‘Today’ – A Tale of Two Cities

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The BBC’s contrasting coverage of the party conferences seems to have been at its sharpest with ‘Today’. Here’s why I think that’s the case (at somewhat exhausting length!), concentrating on the Labour Party conference in Liverpool and the Conservative Party conference in Manchester: Setting the agendaThe introductions to each edition of the programme were revealing: The Labour conference editionsMonday 26/9: Opened with James Naughtie saying “The shadow chancellor Ed Balls … Continue reading →

Headline Story

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2 Arabs arrested for the double murder of the Palmers. Israel arrests Palestinian suspects in settler deaths. Compare these two headlines for a minute. Did you learn English grammar? If so, draw on the clause analysis that you might have come across once upon a time. I never did, so forgive me if I’ve got it wrong, but in headline number one, I’d say: “2 Arabs arrested ” is the … Continue reading →

BC/AD

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I know this one has been running for a while now but I just wanted to mark it out here on B-BBC. It concerns the BBC’s suggestion that religiously “neutral” terms should be used instead of “BC” and “AD” during discussions of history on air. “The semi-official newspaper of the Holy See, L’Osservatore Romano, described the guidance from the BBC’s ethics advisers as “enormous nonsense” and accused the broadcaster of … Continue reading →

JEW VERSUS JEW

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I was shocked. The BBC were actually running a sympathetic story about Jews being attacked. But, hang on, turns out the attackers were…other Jews. Kevin Connolly treated us to the story of how groups of ultra-orthodox Jews have been shouting and abusing children and their mothers on their way to a girl’s school in Jerusalem. Of course there is never an excuse for any such behaviour but I have been … Continue reading →

FANNING THE FLAMES

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This is worth a little thought; “Asher Palmer, and hisone year old son…you may have heard of them but not from the BBC. They were killed over a week ago by Palestinians and like the slaughtered Fogelfamily these murders went unreported by the BBC. The BBC did however report the burning of a piece of carpet in a Mosque andused that story to denounce Jewish settlers….  “The words “Revenge”, “Price Tag” and … Continue reading →

HALF THE TRUTH, ALL THE TIME…

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A few days back, the US Congress froze cash to Hamastan. B-BBC reader Edna notes; Consider how the BBC reports the story. The article only gives the view that the freeze is terrible. There is not oneexplanation of why Congress decided to do it. It seems the Palestinians werewarned that this would happen if they reneged on negotiations, and decided toact unilaterally.Consider how another media outlet provides context. It doesn’t take a … Continue reading →

BBC MELTING POT

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Biased BBC contributor Alan observes; “The BBC and their ilk are quick to denounce anyone who suggests one race or another may be better at somethings than other races. And yet here we are looking at a whole series of BBC programmes designed to thrill us with the prospect of being ‘mixed race’…..apparently not only are they more beautiful and successful but also more psychologically stable than non-mixed race people. This … Continue reading →

THE PROVISION OF SERVICES

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I’m catching up on a number of issues sent my way in recent days. This one covers the determination by the BBC-approved  European Court of Justice which has stated: “National legislation which prohibits the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards is contrary to the freedom to provide services and cannot be justified either in light of the objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of encouraging … Continue reading →

FOX ON THE RUN

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It’s been fascinating watching the BBC get itself worked up into a state of moral outrage over the relationship between Liam Fox and Adam Werritty. To listen to the breathless coverage afforded this tale of business card usage one could be forgiven that this was a major international story rather than just another snide little BBC hatchet job, encouraged by Labour,  on one of those Minister’s that they just do … Continue reading →