A reader writes: The report out today from the Crime and Society Foundation – which points out that most murders in Britain are of relatively poor young men – is reported on the BBC website (link here) as follows: Increasing murder rates over the past 25 years were triggered by a recession in the early 1980s, a report says. Pointing the finger of blame unambiguously at the Tories. The tenor … Continue reading →

: there’s only one thing missing from this BBC journalist’s view of the airborne relief effort in Pakistan- a mention of the US ‘copter contingent. The Pakistan military’s effort gains all the mentions, though numerically the US is a close second (as a matter of fact). The pictorial display is slightly better (giving the US a mention on page 2), though I do wonder how many helicpopters the French have … Continue reading →

Having misrepresented US aid commitments to Pakistan (as noted previously), the Beeb found it convenient to do so again. This report says that the aid effort has been ‘stepped up’, immediately following this with the statement that ‘In Balakot, close to the epicentre in Pakistan, US helicopters have been used for the first time to ferry supplies.’ This is a report dated today- I’m pretty confident it wasn’t around yesterday. … Continue reading →

“The second obstacle is that it is hard to know exactly what a world without the BBC would look like. The ramifications on media, cultural, political and social life would be so profound that it is very difficult to predict what they might be. It is not too dissimilar, for example, from envisaging a country without a national electricity grid.” – from Measuring the Value of the BBC: A report … Continue reading →

The BBC wants to increase the licence fee, and, guess what, the Guardian agrees: “At a time when many of our traditional industries have lost their international reputation, the BBC has managed to maintain a blue chip brand of global excellence by combining technological innovation with editorial independence. It has proved a winning combination that is well worth backing for the future”. Well, it’s an opinion. Click through to read … Continue reading →

Test post – please ignore. On second thoughts, a question. I thought I had posted the miscellany below this morning (8.32am GMT). Does the fact that it has no comments mean that no one has been able to see it until just now (3.58pm GMT), or does it just mean no one had any comment to make? Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Blogger is being intolerably slow for me at the moment, so here is a miscellany of Beeb-related items all in the same post. Comments to the effect that a lower proportion of my musings per link constitutes an improvement will be met with a Paddingtonian Hard Stare. – Adloyada writes in critical vein about Andrew Marr plugging Robert Fisk plugging his book on Start the Week. On the other hand, … Continue reading →

On Sunday I noticed a report on BBConline which talked about the international aid effort to Pakistan which was then underway. Knowing that such affairs are almost becoming a catwalk for the compassion of the developed world, I approached with caution. Anyway, a read of the report showed the BBC magnanimously including the US in the lede about international aid swinging into action- generally an upbeat presentation. However, I say … Continue reading →

This morning’s Broadcasting House on Radio Four featured something I don’t think I’ve heard before on a news programme. Around half an hour in there was a long item on asylum seekers, and the alleged shortcomings of the information used by the government to decide on asylum claims. We heard from the Refugee Council, a couple of other asylum pressure groups, Amnesty International and a solicitor specialising in asylum claims, … Continue reading →

BBC: Lib Dems in clear over donation The Electoral Commission has cleared the Liberal Democrats of wrong-doing over a £2.4m company donation it received before May’s general election. The watchdog’s probe looked at whether the donation was “permissible”, as electoral law requires donating firms to be registered and trading in the UK. 5th Avenue Partners was based in London but owned by a Swiss-based firm headed by Scottish financier Michael … Continue reading →