The BBC has learnt…

A whistleblower alerted the government to failings around child protection in Haringey six months before Baby P died, according to this BBC report, which swiftly moves on after the opening paragraph to a government press release responding to the claims. Readers are left to guess the details. It is understood a lawyer acting for a former social worker sent the letter to the then health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, says the … Continue reading

THE WAR ON JERSEY.

I see that BBC gives great prominence to the Howard League for Penal report whingeing on about the fact that children in Jersey have allegedly “less protection” than children elsewhere in the UK because the evil Jersey government has NOT signed up to the utterly risible to the UN convention on the rights of the child. This means, for example, they lack a Children’s Commissioner.Well now, I guess the next … Continue reading

BBC’s currency fading

An interesting couple of links for you: Iain Dale doesn’t mention the BBC but says “The value of the Pound is about to become the big story in town. And if not, why not?” John Redwood meanwhile, names and shames the BBC as the culprit behind the non-story. He says the BBC are misrepresenting the credit-crunch to present the situation in Britain as having nothing to do with domestic factors … Continue reading

PROSECUTING THE WAR.

You have to hand it to the BBC, they are relentless in their opposition of our armed forces participating anywhere in the world where they might make a difference. And so this morning, the State Broadcaster is flogging a poll that IT has commissioned which suggest that the majority of people here agree with the BBC contention that we should withdraw our soldiers from Afghanistan. This is a trailer for … Continue reading

General BBC-related comment thread!

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 … Continue reading

No faults allowed

Following the recent criticism of the BBC’s coverage of the US election, it’s worth mentioning this piece from yesterday’s Independent. It’s an interview with Peter Horrocks, head of news, and it’s classic Beebish. For anyone discomforted by the recent humility the Beeb’s been forced into over the Sach’s affair, Horrocks it the perfect tonic: he simply admits no criticism. So, the cringe inducing interview with Gore Vidal: a highlight of … Continue reading

Further fallout

It’s been hard to avoid comment about the Beeb’s bias in the national press lately, but this article by novelist DJ Taylor on the Beeb’s US election coverage is worth flagging up: While everybody in the room – party cheerleaders excepted – clearly wanted Obama to win, those in charge were doing a very good impression of studied neutrality. It was all a far cry from recent British general elections, … Continue reading

Compare And Contrast …

The BBC News home pages for the 2004 Presidential Election and the 2008 Presidential Election They’re .. er .. somewhat different in tone, to put it mildly. And they must have used up all the website’s scare quotes in 2004. Then we had : ‘Liberty’ at the heart of President Bush’s foreign policy. Rice begins work on ‘great cause’. Not to mention What Bush means by ‘liberty ‘US vote ‘mostly … Continue reading