This has raised many a comment on the open thread already so I’ll lob my two penn’th in.
You have to laugh sometimes.
The BBC fulminated against the appointment of a Fascist as manager of Sunderland football club but have no problems recruiting a left winger who actively campaigned against Bush in the US elections to head up Newsnight.
Fascism has little to do with running a football club…but surely someone with such obviously strong political convictions as Katz shouldn’t be head honcho at Newsnight directing its editorial direction….in league with fellow Guardianista Allegra Stratton and old Trot Paul Mason….a bit of an Eastern Front?
On top of that Katz has never worked in television…but…he says: “I’m incredibly excited to be joining a programme I’ve watched and loved all my adult life.”
Not sure I trust this lady’s judgement on Katz going by her description of the beleagured Newsnight:
Fran Unsworth, the BBC’s acting director of news, said: “I’m delighted to be welcoming Ian to the BBC. His journalistic pedigree speaks for itself.
“He will bring to one of Britain’s most influential news and current affairs programmes all the judgment, news sense and innovation we need.”
Paxman must be reassured.
Meanwhile Newsnight deputy ed. Jamie Angus heads off to take over the reins at the Today programme as editor….at least he has actually worked on Today before…for 8 years…and has plenty of editorial experience…..though he too might have misjudged the pedigree of the programme he is going to lead:
“At the heart of Radio 4 and of BBC News, Today is central to what the BBC offers its audiences.”
Kind of worrying when you think how influential these two programmes are supposed to be:
‘Newsnight is where the Establishment is supposed to reflect after a hard day, but it’s the Today programme (I know, plus the newspapers) that tells them what to think about at the start of the news cycle.’
Article by Guido – http://order-order.com/2013/05/16/katzs-top-notch-lefty-credentials/
I’m increasingly concerned about right wing bias within the BBC – the slavish following of the UKIP agenda (despite that party being so unpopular it has never managed to get an MP elected). All we hear about is the EU and immigration, despite these subjects only being of interest to a minority of right wing nutters! Why are we letting UKIP set the agenda? As a Tory supporter, I resent the suggestion that these are the subjects I care most about…actually I have a mind of my own and have worked out that immigration has been the saviour of the British economy, and that leaving the EU would be a catastrophic vanity project – which 90% of the british business community would oppose. Trouble is, UKIP gets so much coverage from the BBC that these issues get unduly elevated, So, BBC lets get a little balance and stop slavishly following UKIPs agenda
Heavens above, another visit from the Co-op grocery department.
You forgot the sarc tag. Meanwhile I’m watching an all-left-wing panel on Question Time, agreeing on practically every issue: All love the EU and gay marriage (except for an apologetic Hammond)
Yes, the (Big Brother) Arts guy in reply to the man in the audience stating the comparative sizes of the on-line petitions (perhaps paraphrased):
“The sentiment in this room is against you”.
Of course, as always, the BBC selected the rooms audience.
I’m a straight non-married male, not really religious. As far as I’m concerned:
‘Gay Marriage’ = a football match played using a golf ball, and telling me it’s the same thing so stop complaining as nothing important has changed.
Fundamentally it is very different, despite the contrived arguments made that they are nearly identical.
Get a grip, Colditz. Either debate the issue at hand, or go peddle this on CiF or a BBC blog something.
You should be pointing out that Katz has the wrong skin colour and wrong genitalia to be considered for such a position. Or does the Quisling Corporation stand down the on-call race/gender hustlers when someone from its newspaper Gaulieters is involved?
Aww bless the plant life is evolving look now they are trying mimicry and a very basic humour!
I really think they will soon be up to big ideas like walking and talking without the help of the BBC stabilizer [it’s like the pairs you get on kids bikes but at the BBC you only get the one on the left !] and being blanched in slightly salted water !
Hang on just a theory but like a lepers bell have the BBC chorus line been told to call themselves vegetables because we all know what kids hate !
Kale, on what specific grounds do you consider immigration to be the saviour of the British economy?
There is no need to go into detail of course, so perhaps the three most important points would suffice.
Kale ?? Ha you are nothing more then a bitter lettuce
We are the hard plants we saw off EX tranny Lizzard and his £15 million of BBC tax payers cash and we will see off you and the rest of the cabbage patch players !
