It’s been a busy morning for the thoroughly impartial Justin Webb. Just after 7.18am he was “breaking the traditional “mood of the conference” at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference in Birmingham, by taking in A4 sized close-up photos of some senior Conservative cabinet ministers and seeing what reaction it would cause”. Nice one. Then @7.55, he was back to interview the “great” Vince Cable. Justin has evidently decided that Vince … Continue reading
Remarkably biased coverage of the planned eviction of Gypsies from the illegal part of the Dale Farm on BBC Today this morning. There were two interviews conducted by Chris Patten favourite Sarah Montague at 8.10am, although just before that we had Irishman Fergal Keane on to set the scene as sympathetically as possible for the poor oppressed “Travellers”.Then the lovely Sarah interviewed one of the Travellers who casually informed her … Continue reading
I never could understand David Cameron’s enthusiasm for C.I.N.O. Chris Patten becoming BBC Trust Chairman, Here we see Patten once again living down to expectations; BBC Trust chairman Chris Patten has said there are not enough women in on-air roles at the public broadcaster. “We should have more women on radio and television,” the former Conservative party chairman said in an interview with The Observer. (Naturally) He singled out Radio 4’s Sarah … Continue reading
A few days ago, the media got wind of a new unauthorized biography to come out about someone who holds no public office, is not running for one, and had virtually no public profile until 2008. There were a couple of personal scandalous allegations, and the media turned into the usual shark feeding frenzy, including the BBC. That private citizen is, as we all know, Sarah Palin. The BBC reported … Continue reading
I will be on the BBC tomorrow morning discussing the ethics of public sector strikes. I am sure you can guess my arguments. BBC NI Radio Ulster Sunday Sequence around 9.30am. If anyone has views on this please post now! Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
I was doing a little research on Lib-Dem Lynne Featherstone for another post I am writing and came across this little snippet; “Lynne has been a champion of gay rights in Parliament and outspoken critic of the Government’s Equality Bill, which fails to explicitly outlaw harassment of young people in schools because of their sexuality – gay bullying. She has also fought for greater protection against discrimination for transgendered people … Continue reading
Let’s start with the bare if not so lovely bones, so to speak. This paean to the IRA Chief of State and Irish Presidential candidate Martin NcGuinness appeared on Today this morning. (8.43am) Martin McGuinness, once a leading figure in the IRA and who was feared and loathed in almost equal measure, is now a respectable political leader. So respectable that he wants to become president of the Republic of … Continue reading
Can somebody please read this update of the BBC Agreement (as in “Charter & Agreement”) and tell me if “Editorial Independence” actually translates into “Unaccountability”? Continuing Agreement Concerns have been expressed that the NAO reviews could lead to individual star’s salaries becoming public, or the details of managerial decisions on finance, because the NAO can ask for any information it needs for its audit. The wording of the agreement makes … Continue reading
The weekend is here and I am gone. Enjoy. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
I was alerted to this from Melanie Philips a few days back. Well worth a read! “And last week on BBC News Hard Talk, former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani repeatedly laughed incredulously at the assumptions of his interviewer, BBC correspondent Stephen Sackur. Wouldn’t you admit, said Sackur, that American policy after 9/11 in Afghanistan and Iraq was a mistake? Why should I admit that? said Giuliani when he had … Continue reading
