IN OUR GENES…

Here are a few great examples of BBC professional neutrality. First, here’s BBC employee Mary Walker… When I joined the team of “Living Islam” (the BBC series) two years ago, my perception of Islam was dominated by prejudice and ignorance, and I found its treatment of women abhorrent. To me the veil symbolised the oppression of women, making them invisible, anonymous and voiceless, and the cause of this oppression lay … Continue reading

HERE WE GO AGAIN…

Roger Harrabin has been conspicuous by his absence lately, but he’s back with a bang this morning, reporting a call by international ecofascists (and the BBC best chums Friends of the Earth) to condemn millions of people into fuel poverty by ending subsidies on fossil fuel production. Funny how he was absent – and didn’t report – recent stories about how windfarms not only gobble subsidies but also are hugely … Continue reading

Next Act. Supreme Court.

Another episode in the everyday story of the Balen Report.Last time they decided that “the information sought was held by the corporation for the purposes of journalism, it was effectively exempt from production under the Act, even if it was also being held for other purposes.”When applied to the BBC, the Freedom of Information Act doesn’t mean ‘Freedom’ or ‘Information’ – it just means ‘Act’. Click through to read and … Continue reading

PRESTIDGITATION…

Back then, in 2007, under the wonderful nuLab , local councils switching off street lights in Devon and elsewhere was hailed by the BBC as a social experiment to be lauded, an essential part of the green crusade. It saved tons of that vile substance called carbon, don’t you know? Now, according to Newsnight, tonight, it’s part of the nasty cuts agenda. Snuffing those carbon-intensive sources of illumination was transformed … Continue reading

Twitter From America

Hey look, there’s a shout-out to the Biased BBC massive from BBC Washington correspondent Iain Mackenzie : Not so much “Reds”, Iain, as partisan hacks. Remember Obama’s inauguration? Or your views on Sarah Palin, Iain? I’m yet to find an American-based BBC journalist betraying sympathies for the Republican Party. Plenty the other way, though. Funny that, eh? One more thing Iain – why did you immediately delete those jokey tweets … Continue reading

IMPARCIALIDADE (pt2)

Tea Party-hating BBC Brazil correspondent Lucas Mendes opens his latest column with a word of thanks: The Republican tsunami could have been worse for the Democrats. Thank you very much, Latino brothers. They saved the Democratic Party leader, Harry Reid, Senate candidate for the State of Nevada, threatened by Sharon Angle, one of the most radical and least prepared candidate’s Tea Party. Latinos have left home and 90% voted for … Continue reading

WHO HAS FINLO INVITED TO THE TEA PARTY?

Just as another (very late on parade) epilogue to David P.’s superb coverage of the American midterm elections, BBC Online‘s post-U.S. midterm election coverage featured some ‘analysis’ by Finlo Rohrer, one of the BBC’s Washington contingent. It makes for a largely downbeat reading for both Tea Party supporters and Republicans alike. In partial explanation of that I want to concentrate on the article’s use of ‘independent experts’, typical of the … Continue reading

HAGUE THE HOPELESS

I listened to William Hague interviewed on the Marr programme and, to be honest I cringed at his evasions and ameliorations. This man is not a Conservative as I recognise it. To think that the Conservative Party will ever tackle the BBC hegemony is pure folly. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.