Did you see the BBC doing everything possible to present an imagined split in the thinking of the our new Government as regards Afghanistan? I suppose this is what we need to get used to as the BBC's highly trained teams of experts parse every word, examine every motion of body language, to see if they can detect division between the Cons and Libs. Can't recall the same enthusiasm for exploring splits when their pals in Labour were in power, can you? I see that the BBC are trailing a series of programmes about WAGS (Wives and Girlfriends of soccer stars) and how they help South African kids achieve their dreams. Great to see quality programming. Well worth the £3.5bn per year they steal from us? This heading is designed to preempt queries about its relevance to this site. I put it to you that dumbing down and bias are closely related, maybe siblings. Compare and contrast these two accounts of the Fourth International Conference on Climate Change, one by the BBC's Roger Harrabin, the other by a genuine journalist who attended the event. Mr Harrabin's sole intent, it soon becomes apparent, is to pour scorn on the conference; to him the 700 who gathered in Chicago were steak-eating, libertarian, republican, right-wing Yanks. In the BBC's rogues' and vermin gallery, you can't get any lower (unless, perhaps, if you are from UKIP). No mention of their qualifications, the range of expertise they encompassed, or anything else that might gave credence to the proceedings. His sole intent is to rubbish what went on. DISHARMONY IN AFGHANISTAN?
>> SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2010
WAGS, KIDS AND WORLD CUP DREAMS
Bias Against Thinking
The BBC’s dumbing down and repetitive programme ideas have become sinister. They constantly parade low standards and questionable ideals before our square and hypno’d eyes. This creates unrealistic expectations yet somehow stifles aspirations.
Take this programme about entrepreneurship called High Street Dreams. Tired old formula, seen it millions of times before. Mentoring members of the public and bringing an *idea* to the *marketplace.*
The ideas weren’t ideas at all. There was nothing there. What we were shown wouldn’t have reached a pre-audition for Dragon’s Den. The episode I watched was about toys and children.
Children rarely like toys. They like the idea of toys, but the expectation is always far better than the actuality. But never mind. For me the values the programme espoused only went to show where we’ve gone wrong. Marketing, presentation, all with one goal. The triumph of trickery over content.
Mentor Jo Malone uttered the word ‘product’ so many times that it lost its meaning. That always happens when you repeat a word over and over. Product product product product product. Product. See? Now what does it mean.
“It will change your life,” they intone, as they do on every other programme.
“What does failure mean to you?” they ask everyone on TV. “I’d be devastated” comes the predictable reply.
Please, please. Mr. Thompson and Mr. Byford, when can we have some original programmes?POT, KETTLE, BLACK....
Not only that, his pay-off line - in accusing Lord Monckton of not being a scientist (and therefore, presumably, in Mr Harrabin's book, not qualified to make the closing address) - falls heavily into the domain of the proverb involving kettles and the colour black. The writer will be the Roger Harrabin who mainiacally pontificates to the world about the dangers of global warming from his privileged BBC pulpit, even though he himself has no science degree. It will also be the Roger Harrabin who, despite being a self-proclaimed expert (in churning out the material that he does), confuses weather with climate:His (Lord Monckton's)closing words were delivered in a weeping whisper, a soft prayer of praise to the American constitution and individual liberty.
As the ecstatic crowd filtered out I pointed one delegate to a copy of the Wall Street Journal on the table. A front page paragraph noted that April had been the warmest on record.
"So what?" he shrugged. "So what?"
Sunday, 23 May 2010
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