Cindy Sheehan has reportedly been a bit frustrated of late that press coverage has been trumped by hurricanes. She must be comforted to see that the BBC still considers her newsworthy for managing to get herself arrested in front of the White House. I have yet to see the Beeb take note of her partners in protest or her demonstrably extremist views [quoting Cindy Sheehan]: “One thing that truly troubled … Continue reading →

Personality clash drives newsman from BBC HE WAS one of the BBC’s longest-serving newscasters and a veteran foreign correspondent. She had hosted daytime makeover shows after being a young City financier. And it is Philip Hayton who has quit the corporation after 37 years because of a personality clash with his co-presenter… Silverton, who used to present makeover shows, worked for an investment bank before opting for a career in … Continue reading →

New Labour evangelist Tim Allan must have been having a good old chuckle this morning after the results of his dirty work against the BBC bore fruit. Allan was, of course, the PR man who leaked a tape of the memorably injudicious speech that BBC sacred site John Humphrys made at a PR forum. Humphrys must have realised that the scorn he poured on the government during the address left … Continue reading →

, by Karyn Miller, including the following (underlining added): Among the glummest faces were the huge crews of television journalists sent from Britain to cover the hurricane, many of whom looked as if they were reporting typical autumn weather in England. The BBC had the biggest team, with a total of 34 reporters, producers, cameramen and others. Nine, including three correspondents, are based in New Orleans and 25 in and … Continue reading →

The NPR ombudsman, Jeffrey Dvorkin, criticises BBC coverage of Katrina. I am sure that the BBC is not inventing these interviews. But the effect is that it sounds less like reporting than like caricature. Public radio listeners likely understand what is going on — that BBC cultural assumptions about the United States remain mired in a reflex European opposition to American foreign policy. But what comes through the radio sounds … Continue reading →

with my esteemed colleague Andrew’s harsh description [CORRECTION: Andrew has pointed out that the description was Stephen Pollard’s rather than his own] of this piece by Justin Webb as “drivel”. On the contrary, it is rather clever. Look at this: Rita and Katrina have both been events of massive force, sweeping away an awful lot, but Katrina – because of the ghastly failure of the authorities to prepare and to … Continue reading →

has just returned from Washington DC, suffering from BBC distortion withdrawal symptoms – fortunately Justin Webb was on-hand to provide relief with a load of suitable drivel. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Sunday Times exposé of product placement advertising on the BBC, this week’s Sunday Times has an amusing follow-up, BBC quietly pulls a plug on Spooks – it seems that following last week’s uproar the BBC have quietly doctored the third episode of Spooks on BBC1 to cover up a prominent Apple Computer logo: On Friday the BBC press office initially claimed that the cut scenes had appeared only on a … Continue reading →

(on the supposedly ad-free BBC) for Andrew Marr’s new Sunday morning programme have him saying what sounds like “What we’re trying to achieve is the television equivalent of a crappy little newspaper”? I presume he’s trying to say ‘cracking’, but if he does mean crappy then he need look no further than the BBC’s Six O’Clock news crew for inspiration – telly-taxpayers haven’t forgotten the depths of dumbing-down exposed a … Continue reading →

, according to Brian Rowan, BBC Northern Ireland security editor. A surprising part of Rowan’s conclusion is his assertion that “Even the loyalists accept that there is no threat from the IRA”. Really? Well, I suppose you might concur if, like Brian, you omit events such as the IRA’s grand larceny at the Northern Bank in December (see The Adams-McGuinness technique: rob banks to buy your way to power in … Continue reading →