chattering class, that British journalism can be neatly divided into Good and Bad camps, and that where the former deserves official approval, the latter deserves official reprimand.
    Can’t wait for the BBC to ask Polly, Tom & Mr. Monbiot’s opinion on this.

       7 likes

  40. George R says:

    “Mark Thompson starts at New York Times as BBC crisis deepens”

    By Andrew Laughlin.

    http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/news/a437574/mark-thompson-starts-at-new-york-times-as-bbc-crisis-deepens.html

       4 likes

  41. Mike Fowle says:

    Sorry I am technically incompetent and unable to post links but on Bishop Hill there’s an address from Mark Thompson followed by various comments which make entertaining reading.

       2 likes

  42. George R says:

    “George Entwistle’s BBC payoff is tough to justify, says government.
    “Culture secretary Maria Miller criticises £450,000 payout but No 10 backs BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten.”

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/nov/12/george-entwistle-bbc-payoff-tough-justify

    Cameron = pro-BBC, pro-Entwistle £450,000 pay off, pro-Patten, pro-E.U., pro-Turkey membership, pro-windfarms, etc, etc.

       9 likes

    • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

      ” pro-Turkey membership”
      thank you sir, I never miss an opportuntiy to ram home the fact that Dopey dave is fully in favour of that Turkish EU entry.
      What a Plonker he must be!

         1 likes

  43. Umbongo says:

    I notice the BBC is relishing the attempted crucifixion of US corporates on the cross of tax avoidance. The BBC report quotes the criticism levelled at these companies by Lord Myners on Today this morning.
    Unfortunately, the BBC has fallen at the first hurdle of journalism (not for the first time) by failing to notice (or, as likely, noticing but failing to inform its audience concerning) some facts about Myners’ career. As Ken Frost at the HMRC is Shite writes: “ . . I see that he [Myners] was chairman of Aspen Insurance Holdings for 5 years, a Bermuda-based insurance company, that managed to avoid more than £100M a year in tax. On top of that Myners was also chairman of Liberty Ermitage, an offshore fund based in Jersey. For good measure, Gartmore, the fund management company that Lord Myners chaired for 15 years, also ran a Jersey-based offshore business.“.
    In respect of the Today item this morning, either Humphrys knew this about Myners and said nothing or, possibly worse, didn’t know (obviously due to “cost cutting” – ™ Jeremy Paxman – at Bias Central Today). But, for the BBC, any grist to the mill of anti-business tax “justice” – even the hypocrisy of Labour ex-minister Myners or, for that matter, trustifarian Hodge – is welcome.

       13 likes

  44. Dave666 says:

    Newsround..Is this now the flagship BBc news vehicle,cover BBc gate.
    serious faces on what was that they said about checking stories are right? The BBc is paid for by everyone with a television..is that right does the ownership of a telly alone make you liable to pay the liscence?

       3 likes

    • Scrappydoo says:

      “The BBC is paid for by everyone with a television.. Is that right does the ownership of a telly alone make you liable to pay the licence? ”

      The short answer is no, you do not need a License just to own a TV. A license is only needed if the TV is set up to receive live broadcasts(connected to an aerial and the channels tuned in) A tv not connected to an aerial that is used to only to view DVDs or computer games does not require a TV license.

         4 likes

    • Dave666 says:

      It was a retorical question I have had a conversation or two with TVL.

         1 likes

  45. Maturecheese says:

    Anyone noticed how the ‘Asian’ gangs raping and putting into prostitution under age non Muslim girls, has dropped completely off the radar now. Non existent Tory Peados far more interesting it seems.

       15 likes

  46. David Preiser (USA) says:

    BBC News Channel talking to two people: Ben Bradshaw (again) who is defending it to the hilt and screaming about protecting the BBC from enemies who hate Patton because of his Europhilia, and then a Mr. Carey, the founder of Newsnight, who says the show is still brilliant and the problems of Savile and McAlpine were caused by editorial decisions being taken by someone from above and not by Newsnight itself. The problems will be solved, he says, not by appointing more acting editors but by letting the Pollard inquiry explain all.

    The Beeboids sure are putting on a good show of public self-flagellation and giving tough interviews to Entwistle, but when it comes to really discussing what needs to be done, it’s business as usual: Labour figures and incest interviews.

       20 likes

    • leha says:

      the self-flagellation won’t last too much longer as “The british public keep texting in telling us not to be so hard on ourselves”

      o rly?

         10 likes

      • David Preiser (USA) says:

        Yes, really, I’m sure that’s true. Stuck record time: it’s impossible for most people to separate in their minds (insert your favorite light entertainment/documentary series/high culture production here) from the News and Current Affairs.

        Attack even the most obviously biased BBC output and it’s as if you’re attacking Blue Peter and David Frost. There’s no way around it.

        You hear it from the politicians, you hear it from nearly all the talking heads, you even hear it from most critics of the BBC. Unless that changes, nothing of consequence will be done.

           2 likes

        • George R says:

          Yes, David Frost, like so many ex-Beeboids, now seamlessly part of Islamic ‘Al Jazeera’ outfit. Beyond criticism, apparently.

             2 likes

  47. GCooper says:

    Yes, that would be the same Ben Bradshaw that joined the BBC in 1986, wouldn’t it?

    Just the man you’d call on for an impartial view of the Corporation.

    If you were an idiot.

       10 likes

  48. George R says:

    “Sketch: The day the BBC ate itself.

    “Michael Deacon follows the BBC’s coverage of its own scandal, then watches MPs debate it in the Commons.”

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9673173/Sketch-The-day-the-BBC-ate-itself.html

       5 likes

  49. George R says:

    “Tory MP: ‘Essential’ Lord Patten resigns.”

    (Two min video clip).

    http://www.itv.com/news/update/2012-11-12/tory-mp-essential-lord-patten-resigns/?

       2 likes