Founded just 10 years ago, “despite being so unpopular” and only “of interest to a minority of right wing nutters” UKIP moved into 3rd position overall in the council elections two weeks ago with 24% of the votes. I have done the maths and a pretty graph, coincidentally shaped a bit like a hockey stick, and the science tells me that by 2015 UKIP will have 87.64% of the votes and a majority of 500 at the next general election.
Following that election the BBC will be sold to for 2p. Half to Fox and half to Aljazeera.
England, wales and N Ireland will leave the criminal EU and Scotland will then join it.
The £50 million per day saved from the EU and the £10 million per day saved on Scotland will then be spent on schools, hospitals, factories and houses. (south of the border only).
Heathrow and Dover to be run by Tommy Robinson and his merry men.
All socialists will be made to re-open and then work in the coal mines. It’s is after all what they really, really want.
“Men” who abuse children to be intensely re-educated by the SAS. There will be no ‘and then’.
That will do for a start.
“Following that election the BBC will be sold to for 2p. Half to Fox….”
Biscuits, not News – they’ll do less harm that way.
British Biscuit Company?
If you could just add the compulsory relocation of Polly Toynbee and Peter Mandelson to Tower Hamlets, then you are onto a winner here Old Timer!
I like your manifesto,but how can I be sure youll keep your promises once elected?
talking about fascism,did you see those screaming hate filled anti english left wing vermin threatening and trying to lynch nigel farage in scotland yesterday,as nigel said last night, these people wanted to hurt him badly and he was gratefull to the police for intervening to save him from a beating or worse,how ironic that the left wing scum racially abused nigel farage just because he was english always claim they are anti fascist and anti racist,what happened in scotland yesterday to nigel farage just proves how racist and fascist these lot really are.you far left hate mob have been exposed for what you really are.
Of course the BBC some of the salient facts in its report about the ‘protest’. No prizes for guessing what.
there’s none so fascist as an anti-fascist
The appointment of Katz was briefly glossed over on the beeb’s review of the papers last night, where he was variously described as “an outsider” and “an excellent journalist”. As far as poor old Newsnight is concerned, the conclusion was that “if anyone can turn it around”, Katz is the very man. So, obviously the perfect choice to fit in alongside the rest of the BBC Ka*tz.
‘the move of the deputy editor of a small circulation quality broadsheet to the post of editor of a niche BBC news programme’
This stood out for me as a comment in passing about the politico-media ‘establishment’:
‘tells them what to think’
I still view the majority of the UK public as lions.
And the donkeys leading us are the same, if more flea-infested.
But what category of creature is ‘informing & educating’ them in ‘how to think’, so proudly, and overtly, and so poorly (the current track record on accuracy or integrity or impartiality is hardly stellar) on matters of policy is a real concern.
Perhaps we should give him the nickname Tory Katz.
Because like the Tory cuts they are neither Tory nor cutz …
IGMC
“talking about fascism,did you see those screaming hate filled anti english left wing vermin threatening and trying to lynch nigel farage in scotland yesterday ….”
Nigel Farage blasts ‘anti-English’ protesters http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22566180
This is a perfect example of the disgusting, depraved sorts of people who claim to be socialists and liberals. In this case it was members of the Scottish National-socialist Party. They all seem to have this tendancy to ugliness and violence. As Nigel called them: “Scum!”.
Thought Farage handled that well.perhaps Tories should try going head to head with BBC interviewers they have nothing to lose and like UKIP all to gain
‘The BBC fulminated against the appointment of a Fascist as manager of Sunderland football club ‘
Really? Do we just take that as a statement of fact?
‘but surely someone with such obviously strong political convictions as Katz shouldn’t be head honcho at Newsnight directing its editorial direction’
Like James Harding? Didn’t see you making that argument then?
Monk….Colditz…nicked emus…geoff watts….what’s your problem with David Vance that you have been stalking him for years on this blog and ATW?
Get over it.
Katz?…Purnell?..Stratton etc?
Any chance of a football transfer talent window being put in place, only with media and political transfers instead.
Make it January just like the footy. and then we could at least keep tabs on which Guardian harpie is sleeping with a BBC metrosexual, and therefore the private school fees and Tuscan villas are suitably maintained…or, of course vice versa…with drugs and the New Statesman or IPPR lobbed in so we don`t see it ALL as a small pond of incestuous prep school scum with the right surnames.
At least we could keep up then.