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| Political Bias at the BBC | |
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| Topic Started: Sep 29 2014, 06:58 AM (359 Views) | |
| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 06:58 AM Post #1 |
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I used to take accusations that the BBC is biased (one way or the other with a pinch of salt. However since Nick Robinsons long connections with the Conservative Party are now public domain, a suspicion of right wing bias started to emerge. It appears from a fringe meeting at the Conservative party to-day that another example of BBC conservative bias has emerged:- A debate titled ‘Benefits Street: What more needs to be done to help people into work?’ at the Conservative Party Conference this morning at 10am will will be chaired by Allegra Stratton, political editor of Newsnight. (Newsnight has already had to issue an apology about Allegra Stratton as it is. Allegra Stratton Newsnight 23 May 2012 falsely portrays woman as unemployed Ms Stratton conducted an interview with Shanene Thorpe, a young single mother from Tower Hamlets. She quite aggressively questioned Ms. Thorpe why she was living in her own flat, claiming Housing Benefit, when she could be living at home with her mother. After the interview, Ms. Stratton spoke directly to camera, saying, “The government is thinking of saying to young people: if you don’t have work, don’t leave home.” The clear implication was that Ms Thorpe was unemployed and living off benefits as a lifestyle choice. She was actually working full time, and had been in work or work-related training since she was sixteen, but this inconvenient truth was edited from the interview. After Ms Thorpe complained that she had been misrepresented and humiliated, Newsnight eventually issued a public apology. So, as a Chair for a ‘Benefits Street’ debate, Ms. Stratton does not inspire confidence. I suspect that debate will be all over the right wing press tomorrow. If the debate had been titled "What more needs to be done to help people into work?" I would have no problem, but sticking "Benefits Street" at the start make it obvious the direction will take. Edited by papasmurf, Sep 29 2014, 06:59 AM.
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| Stan Still | Sep 29 2014, 07:04 AM Post #2 |
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It would take more than Robinson to make the BBC lean to the right, its been biased towards the left for years and years, they even admitted publicly how left they were several years ago and promised to give a more balanced view. |
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| Lewis | Sep 29 2014, 07:09 AM Post #3 |
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Yes the Beeb certainly does have a right wing bias these days. |
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| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 07:12 AM Post #4 |
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The BBC like the right wing press has NOT been reporting the emergent properties of the current governments "welfare reforms." The BBC has also not reported several demonstrations about the lack of reporting outside it's own HQ. Allegra Stratton has "previous" for right wing bias. Just where is the left wing bias at the BBC bearing in mind it is now only just over 6 months until the general election. |
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| RoofGardener | Sep 29 2014, 07:50 AM Post #5 |
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Lord of Plantpots
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It seems to me that historically the BBC has always been "shot by both sides". It is accused of right-wing/establishment bias by "the Left", and accused of left-wing bias by "the Right". Sometimes simultanously. I think the best that the BBC can do is to try and ensure it is being criticised by everybody equally.
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| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 07:52 AM Post #6 |
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I don't think letting Allegra Stratton chair a debate the Conservative Party conference helps the BBC when it comes to professing a lack of bias. |
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| RJD | Sep 29 2014, 07:55 AM Post #7 |
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Prudence and Thrift
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What do they say about the best form of defence? Get your attack in early. This is just another example of Mr Smurf attempting to undermine the news programme by attacking the credentials of participants. There is no proof that this programme is biased, but it is always good to infer it might be. The BBC is institutionally left wing and in order to obtain some balance it needs to recruit a lot more people into it's organisation that are not of the slappy happy spend someone else's money brigade. |
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| RJD | Sep 29 2014, 07:57 AM Post #8 |
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Prudence and Thrift
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There is nothing wrong with people having opinions in their private lives, but when they are a mouth piece for a State Broadcaster they should declare such. |
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| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 07:59 AM Post #9 |
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What programme RJD? Nick Robinson is the BBCs political editor and Allegra Stratton is the political editor of Newsnight. who has already shown a massive bias to the Conservatives and Newsnight had to issue an apology. Allegra Stratton chairing a debate at the Conservative conference called Benefits Street: What more needs to be done to help people into work? Is about as biased to the Conservatives as it is possible to get. Edited by papasmurf, Sep 29 2014, 08:02 AM.
