FREI’S TO GO…

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… but things will stay the same. Matt Frei’s final edition of Americana before leaving the BBC gave him the chance to talk – once again – with one of his “favourite Washingtonians”, the Palin-hating conspiracy nut Andrew Sullivan. It was everything you’d expect from a BBC discussion on US affairs – Sullivan asserted (without any contradiction from Frei) that Donald Rumsfeld is a war criminal and that the highly … Continue reading →

Question Time LiveBlog 23rd June 2011

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Question Time comes tonight from Huddersfield in the Colne Valley – where the surrounding hills provide a stunning view of the permanent yellow smog over the town. To the east lies the tourist attractions of the ICI complex, various shopping complexes and Leeds Road – the main escape route – which is lined by a selection of everything’s-a-pound shops, Netto, Lidl, and derelict buildings. Who is actually on the panel … Continue reading →

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Court.

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So the shaggy dog-stoning story turned out to be out of synch with the actuality. The delight with which the BBC wagged its tail over the story contrasts starkly with their low-profile retraction. Their hasty, nay reckless, promotion of it might have been embarrassing if it had concerned any other topic, but being about Israel, well….. give a dog a bad name. Why, one might ask, would the BBC go … Continue reading →

What Time is It?

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The shambles hosted by Nicky Campbell that calls itself ‘The Big Questions’ plumbs new depths each time it graces the airwaves. Particularly when the subject is Israel/Palestine. How can people be so opinionated, so vocal and so sure of themselves yet so ignorant? Frantically launching themselves at subjects about which they know dangerously little, they interrupt hysterically, disrupt and misbehave in front of goodness knows who – why, we’re told … Continue reading →

BBC: A Woman’s Greatest Achievement Is Marrying A Powerful Man

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I am disgusted by the way the BBC is hyping Michelle Obama’s supposed “message” that one can achieve great things if one is “ambitious and works hard”. Huw Edwards is holding a love-fest over her visit to some non-white school in London (BBC race-obsessed as always) and some speech she just did about preventing AIDS and inspiring women in Soweto. But it’s not the message in the abstract that’s the … Continue reading →

BBC Admits Editorial Breach Over McWhirter (Eventually)

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From the Telegraph: “BBC apology over suggestion that Norris McWhirter was a fascist” “David Baddiel and Alan Davies discussion about Norris McWhirter on Radio Five Live was in breach of the BBC’s editorial guidelines.” Cranmer points out that when he and others complained to the BBC about the comments they were informed: “The Alan Davies Show is a live, light hearted, entertainment programme and in this context we are satisfied … Continue reading →

Mangold on Panorama

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Not sure if this was mentioned in the comments, but ex-Panorama journalist Tom Mangold unloaded on his former employer in Sunday’s Independent: Primark’s objections were investigated by the BBC’s internal Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU); its admirable report, completed last summer, was, at the request of Primark, never published – because the retailer thought it would jeopardise its appeal to the BBC Trust. Remarkably, senior BBC managers used that decision to … Continue reading →