Viewers of BBC3 were recently treated to a showing of Castaway – complete with “an on-screen message promoting Casanova… for the duration of the film”, which, apart from being annoying, presumably obscured some of the more, shall we say, revealing aspects of the film. According to BBC Complaints, people were unhappy, and “some viewers found this ‘programme pointer’ distracting”. What a surprise! They continue “We do not usually put such … Continue reading →

The Beeb journalist is reporting about Iraqi kidnappings. It’s bad news. Naturally he gets over-excited while interviewing people: ‘On the wall behind him the faces of the handful of kidnappers they’ve captured stare out. Black and white images of the men who terrorise their fellow citizens. “What I want is for the government to apply the law that deals with kidnapping. They should hang criminals to keep the peace.” Most … Continue reading →

This evening BBC News Online’s news ticker flashed up: “Prisoner found hanged in his cell at a privately-run Warwickshire jail”, which linked to Prisoner found hanged in his cell, which reads: A prisoner has been found hanged in his cell at a Warwickshire jail. Michael Bailey, 23, was serving a four-year sentence at the privately-run HMP Rye Hill for supplying drugs. He arrived at the prison in December after being … Continue reading →

On Wednesday March 16th BBC News Online featured a story Italy ‘hopes’ for Iraq withdrawal, that begins: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has confirmed that he “hopes” to begin pulling out Italian troops from Iraq as soon as possible. Mr Berlusconi told the US president of his plans to begin withdrawing troops this September in a telephone call. Mr Berlusconi said the decision to remove his troops would depend on … Continue reading →

According to The Grauniad: “Mark Thompson, the BBC’s director general, is gaining a reputation as something of a rottweiler as he slashes into the corporation’s staffing structure. Yesterday this image took on a physical manifestation when allegations emerged that, when he was editor of the Nine O’Clock News, Mr Thompson sank his teeth into the arm of a colleague…” Sounds like more of a gnasher than a slasher then. We … Continue reading →

of this article by Paul Reynolds at BBConline I couldn’t find a needle of criticism or even meaningful analysis of the UN. Maybe you’ll be luckier. All I found was Reynolds regurgitating Mr Annan’s lofty sayings and emphasising how important they were at a time when there is a lot of ‘hostility’ in the US: ‘In the United States, there is still hostility to the UN and Mr Annan’s own … Continue reading →

According to The Scotsman: Negligent prison staff ‘contributed to death of inmate’ Over on the BBC there’s a subtle difference: Private prison blame over suicide Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

, I chanced up their story about Private Johnson Beharry, VC, UK soldier wins highest honour. In it they include the line: Private Johnson Beharry, 25, becomes the first person to receive the award for more than 20 years. Would it really have been too much to mention, even in passing, that the last two VCs were awarded during the Falklands War in 1982, perhaps even going so far as … Continue reading →

A reader of Tim Blair’s pointed out a discontinuity between a BBC link and the story it linked to. The BBC’s link to a John Simpson column: Not quite Vietnam – the war in Iraq defies all predictions And what Simpson actually wrote: “The situation in Iraq is nothing like the Vietnam War, and it will not be.” Simpson has other views besides, not all of them happy reading, but … Continue reading →

As you can see from Andrew Bowman’s post further down, Kevin McNamara, a left-wing Labour MP, has distinguished himself by saying that Michael Howard’s views about gypsy encampments and the planning laws have “a whiff of the gas chamber about them.” For various reasons I am not Michael Howard’s biggest fan, but I do think that saying that to a man whose grandmother was murdered in the gas chambers of … Continue reading →