Category Archives: Lucas Mendes

BBC Brazil’s Lucas Mendes has had another go at the Republican Party in his latest column, this time over attempts to strip National Public Radio of public funding.

Here’s how Google translates his description of NPR:

“produced by and starring a brilliant liberal majority, a voice a little left of center and a program that reminds of the BBC.”

A left of centre broadcaster dominated by liberal lefties convinced of their own brilliance. Why yes, that “reminds of the BBC” very much. The sense of entitlement to public funds “reminds of the BBC” too.

Evidently Mendes has forgotten that the BBC doesn’t like its employees telling the truth about where it sits politically, but when you’ve been churning out left of centre commentary for the Corporation for as long as he has you probably don’t see the need to hide the obvious.

[Previous blogposts on Mendes]

Tea Party-hating BBC Brazil correspondent Lucas Mendes opens his latest column with a word of thanks:

The Republican tsunami could have been worse for the Democrats. Thank you very much, Latino brothers.

They saved the Democratic Party leader, Harry Reid, Senate candidate for the State of Nevada, threatened by Sharon Angle, one of the most radical and least prepared candidate’s Tea Party. Latinos have left home and 90% voted for Harry Reid.

So here we have a US-based BBC journalist thanking his fellow Latinos for voting Democrat and saving Harry Reid.

I drew attention to Mendes’ Daily Kos-style rubbish last month, but it’s clear from this latest offering that BBC editors are happy with his highly partisan output. I doubt they would be so relaxed with: “Well done, white brethren, Obama’s old seat fell to the Republicans!”

It’s not as if the BBC Latin America services can claim ignorance of BBC editorial guidelines. BBC Mundo, the Spanish language section, even reproduced a blogpost by David Jordan, Director of Editorial Policy, when the new guidelines were published in October. If the BBC’s defence is that Mendes is employed to provide opinion rather than objective journalism then the question is “Why?” followed by “Where’s the alternative view?” – queries that shouldn’t need to be made of an impartial broadcaster.