, posts this update: January 24th, 2007: Hi All, Spring time has hit Baghdad and the weather is fine. Shit day yesterday: A girl I knew pretty well from the company we work for here was assasinated. She was Shia and lived with her mother in a real shitty Sunni area. The world is a sadder place without her. You can bet she was raped, pretty girl, and we heard … Continue reading →

I haven’t seen or heard any reply from Peter Barron, editor of Newsnight, to the questions I asked him the other day, even though many others have posed similar questions on his blog. I’ve just posted a reminder for Peter on his blog: Hello again Peter, I know you’re a busy chap, but from the questions and comments here it is plain that a lot of people are interested in … Continue reading →

, according to Media Guardian’s Leigh Holmwood. Not surprisingly, just like this chap (Ned that is, not Justin), the Newsnight turkeys aren’t keen on the approach of Christmas: All of the flagship BBC2 programme’s 15 correspondents, including political editor Martha Kearney and veteran journalist Michael Crick, wrote to Mr Barron last week as part of the campaign against the compulsory cuts. The journalists, who are all faced with selection for … Continue reading →

, has sent us several updates recently: January 9th, 2007: Have been busy since the end of Eid, so little time for blogging. I will get a decent post in later, so you can all hear the true perspective of what’s happening here in Baghdad. Not just the Beeb’s left wing propaganda. Oh by the way, there may be a few new bloggers from here soon, as I’ve told all … Continue reading →

Please use this thread for off-topic, but preferably BBC related, comments. Please keep comments on other threads to the topic at hand. N.B. this is not an invitation for general off-topic comments – our aim is to maintain order and clarity on the topic-specific threads. 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 … Continue reading →

, reports Owen Gibson in today’s Media Guardian: Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail, used a rare public speech last night to accuse the BBC of “a kind of cultural Marxism” that is harming political debate and failing to represent the views of millions of licence fee payers. He said the BBC’s tendency towards institutionally biased left-leaning views, part of what he dubbed “the subsidariat” of newspapers and broadcasters … Continue reading →

, the BBC’s long-running children’s programme Blue Peter showed graphic footage last Thursday of the Halal slaughter of a goat in Oman, to “show the celebrations that mark the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Adha”. Biased BBC commenter Chuffer writes: Astonishing bit on Blue Peter this evening, about 17:05, 18JAN07 – a long feature on the joys and general loveliness of the Religion of Plumbers in Oman, especially for the youngsters. Bless. … Continue reading →

, today’s Daily Mail reports Minister’s fling with BBC girl who booked him for Newsnight, by Paul Revoir and Gordon Rayner. Some excerpts: It has emerged tha the BBC has held an inquiry into the role of Newsnight producer Thea Rogers, who booked Mr Purnell to appear on the show – and who just happened to be in the middle of a fling with him at the time. Mr Purnell, … Continue reading →

“For me it’s always been a programme in the best traditions of the late 1970s alternative movement” – Newsnight editor Peter Barron remembers. (Hat tip: Tuscan Tony in the comments at Guido’s). Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

, has replied to Guido’s email (see post below): On Newsnight we don’t necessarily stick to linear running orders which reflect the relative significance of stories in the same way that news bulletins tend to. The loans for peerages story was of course more significant, but there were other factors at play. We had committed Michael Crick to following David Cameron’s efforts to relaunch his campaign in the North. While … Continue reading →