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Biased BBC

Friday, October 31, 2008
Peter #
Provocative and Original
One of the lines I've been hearing a lot lately, in the wake of BrandRossSachsGate, aside from all the usual "It must never happen again - lessons have been learned" baloney one has come to expect from such furores, is the idea that the BBC must maintain its right to be"provocative and original".

Which got me thinking... when was it ever? I mean, this is a station that won't even repeat "It Ain't Half Hot, Mum!" Indeed, the BBC is so uncutting edge you could rub your hands all over it for two hours without spilling any blood.

I suspect the supporters of this view also mean... "and good". After all, trying to turn Ian Wright into a tv presenter was indeed both provocative and original. But when was this golden age? Or are we living in it now? Ross and Brand themselves don't qualify as original BBCers, either. Ross was doing a Friday night tv chat show twenty five years ago. Brand started on MTV. So who do they mean?

Ricky Gervais? He was knocking around Virgin Radio and Channel Four before Aunty Beeb got her grubby mits on him.

Chris Morris? I'd say he was p and o ( and g ). But it's fifteen years since he last appeared on the BBC.

So who are all these zany, extremist provocateurs who we all ought to cut some slack from time to time because they all make us all look at life in a new and edgy way? Chris Moyles? John Humphries? Brian Matthew? I'd love to know.

Comments: 11 (unread) - Biased BBC Home

Hugh #

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Hugh #

Poll positions
We know that, as a matter of editorial policy, the BBC doesn't run opinion polls commissioned elsewhere as news stories in their own right (except for the odd exception). It never occurred to me, though, that its problem with them was that they could be too accurate. This could be the case, if the ComRes polls for the Daily Politics programme are anything to go by, however. Political Betting has the story, but here's the key passage:

For the Daily Politics polls have one fundamental difference compared with the standard ComRes voting intention surveys - there’s no effort to ensure a politically balanced sample which almost inevitably means that its skewed towards Labour supporters.

Thanks to Eric in the comments.

Comments: 4 (unread) - Biased BBC Home

Hugh #

An insight into the editors' reading habits
As a key plank in the BBC's efforts to ensure accountability and engage their audience in the digital age, the Editors blog has done sterling work this week, with a single post about Manuelgate by a Radio One editor suggesting we're over-reacting. As someone in the comments put it,Answering all the questions you never asked.

Interesting, too, is the 'BBC in the News' sidebar on that page. As we know, the BBC has been in every newspaper all week, but where do the majority of the links come from? That's right, folks, the Guardian and the Independent – the national papers with the lowest circulation figures in the land, outside Broadcasting House.

Comments: 2 (unread) - Biased BBC Home