(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 →

, asks BBC Newsround’s al-Qaeda posting: why, oh why, did they do it?, mentioning Biased BBC’s role in getting the BBC to revise their CBBC Newsround 9/11 Guide (again). Roy describes Biased BBC as being being “cock-a-hoop because, lo and behold, it appears to have achieved a major climbdown”. And there was me thinking my ‘It looks like we’ve had a result‘ post was quite restrained – particularly since we … Continue reading →

and the confusion over its various versions, we now have the original ‘really offensive’ version (from before the recent fuss) of BBC Newsround’s Why did they do it? page, and it’s not a pretty sight:   The original ‘really offensive’ Why did they do it? page This is undoubtedly the version that Newsround’s Editor, Sinead Rocks, apologised for in all those emails to people who were actually complaining about the … Continue reading →

– in the next couple of hours Biased BBC’s Sitemeter total will notch up 2,000,000 individual visits. Sitemeter isn’t definitive, for instance we have lots of readers using RSS (who aren’t counted by Sitemeter), but, as with a car clocking up 100,000 miles, it is a milestone nonetheless. Here’s to the next million visits! Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

The Children’s BBC Newsround 9/11 Guide Why did they do it? page, the one that we’ve been complaining about recently, was changed at 2pm yesterday (Saturday) to read: Al-Qaeda is unhappy with America and other countries getting involved in places like the Middle East. People linked to al-Qaeda have used violence to make this point in the USA, and in other countries. The events of 11 September 2001 and other … 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 →

Important: The BBC apology that is anything but an apology, or: Getting to the bottom of the Children’s BBC Newsround 9/11 Scandal is proving a tough battle. First we have lots of complaints on September 11th 2007 about the BBC’s Why did they do it? page, the one that says: The way America has got involved in conflicts in regions like the Middle East has made some people very angry, … Continue reading →

Sinead Rocks, editor of Newsround, the BBC’s new service for children, has written about the ongoing controversy over BBC Newsround’s 9/11 Guide on the BBC Editors Blog. Unfortunately she hasn’t addressed the issues I raised in my blog post late last night, opting instead to confuse matters further. I’ve posted the following comment on her blog post at 2.30pm today: Sinead, your response to recent complaints about CBBC Newsround’s 9/11 … Continue reading →

reports Stop the ACLU blog, including this BBC response to a complaint (about CBBC’s 9/11 ‘guide’ – see posts below for details): Dear Mr O’Connell Thank you for your email to Newsround. The article you are referring to is an old guide that we thought had been purged from our system. It is my understanding that it was written on the day of the attacks back in 2001. I agree … Continue reading →

atrocious explanation for the horrific destruction of September 11th, 2001, six years ago. According to CBBC Newsround, Why did they do it?: The way America has got involved in conflicts in regions like the Middle East has made some people very angry, including a group called al-Qaeda – who are widely thought to have been behind the attacks. In the past, al-Qaeda leaders have declared a holy war – called … Continue reading →