Bred To Rule

          The world doesn’t seem able to decide if being an Old Etonian is a good or a bad thing. The BBC laughs along when Miliband taunts Cameron and Co as ‘posh boys’…Cameron and Clegg being described by the BBC as Headboy and Deputy Headboy….no doubt they would take a similar jokey approach if Miliband were to call a black PM and Chancellor ‘blackboys’ and suggest … Continue reading

Rejoice Rejoice Rejoice!

    The BBC will be rejoicing…Lithuania wants to join the Euro. No wonder some sceptics will say, as they get 25% of their national budget handed to them on a plate by the EU.  But there is always a little rain cloud on the horizon that will take some explaining for the BBC. The BBC likes to tell us that the economy is failing due to austerity…sometimes they take the subtle approach … Continue reading

The Internet…The Enemy Of Falsehood

  Guardianista Roy Greenslade in the Evening Standard says: Don’t blame the internet for false rumours about Boston – it’s the enemy of falsehoods How far down the digital road do we have to travel before journalists — plus assorted politicians, police officers and lawyers — stop blaming the internet for false reporting? It’s not about the tools. It’s all about the people, the human beings, who use, and misuse, those … Continue reading

The Oxygen Of Publicity

         Counter-narratives must be disseminated and key facts – for instance, that more Muslims have died in Pakistan as a result of Taliban actions than American drones…must be widely publicised.’  Maajid Nawaz,  Quilliam       The BBC has reported extensively on the protest by the Stop The War Coalition against the opening of an airbase to operate drones from the UK. The story was endlessly reported … Continue reading

Limey or Lemon?

        Mark Thompson has made his mark at the New York Times…..as he announced a sharp downturn in profits…net profit falling 93%. Early days yet I’m sure….how could he fail with his vast experience of running a real world commercial media company as opposed to a privileged, spoon fed, elitist corporation that lives in its own little bubble?   Ah look there’s the problem…he’s trying to run … Continue reading

The Thick Blue Line

    Victoria Derbyshire has been talking  (11:09) to a senior police officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Duffy, from the Metropolitan Police about its reforms and efficiency drive. Two things of especial note that he said: 1.  The Met. will be putting 26,000 constables on the streets of London….more than at any time in its history…due to its efficiency changes. 2.  The main priorities for police are gang crime, foreign national … Continue reading

Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true!

        Did laugh this morning listening to Rachel Burden on 5Live (07:53) interviewing David Cameron.  Cameron was reeling off statistics about how Tory councils save you money and suggested any expert would back his figures up. Rachel Burden, presumably unequiped with the necessary facts to contest his claims, thought fast and resorted to the slipperiest of get outs I’ve heard in a long time: ‘You can ask … Continue reading

Imagine If Politicians Had The Power To License BBC Reporters

‘Hacked Off’….Andrew Gilligan says that they have engineered a ‘coup…..one of perhaps the most important constitutional change yet of the 21st century.’ A ‘coup’….’constitutional change’?  Shouldn’t the BBC be asking who Hacked Off is, and is it fit and proper that they had such influence over such an important and consequential piece of politically contrived ‘legislation’? I don’t know what you think about Hacked Off’s successful campaign to create that … Continue reading

Two Heads Are Better Than One

  This is a bit off the usual beaten track for this blog, nothing to do with ‘bias’, but I think we can spare a little space for such an astonishing story…one that shows the BBC at its best treating what might be seen as a sensationalist Tabloid ‘freak’ story with sensitivity…I guess this is one of those stories that by exposing people to not just the condition but also … Continue reading