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| Rich | Sep 29 2014, 10:10 AM Post #10 |
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Name me one publicly funded body that is not left wing. |
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| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 10:18 AM Post #11 |
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Well here is a list are you statin they are ALL left wing:- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations Edited by papasmurf, Sep 29 2014, 10:23 AM.
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| Heinrich | Sep 29 2014, 10:19 AM Post #12 |
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Regular Guy
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There is no question that the BBC is pro Tory. On Newsnight, Jeremy Paxman was always right-wing, lazy in his research and always rude to Labour people. Andrew Marr has always asked soft questions of Tories on his Sunday show. Behind the scenes, the producers and editors fail to cover some stories or give air time to critics of Israel, the USA, NATO, or the Tories. The BBC is a biased as FOX in America. |
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| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 10:24 AM Post #13 |
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That is going TOO far. |
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| Affa | Sep 29 2014, 11:42 AM Post #14 |
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The BBC is State owned, the State is right-wing Capitalist. |
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| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 11:46 AM Post #15 |
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I think you will need to rethink that. |
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| Affa | Sep 29 2014, 12:14 PM Post #16 |
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The BBC is State funded, the State is right-wing Capitalist. |
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| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 12:17 PM Post #17 |
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No it isn't it is funded by the licence fee. |
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| Stan Still | Sep 29 2014, 12:29 PM Post #18 |
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It is not solely funded by the licence fee it has received nearly £3million in grant money from the European Union over the past four years. Other grants totalling £16million came from local authorities across the UK,the money was spent on "research and development projects" whatever that means. BBC Worldwide borrowed over £141million from the European Investment Bank since 2003. Of that figure £30million is still due to be repaid by the end of May this year. |
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| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 12:33 PM Post #19 |
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BBC Worldwide carries advertising. |
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| C-too | Sep 29 2014, 12:34 PM Post #20 |
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The BBC has always had a Conservative leaning. The number of times they show the headlines in the papers each day says it all. |
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| Alberich | Sep 29 2014, 02:34 PM Post #21 |
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Alberich
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You have GOT to be joking! The Beeb is institutionally leftish to a man. Hell, if you can't quote the Guardian's opinion article of the day on arrival at work, they won't let you in. Right wing bias......
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| C-too | Sep 29 2014, 02:47 PM Post #22 |
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"To a man"! --- That has already been disproved. IMO, anyone who thinks the BBC is positively left in its views is only exposing their own right-wing sentiments. |
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| krugerman | Sep 29 2014, 03:10 PM Post #23 |
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Oh! its that subject yet again The BBC is biased towards erm who ? Well over the years the BBC has been accused of been pro-Israel, anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian, anti-Palestinian, pro-American, anti-American, pro-European, anti-European, anti-Conservative, pro-Conservative, anti-Labour, pro-Labour, anti-establishment, pro-establishment, anti-Christian, pro-Muslim. The BBC was criticised during the independence campaign, it was criticised for carrying a public appeal for refugees and people in need in the occupied territories, and it was also criticised FOR NOT carrying an appeal for the same people. The fact is that our BBC is a treasured institution, it is the most listened to news source in the world, it is the most trusted news source in the world, it is the best news source in the world, and its British. Edited by krugerman, Sep 29 2014, 03:10 PM.
