Creative Presentation

Miller time at the Convention. Naturally I’m not going to say the BBC is worse in some of its US political coverage than other media- after all, they have less at stake than the US networks. Also, today I watched an appallingly cut report on ITV that gave the only articulate lines to Michael Moore- the rest was frenzied Repugnican ‘whooping’. Furthermore, the only reason I am led to make … Continue reading

About that little gathering in New York…

I’d say the BBC has been quite muted. Obviously there’s a lot of politicking involved- you are not getting a glimpse into anyone’s soul- but from the BBC you would think that the whole thing was hollow as an easter egg. Take what were generally regarded as quite powerful speeches on the opening night. Rob Watson had his own way of presenting them. On John McCain, he said ‘what John … Continue reading

Due respect? Due for a change more like.

Below I asked What’s the difference between an interview and a sketch?, as helpfully demonstrated by Brian Wheeler of BBC News Online. By way of a related follow-up: What’s the difference between new news and old news? Unfortunately, News Online don’t provide an answer this time. Surprisingly, the same Gorgeous George Galloway puff piece, last updated on Friday 13AUG04 (allegedly!) is still featured on the main BBC News Online Politics … Continue reading

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

I was saddened very much by a letter in yesterday’s Sunday Times*, concerning the horrific judicial murder in Iran of a sixteen year old girl, Atefeh Rajabi, because, it appears, she annoyed the so-called judge at her so-called trial for the so-called crime of “acts incompatible with chastity”. Googling for the story produced a number of supporting accounts, including this one at Iran Focus. Reports of the case were also … Continue reading

As a special B-BBC August bank holiday bonus,

here are a few repeats of a classic BBC News Online error – this one being one of my all-time favourite examples of the ignorance, laziness and inability of BBC News Online journos and their editors (who should know better – assuming they actually read what they edit)! 10SEP2002 Rock stages show of strength [Peter Caruana, Gibraltar’s Chief Minister,] had earlier declared that Gibraltar was “at a crossroads in its … Continue reading

What’s the difference between an interview and a sketch?

Don’t know? Here’s the answer, as demonstrated by News Online’s Brian Wheeler, a political reporter, oh yes: One’s a magisterial puff-piece for Gorgeous George Galloway. The other’s a comedy piece poking fun at those UKIP buffoons! Of course this could just be an unfortunate juxtaposition – Brian has bylined a mere eleven articles over two and a half years, according to the News Online search tool, so collecting a reasonable … Continue reading

Now you see it, now you don’t.

In an article headlined Lib Dems accused of Tory alliance, concerning an email from a Labour candidate to his supporters (helpfully “released officially by the Labour Party” – no journalistic derring-do required) with the usual sort of leftie ferrets-in-a-sack by-election smears (although this time, for once, The Liberal Democrats are receiving rather than giving – and, to quote Corporal Jones of Dad’s Army, “they don’t like it up ’em”!), there … Continue reading

An amusing snippet from last weekend’s Sunday Times

* – Dyke to denounce ‘traitor’ governors. Apparently: The former director-general, who will present a Channel 4 documentary next month to accompany his memoirs, claims his offer of resignation was a token move that he thought would not be accepted. And: Dyke believes that, had Davies been present at a second governors’ meeting the next day, he would have argued that there was no need for Dyke to resign. At … Continue reading

Not Very Sporting

The BBC anti-Bush sniffer dogs were quick to uncover the story of Iraqi Olympic footballers criticising Bush, and swift to publish. The story was based on a Sports Illustrated interview with team members, and their coach. The BBC reported: ‘Midfielder Salih Sadir said the team – which won its group stage in Greece – was angry it had been used in Mr Bush’s re-election campaign ads.’ This would have been … Continue reading