There are vaild criticisms to be made of the BBC, but folk can't have it both ways.
During the Hutton-Kelly affair loads were holding up the BBC as downtrodden free spirited broadcasters giving a corrupt government a hard time on its flagship shows (
Newsnight,
Today). Yet now, apparently, the BBC is a hateful government stooge beginning to beat the jungle drums in advance of a strike on Iran's alleged nuclear facilities.
This conveniently overlooks the fact that Jack Straw's informal trip to the US for a blessing from Sister Condy has, at the heart of its agenda, the British government's opposition to any military action against Iran. How exactly does the detailed reporting of this event this morning represent pro-military action 'propaganda' from the BBC? On Radio 4 for weeks there has been much discussion and debate of the EU's dialogue with Iran, and the failure so far of the US's best efforts to fuck it up and discredit it. Similarly, there has been much coverage of US disquiet at the EU's lifting of the embargo on arms sales to China. Again, hardly pro US, pro US military propaganda.
Coverage at present from Iraq is brutally inadequate. I'm sure there are atrocities and injustics happening there on a daily basis that deserve to be reported, which never will be. Most journos out there are engaged in 'hotel journalism'- they never leave their hotels in the Green Zone, because they are terrified of being kidnapped or killed, or both.
No one can blame them- unless of course, those pointing the accusing finger are willing to go out in Fallujah with a notebook and digital camera in their place. 24 hour news cultures require a certain level of stability in which to function- hence no rolling news despatches from Chechnya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kandahar, Zimbabwe, etc, the places from where accurate and honest reporting is needed most.
None of this is to say that the BBC is flawless/spotless/blameless. There are many historical and contemporary instances of the BBC unquestioningly adopting a governemnt line. The case I heard most about was John Birt, as Director General, colluding with the first Blair government to squash the idea of an independent Scottish Six o'Clock news, because the government were worried about the possibility of Scottish independence, and Birt was only too happy to do their bidding. This is the same Birt subsequently ennobled by Blair, who's now Chief Logisitcal Fishbone Diagram Designer at no. 10 or some such.
However to reject out of hand virtually everything the BBC puts out is as cock eyed as slavishly believing all their reports as the objective, impartial truth. It's also interesting that this argument provides an eery parallel to that believing that the reading of an objectionable tabloid article or headline, automatically makes the people who read it racists and fascists. The thing missing here is the ability of folk to be skeptical about what they read and hear from the mainstream media. I don't need my hand held, and husbanded in the 'approved' left wing direction, whilst taking a look at the day's news, thanks. We live in an uge of unprecedented disillusion with the media and political institutions. A poll last year showed journalists to be even lower ranked in the public esteem than politicians. The coats the individual reader/listener/viewer with a more than adequate coating of skeptical teflon before turning on the news of an evening.
At the heart of this is the (I believe) naive view that there can be such a thing as perfect, flawless, selfless news organisations. Sadly, I think that's impossible in the 21st century, if ever it was possible at any stage in the past.
Oh, and the author of this spittle flecked, pop eyed outburst:
bigfish said:
what I know about the BBC is that it is pretty much polluted, nowadays, by self-infatuated, jelly-spined prima donna's and right wing Islamatoads (like yourself), peddling spudcheese propaganda to the unsuspecting and gullible (just like the Church) and that its 6 o'clock and 10 o'clock sermons are a travesty of the human intellect and spirit.
is to be pitied greatly, as he clearly is a stranger to reason.
thanks. i needed that.
