, 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 →

, I hadn’t realised, until reading the comments, that Newsnight had run the ‘cripple’ email non-story on Friday night, and worse, as their lead item, over and above the Ruth Turner Cash for Peerages arrest story. I honestly expected that BBC Views Online’s placement of the ‘cripple’ email non-story as the fourth most important story in the world was the action of some leftie cub-journo left to their own devices … Continue reading →

, according to today’s Daily Telegraph: The BBC faced accusations of “ageism” from its own employees yesterday as a Daily Telegraph inquiry revealed mounting anger from local radio staff who claim they have been told to keep old people off the air. At the heart of their resentment is an imaginary couple created by Corporation bosses called Dave and Sue, to whom all presenters are told to aim programming… They … Continue reading →

, writing about the Molly/Misbah case on the Grauniad’s commentisfree, links to my piece below about the BBC’s blinkered coverage of this story, saying: For some, the whole affair has been just the latest excuse to damn Islam wholesale and with it all Pakistanis and even to vilify the child. (Whatever you think of the point made by the original post here, the lowlife on the comment thread will sicken … Continue reading →

I’ve always thought one of the most effective ways to show the BBC is biased is the collective laugh of disbelief or roar of disapproval. Three bloggers for you: Dale, Fawkes and some Prague fellow. All aghast at the extent to which the BBC is keeping quiet on the flames of political scandal licking ever closer to the PM himself. Iain Dale sums up: “Britain’s premier current affairs interview programme … Continue reading →

. The story is that last September a Conservative activist sent an email to the Conservative leader of Bradford City Council referring to the leader of Bradford Labour Party as a ‘cripple’ and a ‘reptile’. A mischief-maker then posted a copy of the email to the leader of Bradford Labour Party who is, needless to say, less than pleased with it. So, Person A sends an email to person B … 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 →

I’m a little pressed for time at the moment, but I prefer blogging to working can just spare a moment to post some links. Some are things I have seen around the internet, some are emails from readers. “Like Dresden, But With Cows.” – the escalating bovine security crisis in Somalia is covered by House of Dumb My old barber is as biased as the BBC – Daniel Finkelstein in … Continue reading →