is The Times report on last night’s latest developments in the BBC fakery scandal. BBC Director General, (Bite-) Mark Thompson, writing on the BBC Editors Blog, Trust and values (worth a read just for the vitriol of the comments!), says: The trawl did find four more cases of serious audience deception to go with the six we disclosed in July. …which of course avoids the question of cases of deception … Continue reading →

reports the Daily Mail: Natasha Kaplinsky has already been chosen to present the oneminute national news, aimed at younger viewers with a short attention span… Horses for courses I suppose in the case of Ms. Kaplinsky. An insider said: “Meetings are taking place at all the regional centres, We were told that some market research had been done and that the audience likes pretty young women reading the news – … Continue reading →

Biased BBC reader David Preiser has written the following for us: On September 17th BBC News Online featured a video report on the front page showing University of Florida student Andrew Meyer being tasered by campus security at a public event. Meyer, was shown asking failed presidential candidate Senator John Kerry a question, then engaged in a scuffle with campus police, who at one point tasered him. The BBC video … Continue reading →

Dan Sabbagh and Adam Sherwin, writing in The Times, Socks the Blue Peter cat who could cost BBC staff their jobs, reveal that the real name, or at least the name that topped the viewer poll, of Socks the Blue Peter cat is… a variant of Puss Cookie (see update below). No wonder it was deemed inappropriate – even Mrs. Slocombe would have spotted such an obvious opportunity for double-entendre! … Continue reading →

Robert Peston’s reporting for the BBC of the whole Northern Rock saga has had a “blame Mervyn” undertone to it. Today he basically peddles one of the two Treasury favoured spin lines; The Treasury’s primary spin-line is that it is all because of the sub-prime crisis in America and that no one could predict it coming.  The second line of spin is that it is the Bank of England’s fault … Continue reading →

, a “U.S. Libertarian talk radio host and commentator“: If you were listening yesterday you know that a crew from the BBC was in the studio for about 90 minutes taping the show. This preceded a 60 minute interview they had requested after the program was over. So … after the show they changed their lighting, brought in their reporter, set the stage, and the taped interview got under way. … Continue reading →

in addition to the earlier sacking of a BBC 6 Music producer there has also been an issue over an online vote to choose the name of one the Blue Peter cats and that “an Executive has been suspended there too”. The MediaGrauniad reports Former Blue Peter editor suspended: Richard Marson, the former Blue Peter editor, is understood to have been suspended after another instance of alleged viewer deception on … Continue reading →

is representing a BBC 6 Music producer who was apparently sacked yesterday following an investigation related to the fake phone-in scandal. BECTU are reported to have said: The corporation is picking on junior staff… The fakery had been going on long before the sacked producer had joined the show… …an interesting line of defence for the union to take – suggesting that there are others involved too and that the … 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 →

(see quote in our sidebar), is interviewed by Vincent Graff, ‘You want me to slag Murdoch off’, in the MediaGuardian: Now, a couple of years after leaving the BBC newsroom for a return to newspapers – although he still presents the 5 Live show – does Randall think much has changed? It will not surprise many of his former colleagues that he views the corporation with much the same contempt … Continue reading →