Note to the producers and staff on the BBC’s Six O’Clock News

, re. your story this evening about the clothes horse known as Kate Moss: her boyfriend, Pete Doherty, is not “a well known drug user”. He is, in fact, a well known drug abuser. Next time you take the trouble to broadcast to the nation’s watching families please try to remember this important distinction, and perhaps even point out to the children watching your coverage the typical outcome of abusing … Continue reading

Two sides to every story.

That is the maxim followed by whoever wrote this article. It prompted this post from Squander Two, who says: The level of duty on diesel is a fact, not an opinion. It is published every year in the Budget, and the BBC report on it then. All they need do to get the facts of the matter is to check their own archives. But they don’t. Instead, they report the … Continue reading

Today’s Sunday Times also reports an undercover investigation

of BBC programme makers, revealing that: COMPANIES are paying fees of up to £40,000 to advertise their products covertly on BBC programmes, often in breach of the corporation’s rules. At least 50 cases have been identified where top brands have bought favourable exposure on BBC television by paying specialist agents. The article goes on to point out that: The licence fee payer is the loser from the multi-million-pound trade. By … Continue reading

In an article in today’s Sunday Times

we learn that Lance Price, a former BBC reporter who, surprise, surprise, went to work for the Blair government as a spin doctor from 1998 to 2001, says: The media was bullied, browbeaten and bribed with favours to report Labour favourably. and worse, that: The BBC reveals its questions in advance to Blair at press conferences in return for their reporters being chosen to ask their questions first. A fuller … Continue reading

According to Rupert Murdoch

, Tony Blair said the BBC’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina was “full of hatred of America.” Tony Blair wasn’t the only critic. This article from the Financial Times says: Bill Clinton, the former US president, and Sir Howard Stringer, chief executive of Sony Corporation, also criticised the tone of the BBC’s coverage during a seminar on the media at the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York. Sir Howard Stringer … Continue reading

Now they really are taking the

obsession with Bush to new extremes. Yes, the BBC has reported that the president once needed to pee. (Hat tip: Susan) Stop the presses! In another blow for media credibility, “Susan” a reader of “bloggs”, has thrown a googly to demonstrate that his handwriting’s not like that. I await the retraction from the BBC. (“Correction: Bush Did Not Need To Urinate After All.”) Some may suspect that the whole thing … Continue reading

Israeli lifesnatchers in new provocation.

Honest Reporting has a roundup of coverage of the synagogues burnt by the Palestinian mob in Gaza. It features an old B-BBC standby, Orla Guerin, who wants you to understand. She says, “Israel stole thirty-eight years from them; today, many were ready to take back anything they could.” Watch the video clip. Hat tip: Teddy Bear and others. That reminds me of something I meant to say ages ago, but … Continue reading

No Sex Please We’re Teenagers

So I’m wondering what’s on the tv tonight and I go and take a look at the Radio Times website. Yeah, I know it’s run by BBC subversives, so it’s all part of the Axis of Evil, but even so… Here’s the promo for No Sex Please We’re Teenagers: “There are some surprising results when the teens trying to give up sex for five months face the zeal of the … Continue reading

Allez-y doucement!

Rob writes: There is an interview with Kofi Annan on the BBC website. The interview is conducted by Lyse Doucet. Not an entirely surprising line of questioning by a BBC “reporter”. I’m afraid I couldn’t be bothered to write a transcript of Annan’s replies. I think the questions speak for themselves. Q1) Let us start with the crisis in the US state of Louisiana. Has the aftermath of this crisis … Continue reading

It is a measure of the interest

generated by Matt Well’s now famous piece (Quick! Slap on the “Viewpoint” label!) that I am genuinely not sure whether Rottweiler Puppy’s fisking has already been mentioned on this blog. The BBC was earlier congratulating itself on having had 400,000 page impressions on this piece over the weekend 3-4 September. Ed gently suggested that even then not all of them might have been from fans – although I am willing … Continue reading