The BBC is losing quite a few heavy weights these days….Mason, Flanders and now Paxman: Jeremy Paxman to step down as presenter of Newsnight Jeremy Paxman has decided to step down as the presenter of Newsnight, a position he has held with great distinction for 25 years. He informed Tony Hall, the Director General, and James Harding, the Director of News and Current Affairs, of his decision … Continue reading →

Busy morning on the BBC. Every effort made to debunk claims by Sir Andrew Green’s MigrationWatch (with Evan Davies joining in the fun and games), then a strange thought for the day that seemed to claim teachers were like Christ, and of course a item on how Labour might win the Newark by-election. Just a normal day through the prism of the BBC.

    Heard Peter Allen talking (18:24) about how the US and German economies were doing so much better than ours….because, Allen tells us, they didn’t have ‘austerity’…the ‘big cuts’…..we may be improving here…but you know what, says Allen…not so much…nowhere near where we were in 2007…..em….wasn’t that just about to go bust in the biggest crash in history!! Got his backside kicked by the guest, who knew what he … Continue reading →

    Here’s the spin: BBC News highly regarded and trusted but needs to act to maintain reputation with audiences, BBC Trust review finds     Here’s the actual report: Review of BBC Network News and Current Affairs   Here’s the Big Changes acoming your way: As a result of its findings the Trust has set out a number of actions for the BBC Executive, including: Developing its online and … Continue reading →

  The egregious ‘Hacked Off’ is trying to impose EU diktat upon the  Media..something that could well backfire upon the Hacked Off friendly BBC.   This is one of their slides from their presentation (Via Guido):   We all know that…and yet Labour and Hacked Off don’t seem to have a problem with the BBC dominating the Media scene. Strange that they don’t mind such a right wing organisation (h/t … Continue reading →

    It’s small and short but poisonous: Adie and Ruth – Adventure in the Blood   Ruth tells of her travels and then how her son follows in her footsteps…going on a journey they hadn’t realised the dangers of….going to Gaza. The dangers of course being in a land infested with murderous terrorists and religious fanatics….or not. The danger was the Jews. Travelling in his boat to Gaza across … Continue reading →

    If you’d like a laugh there’s always Marx…Karl Marx this time, and the BBC’s ‘of the moment‘ meme: The Future of Capitalism Anne McElvoy talks to the social theorist Jeremy Rifkin who foresees the gradual decline of capitalism and the rise of a collaborative economy. As new technology enables greater sharing of goods and services, Rifkin argues that it provides a challenge to the market economy. The sociologist … Continue reading →

    And, while social media can make anyone into a journalist, citizen journalism has, to my mind, reinforced the value of the professional journalist. When there are so many voices out there, so many with hidden patrons and private axes to grind, so many confusing opinions for news, then there is something simply priceless about a voice you can trust.   That’ll be the BBC then.     Fate … Continue reading →

  It’s not whether you are right or wrong, it’s who you are that gets a response from the BBC  panjandrums….if you’re Lenny Henry clearly you’ve some influence at BBC House. A few headlines in the newspapers and a private meeting with Tony Hall and the BBC falls over itself to seem ‘relevant’ and ‘diverse’. (But only with regard to gender and race.) As James Harding says:  ‘Anyone with a … Continue reading →

Morning all. Time to start the week with a brand new Open Thread. I bet you are all looking forward to “Woman’s Hour” on BBC Radio 4 this week. Doreen Lawrence will be hosting one such episode and it’s inspiring to see the BBC create the space for her. You rarely see her on the BBC…..