. Reading Greg Dyke’s speech in New York recently (see below posts), it seemed that I was hearing about a magical Kingdom, let us call it ‘Beebland’, where the journalists have such integrity that balanced coverage in the public interest, er, magically prevails. I wonder, do the people of Scotland agree, after the ‘coverage’ of the ‘building’ of their monumental folly, the new Scottish Parliament building? Many, many questions arise … Continue reading →

This needs remarking on, even just for the sound byte we’ve all thought but rarely heard spoken by a public figure: “Getting the BBC to admit it is wrong is like squeezing blood from a stone.” – Ben Bradshaw, former Beeb journalist and [current UK Government] Fisheries Minister. I wonder whether the Government will let the BBC off the hook when the Charter renewal discussions begin? Maybe they are just … Continue reading →

The poet Benjamin Zephaniah Says NO to OBEs- especially in the light of the Iraq war. Yes, that’s right- but he also took the air-time on Channel Four News last night to praise the BBC World Service because they had changed their name from the BBC Empire Service. So, apparently the leopard can change its spots. It’s all in a name. I would never seek to defend a certain old … Continue reading →

in some respects, and incredibly nuanced (ie. sophisticated) in others. Yet another example here of where essentially the Beeb are harrying the US over operations in Iraq. They recently reported the fall in attacks on US troops, masked carefully by a headline about increased attacks on Iraqis (see Tues ‘Different Tactics’). Now they report a denial by the US that extra troops are needed for a worsening security situation in … Continue reading →

. Well, some of them have been coming here, so maybe some of us should go there. I don’t normally say a lot to anyone about the NHS. They were good to my Grandma and bad to my Grandpa, and family members tend to end up dying there. I think though that in BBC coverage of the NHS it’s worth bearing in mind that they are kindred spirits, both formed … Continue reading →

. Yes, it would seem that Greg Dyke, or ‘Boss Hogg’ as I like to think of him, considered his award in New York a chance to make attack his best form of defence against editorials like this. Update. I can’t deprive anyone of access to Melanie Phillips’ reflections on this. I am also interested in the comments posted subsequently- as often seems to be the case there are interesting … Continue reading →

if you would just level with us, folks like Jeff Jarvis would have a lot more respect for you and the Beeb than at present. Greg Dyke, chief chutzpah officer of the BBC, lashes out at U.S. TV news war coverage as he accepts a dubious award in New York: “News organisations should be in the business of balancing their coverage, not banging the drum for one side or the … Continue reading →

if this will burn Paul Krugman’s bridges as a Beeb ‘expert’ or just burnish his credentials? Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

? All too often slow to report the changes in tactics on the ground, the BBC has a curious way of headlining a reduction in the number of attacks on US soldiers -attacks often given a headline place over the recent weeks. It’s not that I think the picture should be rosy-tinted- the reality is still ugly. I just wish for a little rationale in their reporting that isn’t weirdly … Continue reading →

. After this feel-good article by Jonny Dymond comes this cluster of incidents. What to say? In the first place I was very sceptical about Dymond’s report. It was ‘too good to be true’ journalism of the sort the BBC tells us it always tries to avoid. Its intent was just to act as a more palatable variant of the theme that ‘The British in Basra are better at hearts … Continue reading →