Britannia Radio

Biased BBC

Monday, November 03, 2008 Hugh # About time too David Cameron writes about the Beeb in the Suntoday. In it he supports the license fee, but begins thus: I am a slightly rare creature — a lifelong Conservative who is a fan of the BBC. I think that tells you something. And although much of the piece is about the need to cut salaries and the size of the BBC – all good stuff – and the need for a properly independent regulator instead of the Trust (welcome, too), the key passage for readers here is this: But, I can hear the cry, what about the left-wing bias? My answer is: yes, the BBC does have what even Andrew Marr called an “innate liberal bias”, principally because it does not have to behave like a commercial organisation and make its money from scratch every year. That tends to make the BBC instinctively pro-Big State, distinctly iffy about the free market and sometimes dismissive of a conservative viewpoint. Dave doesn't really say what he'd do about that, but this does seem to suggest that the issue is now on the table. If I worked at the Beeb, I'd be a bit worried. Comments: 41 (unread) - Biased BBC Home Sunday, November 02, 2008