Brand/Ross – “Lesley Douglas knew” On BBC radio news tonight – BBC DG Mark Thompson has stated that Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas “was aware of the content” of the Brand show before it went out. There seems to be a groundswell of support for Douglas from BBC insiders, who held her in high esteem – Thompson’s predecessor Greg Dyke described her departure in the Times as “arguably deeply unfair“. … Continue reading →

Why Manuelgate matters For all the distaste of the calls to Sachs there’s been some understandable frustration here that it’s this issue the public and papers have got upset about, rather than the constant bias. This, though, would seem to suggest the result is the same – a lack of trust in the Beeb that can’t help but hit its unwarranted reputation as a impartial source of news: The PoliticsHome … Continue reading →

Provocative and Original One of the lines I’ve been hearing a lot lately, in the wake of BrandRossSachsGate, aside from all the usual “It must never happen again – lessons have been learned” baloney one has come to expect from such furores, is the idea that the BBC must maintain its right to be “provocative and original”. Which got me thinking… when was it ever? I mean, this is a … 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! … Continue reading →

Poll positions We know that, as a matter of editorial policy, the BBC doesn’t run opinion polls commissioned elsewhere as news stories in their own right (except for the odd exception). It never occurred to me, though, that its problem with them was that they could be too accurate. This could be the case, if the ComRes polls for the Daily Politics programme are anything to go by, however. Political … Continue reading →

An insight into the editors’ reading habits As a key plank in the BBC’s efforts to ensure accountability and engage their audience in the digital age, the Editors blog has done sterling work this week, with a single post about Manuelgate by a Radio One editor suggesting we’re over-reacting. As someone in the comments put it, Answering all the questions you never asked. Interesting, too, is the ‘BBC in the … Continue reading →

*Drawing a line The BBC draws a line under radio show – or rather it hopes to. Given the front pages today, the fact that there’s an Ofcom investigation continuing, and the fact that Ross remains in a job, that seems unlikely. But should it? Well, what has the BBC actually done? Russell Brand went, but was Mark Thompson even back from his holiday when that happened? Anyway – nothing … Continue reading →

Question Time watch (because I’m not going to) Frankly, I can’t be bothered to stay up for it, but the comments of those who do will be appreciated. Things to look out for will obviously include how well they labour the fact that one of the two Republicans they’ve allowed on is the grandson of Nixon (after all, why else was he invited) and how the audience is made up. … Continue reading →

Breaking News! It’s not often nowadays that the Beeb breaks really big news so when I saw this, among the top stories on its website’s Politics page, I sat up and took notice: Former Conservative party leader Michael Howard’s cousin is bribed with £400,000 while Howard is Home Secretary, and a convict is released on his orders! It may have been a few years ago, but this is hot stuff. … Continue reading →

Radio 2 controller resigns The events of the last two weeks happened on my watch. I believe it is right that I take responsibility for what has happened, says Lesley Douglas, which strikes me as admirably straight-forward, so no criticism from me. I had to go to Sky to get that quote, though. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.