Author Archives: Hugh

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.

they would probably read like this. Generally, of course, the Beeb’s fairly dismissive of polls, and won’t lead news items on them, so when the Conservatives passed 50 per cent for their biggest poll lead since Thatcher, it was pretty roundly ignored – mentioned only at the bottom of this article. When Labour surge by seven per cent, mostly at the expense of the Lib Dems, though, it’s crowbarred into the leading paragaphs of a story about Brown’s trip to the US. It’s a funny old world isn’t it?

UPDATE: Meanwhile, at the BBC, mention of the poll has moved a couple of paragraphs down in the story of the US trip since I wrote, but they’ve now also shoehorned it into the leading paragraphs of this piece about Ruth Kelly’s resignation as well. Do you think they’re going to try and mention it every time they write about Labour or Gordon today?

A selection of BBC News website readers have been telling us what they thought of his speech, says the Beeb’s vox pop on Gordon’s speech. “Selection” is the right word. There’s Denise Curtis, who thought the speech “fantastic”; Pat Morris, “born and bred Labour” (and her verdict is the most critical); Garry McNulty, who has voted Tory only once in his life – so the typical floating voter, then; and Catherine Couston, a teacher from Glasgow – oh, and she’s “worried that the Conservatives might get in”. The verdict? All but one supportive. Here, on the other hand, is what BBC New website readers have really been telling them. Spot the difference.

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.

That’s the question being asked about the Newsnight economics editor over at Harry’s Place. I genuinely don’t know, is the rather worrying answer. The post continues:

What I do know is that last month, he took part in a meeting staged by the SWP front organisation “People Before Profit” alongside “SWP/Left Alternative supporter”, Graham Turner. His book was launched at the SWP bookshop. He spoke at the SWP conference in 2007.

It also notes that a lot of people – particularly on the left – supported extreme or silly causes in their youth, but as we’ve flagged up Mason is still quoting Che Guevara in middle age. And, as it says, the SWP is hardly harmless fun:

…in the past ten years [it] has devoted its energies to promoting speakers from Hamas and Hezbollah, lying about their genocidal racism, and promoting the viciously antisemitic Gilad Atzmon.

I do not think that a BBC journalist would participate in three events organised by the BNP or BNP front organisations. I am suprised that Newsnight’s Economic editor – of all things! – feels comfortable participating in SWP events.

I agree – well, apart from the bit about being surprised.

It’s a little tiring to have to keep pointing out the allegations the Beeb seems happy to ignore when left-wing politicians are in the frame, such as the Mail‘s against Labour MP Keith Vaz, also reported here, here, here, here and here, but sadly not as yet picked up by the BBC’s website. A challenge therefore for the corporation’s defenders: a copy of the Morning Star to the first who can point out any allegation against a Tory – ever – that the BBC has so comprehensively ignored.

UPDATE: The Vaz story is also now reported here, meaning that you are more likely to hear about these corruption allegations against a British Labour MP from the media in Argentina than from the BBC.

He may be a Republican pollster, but Frank Luntz is doing no favours for the Conservatives in this Newsnight report on how the party leaders are viewed. “We’ve gathered floating voters,” he begins. “Left-leaning floating voters”. And aren’t they.

With Channel 4’s poll of marginal seats the other day showing the Conservatives heading for a 150 seat majority, and the Lib Dems currently polling at just 12%, Newsnight managed to find a group of floating voters who were going to vote for Clegg practically to a man.

“You’re frustrated with your prime minister, but I don’t think you’re running to the Conservatives either,” observered Luntz. Perhaps not, but practically everyone else is. “There’s no outcry for him (Gordon) to leave,” he observed. Really? But this is Beeb land, so my advice to the Lib Dems? Go back to your constituencies and prepare for Government.

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.

Hilariously the Beeb has decided to balance its earlier anti-Palin, Democrat-supporting comic turn by liberal commentator Joe Bageant, on which I commented a while ago, with an anti-Palin, Democrat supporting comic turn from liberal commentator Jamie Stiehm. So, on the one hand you’ve got a Democrat supporter who reckons the party needs to make greater efforts to understand small-town America to counter the Republican’s cynical appeal to its worst instincts. On the other, you’ve got a Democrat supporter who reckons the party needs to persuade small town America to abandon its attachment to small town values, which are being cynically exploited by the Republicans. The full range of opinion, then.

Big news from the Beeb: McCain doesn’t know who the Spanish PM is. It was also the lead on their round-up of the day. As a demonstration of the value of publicly funded news, it’s worth reflecting that if the BBC hadn’t picked up on this, we may never have heard about it; only the Guardian and Independent in the UK seem to have run it. Of course, sometimes other gaffes don’t seem to capture the BBC’s imagination to quite the same extent, but you can’t have everything.