Did you see all those BBC headlines about desertions from the army? More than 1,000 members of the British military have deserted the armed forces since the start of the 2003 Iraq war, the BBC has discovered. “Since” is such a useful word. It implies causation without actually stating it. The BBC are very fond of sincing. When USS Neverdock had finished chewing up, grinding down and spitting out the … Continue reading →

I was just decanting the milk-sodden leavings at the bottom of my offspring’s breakfast bowl onto Thursday’s Times prior to putting them in the bin when I noticed this: Bush to get Mashed By Adam Sherwin THE BBC has persuaded the creator of the 1970s television series M*A*S*H to turn his fire on the Bush Administration. “The BBC has persuaded … to turn his fire on the Bush Administration” It … Continue reading →

From the open comments thread above, this enlightening list from Ritter. His links work; for obscure Blogger/Haloscan/too-idle-to-type-them-out reasons, mine don’t. So if your life is incomplete wihout the BBC’s guidance on Lifestyle Detox, Parenting or Muslim Devotional Sounds, click on the link. As will be obvious, Ritter was replying to an earlier comment from Archduke. Archduke – following on from your earlier post re BBC ‘actionnetwork’ – pick a subject, … Continue reading →

Further to this post of Andrew’s concerning a notorious BBC graphic, Ralph writes: I thought you might be interested in the rather naff defence the BBC have sent me regarding the Ascent of Tory Man graphic during their local election coverage: “As broadcasters we face a challenge in making politics accessible. We need fresh and creative ways of telling the political story. We’re sorry you found the comparison offensive – … Continue reading →

Fresh from her ‘could do better report’ concerning bias in coverage of Israel and the Palestians (naturally the report found bias both ways, as you’d expect from a bunch of panjandrums), the Beeb has found it convenient again to slant against Israel. It must be so tempting for Aunty, when EU and Arab opinion knows exactly what it wants to hear, while elsewhere ambivalence reigns so that people just might … Continue reading →

Please use this thread, and this thread alone, for off-topic comments, preferably BBC related. Please keep comments on other threads on the topic of that particular post. N.B. this is not an invitation for off-topic comments – the idea is to maintain order and clarity. Thank you. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

, why, oh why is the BBC unable find space on its well-funded website to report this? For a government monopoly, the Beeb ought to be able to cobble together something. Thanks to Hugh Hewitt. Update 20th May: As our B-BBC commentariat observe, there are doubts about this story. Amir Taheri, the Iranian-born scholar whose detailed report of new laws pushing an Islamic dress code has not been disproven, though … Continue reading →

“Mystery over India freedom hero” says the BBCs Mike Thomson, reporting that “Indian independence fighter Subhash Chandra Bose did not die in a Taiwanese plane crash, an inquiry has found. The report into one of the great mysteries of India’s freedom struggle concluded that Mr Bose had died but not in the 1945 crash as widely thought.” Chandra Bose may be considered by some Indians as a hero and freedom … Continue reading →

a couple of interesting links: Media groups unite against BBC: “The government is handing the BBC an unfair advantage in the digital revolution that is changing the face of the media,” the submission says. “The government is handing the BBC a prime public policy task that should not be the preserve of any media organisation. At the same time, it will allow the corporation to indulge in wide cross-promotion of … Continue reading →

, writes Tom Mangold in Wednesday’s Independent. Formerly a senior BBC News correspondent and longstanding journalist on Panorama, I’ve always thought of Mangold as one of the better old-school guys at the BBC. Here are a couple of excerpts, laying in to the ratings chasing dolts that run the BBC nowadays: What you are not seeing on Panorama generally are reporters of reputation, chutzpah and experience telling you what the … Continue reading →