Little Ben Twitters

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Those who yearn for impartiality in BBC reporting can never close our minds to any side of a debate in our quest for fairness. For many years the bias has been pretty much one-way traffic – because it is inbred, it has become woven like fine silk through the cloth of reporting. So let us consider a contrary view. Enter Stage Left Ben Bradshaw,  the Culture Secretary and soon to be ex-MP. On Twitter this … Continue reading →

Stuffing Paxo

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Jeremy Paxman famously asked the then Tory Home Secretary Michael Howard the same question 12 times on Newsnight. Former Newsnight editor Peter Horrocks chose it as his favourite moment when the programme celebrated its 25 anniversary, and the clip is available on the Newsnight website (unlike many other people’s favourite – the outing of Peter Mandelson by Matthew Parris, which the BBC refuses to rebroadcast). On Monday Boris Johnson asked … Continue reading →

NOT A FAIR COP

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Has anyone been watching the BBC1 drama Criminal Justice (running every night this week)? Critics are mostly raving about it, because the cast – led by the marvellous Maxine Peake – are first rate. There’s no doubt, too, that ex-barrister Peter Moffat, the writer, has considerable story-telling skills. But one aspect of it stinks to high heaven. As in almost every BBC drama that I can think of (apart, perhaps, … Continue reading →

THOSE GAY CONSERVATIVES…

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So, Evan Davies trots along to the first Conservative Gay Pride bash in Manchester last night where blogger Iain Dale was compere. (There was also a Conservative Muslim Forum apparently but no report on it.) What gets me is that the context of the debate the BBC sets is always about how progressive one is about advancing the status of Gay Rights. Why should private individuals sexual preferences get ANY … Continue reading →

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

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Hope you will tune in to BBC Radio 4 this evening to listen to the totally unbiased politically neutral BBC programme entitled “Afghanistan – is it mission impossible?” I hear they’ve set up a freephone number for the Taliban to call-in. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

F-Bombgate Latest

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For those still interested in the ongoing saga, this comes from the Daily Mail’s Charles Sale column: Saboteur hunt at 5liveThe BBC are mounting a top-level probe, using CCTV and computer information, to find who was responsible for tampering with an early Saturday morning 5live sports news bulletin featuring a pre-recorded Jacqui Oatley interview with Wigan manager Roberto Martinez.The Martinez chat was interrupted by a voice saying ‘******* trumpet, ******* … Continue reading →

Have you suffered from disability discrimination?

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If you have, then the BBC wants to know. We all know the sort of things that happen and how upsetting they can be – when the lack of a wheelchair ramp means you cannot get to an art gallery, when the selection committee looks askance at your application because of your health problems, when persecution by feral youths drives you to burn yourself and your daughter to death… North-Northwester … Continue reading →

Log Lines

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The BBC and the Times have today both covered the news that old ships logs are being transcribed as a resource for climatologists. No prizes for guessing which media outlet thought the following could be of interest to its readers, and which chose to ignore it: However, some of the logs suggest that there has been little or no change in sea temperatures elsewhere in the Arctic. Climate change sceptics … Continue reading →