there was a report about the North West Passage being free of ice for, according to Sneerboy, “the first time ever” – which of course sounds a lot more dramatic than “the first time in recorded history”, though even that is debatable. But the thing that really irked was this, in the Stupid BBC category, David Shukman (who of course just had to go to Resolute Bay in Canada to … Continue reading →

Innocent of inserting noddy shots of himself into interviews not conducted by him, anyway. It turns out that: In all of the shows, in the four years since Imagine began, fake “noddies” were inserted into precisely none of them. Not one. So how did it happen then that such a damaging allegation was allowed to gain so much traction? “It’s all my own fault . . . it was foolish … Continue reading →

, the supremely qualified Jeff Randall, writing in the Telegraph, says All the BBC needs is proper management. Some excerpts: Queengate and Fincham’s departure: As Fincham walked, the BBC promised “to implement a comprehensive set of actions to address the weaknesses of communications and co-ordination with other divisions.” Do what? Hello, it’s not that complicated. This fiasco does not merit another burst of expensive training manuals. There’s no need for … Continue reading →

wrote Melanie Phillips in yesterday’s Daily Mail. Some excerpts: The departure of Peter Fincham: [F]eeling is growing that Mr Fincham has been made to carry the can for those higher up the BBC hierarchy, such as the grandly titled Director of Vision Jana Bennett, who was also criticised for showing a “lack of curiosity” once she had been told what had happened. Moreover, the manner of Mr Fincham’s departure is … Continue reading →

Gordon Brown in hiding with Andrew Marr, pt. 1 of 2 Gordon Brown in hiding with Andrew Marr, pt. 2 of 2 It wasn’t exactly a tough no-nonsense interview was it? Marr certainly went through the motions, but Brown got away with a lot of nonsense and flannel that a more rigorous interview style would have drawn out and highlighted. David Cameron, speaking on Adam Boulton’s show on Sky News, … Continue reading →

Please use this thread for BBC-related comments and analysis. Please keep comments on other threads to the topic at hand. N.B. this is not (and never has been) an invitation for general off-topic comments, rants or use as a chat forum. This post will remain at or near the top of the blog. Please scroll down to find new topic-specific posts. Click through to read and contribute comments on this … Continue reading →

How embarrassing for Gordon Brown – having let speculation run riot, egged on by his spinners, rearranged his diary ready to make the announcment, only to pull out at the last minute, citing a laundry list of excuses (wanting to show his vision, the staleness of the electoral register, foot & mouth disease, the postal strike, lack of public demand etc.) – none of which would have mattered if it … Continue reading →

on the BBC on identity fraud. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Biased BBC reader Matthew sums up the BBC’s latest glorification: The BBC never miss a chance to glorify Communist terrorists: Che: The icon and the ad. This follows Tuesday’s propaganda on behalf of the Cuban dictatorship, where they described how wonderful doctors from Cuba provided free to Latin America had cured Guevara’s executioner’s blindness, saying “Four decades after Mario Teran attempted to destroy a dream and an idea, Che returns … Continue reading →

Despite the fact that I (personally) consider Talk Sport to be an invention of the devil, the ‘Radio Bloke’ that everyone said Five Live was going to be, I like the cut of Jon Gaunt’s jib in this Guardian Media profile. He’s right about Victoria Derbyshire’s utility, too, though that again is a personal view. Despite the fact that he built audiences wherever he went, Gaunt’s tendency to editorialise made … Continue reading →