Yesterday’s Daily Politics programme on the BBC was a case study in the kind of BBC output that infuriates left-wing Labour supporters – or simply those with an interest in the UK having a genuinely impartial state broadcaster – to distraction.
In its first broadcast since Haringey council leader Claire Kober announced she would step down after May’s local elections, the Daily Politics opted to discuss Ms Kober’s allegations of bullying, sexism and personal attacks over the controversial ‘HDV‘ housing-giveaway project that was opposed by members of all local parties, local unions and many residents.
Except it didn’t. Discuss ‘allegations’, that is. Host Andrew Neil discussed them as fact:
Ms Kober’s allegations should be investigated properly and not dismissed out of hand. However, a balanced or impartial broadcaster would not completely fail to mention the many people, including centrists, who have alleged that the bullying has been of the left-wingers by centrists and that Ms Kober’s gender has nothing to do with the opposition to her plan.
Nor would it ignore the widely-known fact that opposition to the HDV has been huge and widespread, not limited to ‘Momentum’:
Which version of events is most accurate. It hasn’t been investigated yet, so who knows? Certainly not Andrew Neil or the BBC’s Daily Politics programme.
Do we have a right to expect their output and comments to better reflect the fact that there are two conflicting sides to the story?
According to the BBC itself, we absolutely do:
The BBC says that impartiality is part of its ‘contract with audiences’ and prides itself that this makes it different from other news sources.
It failed in that contractual obligation again yesterday.
The BBC was contacted for comment but did not respond by the time of publication.
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Exactly the same on Radio4 news throughout the day – seriously devoid of any kind of balance and blatantly anti Momentum.
All together, now: #TheMinistryofTruth
In August 2017 I complained to the BBC about an item on The Today Programme. To get my facts absolutly right I listened to the playback on BBC Iplayer several times before writing in. I wanted to be very precise about what my objection was. A week or so later I got an absolute denial of my complaint from the Beeb that set out to me a different version of the item that I had complained of. Surprised I went back to the BBC Iplayer recording to find that the item had clearly been edited to fit their version of events.
“Ministry of Truth” indeed.
we have many complaints of bias by the BBC answer is always will be corrected in subsequent broadcast never happens blustering bully humphries whingeing karney are the worst
Andrew Neil has never had any impartiality to abandon in the first place, no matter where he is. The BBC however, did once have some semblance and quality of fairness regarding it’s reporting but that went out the window during Cameron’s stint and has got progressively worse ever since. Impartiality needs accountability, unfortunately…..
It’s what we have come to expect from Andrew ( ‘I know more about economics than a Proffessor in the same discipline’) Neil. A Tory boy toady through and through. I can’t think of a single BBC political ‘Journalist’?who couldn’t double as spokesperson for Conservative central office.
On the other hand Nick (newspeak) Ferrari is at again smearing the Labour party over the rise in antisemitism along with his guest. Not one Iota of evidence to support his assertion of course. However I do not have to contribute to the old salad dodger’s inflated salary via my licience fee. I did however send him a misive requesting evidence to support his spurious remarks. It seems to me that with a few exceptions all MSM radio journalist are biased towards the hard right and we are paying their salaries.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/100115/broadcast-code-april-2017-section-5.pdf
5.1 News, in whatever form, must be reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality.
OFcom rules are not adhered to by TV or Radio.
The BBC, SKY with news or political programs constantly use or review the British tabloids stories.These tabloids are self regulated by IPSO, so there is no impartiality. Major bias to the right wing factions.
IPSO Regulated tabloids which doesn’t abide to impartiality, is being used on a Ofcom regulated platform. Why?
We need our own TV channel.
Comedy and the real news.
No we need Ofcom to implement the rules they have set.
There is a clear breach of rules.
Is Neal anything but a Toady Tory mouthpiece?
He, who knows everything about nothing when he questions Labour on the Left!
I see he’s only on on a Wednesday now, spouting his croni right wing views, especially, when it as anything to do with the lies that are printed about the Left in the Labour Party!
The right wing is in decline, not before time “I add”!
We are no longer, “all the same”, we are the Roots of the Socialist Left Labour Party from where it sprang all those years ago!
We now have a Leader in Jeremy Corbin who will take this Country’s people forward into a better equal society, unlike anything the “RIGHT CAN COME UP WITH, OR WANTS TOO, FOR THAT FACT”!
On extremely rare occasions the BBC may have slipped up and been impartial but in general, it follows a right wing agenda.
The fact that it has so many right wing journalists and managers and that 80% of guests who appear on discussion programmes are on the right is proof enough of this, if any were needed.
The BBC has always been biased against the Labour Party, as long as I have watched it impartiality has been that they allow a Labour Party member on to the programme, from there on it has been a field day to attack whatever Labour politician that is in the firing line.
I remember bully boy Robin Day that once stood as a liberal candidate for Hereford and became a devotee to Thatcher and even boasted how he had moved to the conservative party. Sue Lawley constantly shouted down Labour MPs, I personally believe that those two together in their time at the BBC undermined democracy to the point where we are today. They made it possible to be openly hostile to socialist MPs.
That is why each and every one one of us must challenge everything they do, tell our families what their vile agenda is, and correct people publicly at every opportunity when they just repeat like parrots what the media tell them.
Here here! Well said The British Bigot Corparation and the Tory time Dimplebores
need to be brought to account for partisan output.
It’s about time there was an inquiry into the recruitment to the BBC.
It’s nothing more than a middle and upper class outfit, to what I see, obviously with this favouring the Tories.
It’s not only equal pay for women, that needs to change. It’s needs to be seen to employ people from any background.
Times up for this public company being a mouth piece and cash cow for Tories.