JOHN PRESCOTT – CLASS WARRIOR. Don’t know if any of you managed to endure the first of the BBC’s farcical series examining “class” fronted by tub of lard John Prescott? I caught the last ten minutes – frankly it was just a freak show with Prescott coming across as the bearded lady. In a way it is good to see it since it shows just how hate-driven those like Prescott … 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
DOG BITES MAN. Did you see that the BBC is leading it’s US election coverage with the shock horror news that “Alaska newspaper endorses Obama“? Alaska’s largest-circulation paper, the Anchorage Daily News, said state governor Mrs Palin was “too risky” to be one step away from the presidency. Mmm. Funny how the BBC didn’t tell us that this same newspaper endorsed Kerry in 2004 and Gore in 2000. The BBC … Continue reading
Setting the record straight The BBC Editor’s blog is flagging up a Radio 4 Feedback piece on its blogs that helps clarify their status. It’s only five minutes long, but the key segment has this from presenter Louise Adamson: Some would say the whole point of a blog is that it should be controversial, outspoken, off the cuff and frequently partisan. So how does that fit with the principles of … Continue reading
THE JOKER Have you spotted the bizarre image of a grinning Gordon Brown accompanying a lead news item on the economic perils affecting the UK? The BBC carries the story on how Brown is going to be the first man in history to confound the logic that when you are in a hole you stop digging. Brown is boasting today how he will spend his way out of the financial … Continue reading
OBAMA HAS WON THE US ELECTION! Yes, I know it has not happened but judging from the tone of the BBC coverage today, it may as well have. I caught Justin Webb (Who else?0 on Today just before 7am declaring that the only factors that can stop The One winning are 1. If his huge army of cultists don’t actually turn out to vote on the day and 2. If … Continue reading
SYRIAN SIRENSHad to laugh at the name of the Syrian spokesman from the London Embassy given a fawning interview on Today this morning – Jihad Makdissi. The irony was lost on the Beeb. Ol’ Jihad was allowed to waffle on about how those evil Americans had flown their helicopters into sovereign Syrian territory and murdered innocent men, women and children. Ed Sturgeon showed his disinterest in interrogating Mr Jihad on … Continue reading
Good for a laugh James Forsyth has a short post at the Spectator’s Coffee House on the Beeb’s odd decision to keep its business editor Robert Peston off Have I Got News For You. The killer paragraph, though, relates to Peston’s reports last week on Osborne: What makes this decision all the more absurd is that the BBC is happy for Peston to report on George Osborne and the Deripaska … Continue reading
Not only but also… Did you read about Wossy and Russell Brands latest on-air prank? These stars in the BBC firmament thought it would be hilarious to make obscene phone calls to 78-year-old Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs. They left a series of lewd messages on Mr Sachs’s answer phone claiming, in shockingly explicit language, that Brand had had sex with his granddaughter, Georgina. Sachs was left deeply upset by … Continue reading
Weekend reading A slightly different take on the recession from Mark Easton: It must be the perverse part of my nature, but when asked to go somewhere that illustrated the looming recession, I chose the place analysts had identified as the most immune to the downturn, he begins. I’d agree: it must be the perverse part of his nature – the same part he votes with. So, instead of a … Continue reading
