Just Because He Always Does It

Just because he always does it… doesn’t mean it’s not worth pointing out how far Justin Webb’s blog goes in ignoring the BBC’s obligations on impartiality. If the rules really do permit the Beeb’s North American Editor to suggest that Palin would be the number one choice (after McCain) to lead America for those that hate the country, what’s the point of them? Click through to read and contribute comments … Continue reading

Who Controls The Present Controls The Past

“Who controls the present controls the past ….” Dominic Casciani has been briefed by the Home Office, or Justice Ministry, or whatever they’re called this week, on the underreporting of violent crime. Decent of him to pass the briefing on to us verbatim. But does this serious error in one particularly crime affect all the figures? No, insist the statisticians and ministers. What’s more, police chiefs say it’s purely a … Continue reading

Open Thread

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

Bad Racism, Good Racism

Bad Racism, Good Racism The BBC are worried about the Bradley effect. The theory goes that some white voters tell opinion pollsters they will vote for a black candidate – but then, in the privacy of the polling booth, put their cross against a white candidate’s name. And the fear among some supporters is that this could happen to Barack Obama on 4 November, when the country votes for its … Continue reading

Poetic justice

After the Beeb’s efforts to keep the Osborne story going for as long as possible, it seems fitting that the accusations of bias against it don’t seem to dying off quickly, despite the protests by both Steve Mawhinney and Nick Robinson. The integrity of the BBC is coming under question for the way it has treated the case of the Russian billionaire and his British contacts. Hundreds of viewers are … Continue reading

THIS WEEK.

Nice to see a consensus on the contributors on This Week that The Taliban are actually nice guys. Not terrorists, according to Imran Khan. This was another dreadful programme only enlivened by pop-opera diva Katherine Jenkins impressive political insights…, Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Attack as the best form of defence

The Beeb’s editor of political news, Steve Mawhinney, has posted on the Editor’s Blog to defend the coverage of Osborne. There has, as he puts it, been a particular accusation from some complainants [read “almost all”] that we did too much on the allegations against George Osborne and not enough on those against Lord Mandelson. You won’t be surprised by what follows, which sticks closely to the Editors Blog template: … Continue reading

Refreshing new BBC reporting style:

It’s not often I praise the BBC, but can I say how refreshing it was to read the comment made by the BBC’s Matthew Price about the following events from Barack Obama’s campaigning? Here’s the vid, followed by the text (I have made some minor adaptions for this site’s purposes). The original item is here. “This has now happened too many times not to mention it. Barack Obama lost it … 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