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| jeevesnwooster | Sep 29 2014, 03:17 PM Post #24 |
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Now, I don't really care whether people call the BBC right-wing, left-wing or anything inbetween, it's been all of those things at some point or another, simple fact: there are different people who work at the BBC. My godfather worked for the BBC at one point. Many people at the BBC seem to have Tory viewpoints, Nick Robinson was a young conservative, Robert Peston I believe had tory links in his youth as well and as far as I can see, this shows in the way they report I take great issue with "best news source in the world" and most trusted though! What a joke! How ridiculous a statement is that? The BBC that's shown here reporting incredulous, idiotic and untruthful stories. The BBC that was the most uncritical, brainwashing mouthpiece for government propaganda during WWII? There is some good material on the BBC, but such a ridiculous post deserves derision |
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| RoofGardener | Sep 29 2014, 03:20 PM Post #25 |
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Lord of Plantpots
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OK, lets clarify something. The BBC is not state controlled, nor state funded, in the usual meaning of those terms. However, there IS an arms-length relationship between the Corporation and the government. It is governed by a 12-member Trust, the individual members of which are appointed by the Crown on advice from ministers. And that is virtually the extent of government "control". The current Trust is hardly a hotbed of political partisanship. It is not obliged to follow any instructions from the government (other than obeying the law), and has in the past frustrated the government. (their circumvention on the ban on Irish Republican movements being interviewed is a classic case in point). The BBC exists under a Royal Charter. It collects its money through a universal license fee. It is not allowed to directly operate in the commercial world. At the same time, it is under pressure (under the terms of its broadcast license) to 'seek alternative revenue streams'. One of these streams is BBC Worldwide. This is a wholly-owned subsiduary. It commissions (e.g. pays for) BBC programs. In return, the BBC grants it permission to sell certain BBC programs worldwide. In this manner, the restriction on direct commercial activity is circumvented. The BBC also has a major research and development centre. It invented teletext, stereo TV, various telecommunications systems, and is a leading partner in the research and development (and implementation now) of digital terrestrial TV. It can - and does - accept commissions from outside organisations for certain types of R+D project. It is NOT government controlled, and one of the roles of the Trust is to keep a beady eye on the political neutrality of broadcast output. Any given program, or segment, or interview, may contain a bias. But there must be balance overall. |
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| RoofGardener | Sep 29 2014, 03:33 PM Post #26 |
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Lord of Plantpots
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Nevertheless, it is true.
... non of which you can quite recall at the moment, to the extent of citing them here ?
Compared to most worldwide radio broadcasters, it was remarkably even-handed during the war, within the limits imposed by direct state censorship. And this at a time when we expected to be invaded. Be reasonable, J+W. Oh.. appropos of nothing.... a lovely little tidbit I blundered across. As you may be aware, TV broadcasting (as opposed to Radio) was shut down for the duration of the war. Legend has it that the last person to be heard prior to shutdown was a continuity announcer called Leslie Mitchell. He was also the person scheduled to re-start the first post-war broadcast. Legend has it that his first words where.... "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted ...". Edited by RoofGardener, Sep 29 2014, 03:34 PM.
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| jeevesnwooster | Sep 29 2014, 03:38 PM Post #27 |
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Mate, I can spam this thread out with untruthful stories from the BBC. That and the evidence proving that they were false And the BBC, remarkably even handed? Compared to who? Compared to the YANKS? That's hardly flattering is it PS: Great tidbit by the way
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| johnofgwent | Sep 29 2014, 03:47 PM Post #28 |
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It .. It is GREEN !!
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Right wing bias My Fragrant Viking Arse If "the bbc" is so utterly right wing why do its presenters (I will not give them the status of journalists, for all they do is bleat out the pap handed to them by the briefing teams run by each party's "communications director") tear into each side alike at eight o clock and twenty past eight every morning. I know there are some on here who wish to portray the BBC as the organisation Goebbels would have loved to command and others think he is in fact alive and well and puiling the DG's strings but frankly my sole beef with the beeb is that they let the Ed Milliband's of this world have a much freer ride then they deserve. |
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| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 03:54 PM Post #29 |
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Not in my case, my worry is specified in the thread-opener about Allegra Stratton, political editor of Newsnight. chairing a blatant propaganda anti-benefit claimant debate at the Conservative Party Conference this morning. There are plenty of the Tory party faithful who could have done that. |
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| Steve K | Sep 29 2014, 04:11 PM Post #30 |
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Once and future cynic
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The British Army? |
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| jeevesnwooster | Sep 29 2014, 04:14 PM Post #31 |
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Lol ^ |
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| Steve K | Sep 29 2014, 04:19 PM Post #32 |
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Once and future cynic
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Yep Anyone that thinks the BBC is right wing biased needs to look at the work of Andrew Marr the serial toady to Labour politicians in interviews. But then would we really want a BBC totally purged of all bias? IMHO they've got it at the point where its bias is as low as can reasonably achieved. IE the cost and programme quality loss of further removing bias would be wholly disproportional. IMHO its biggest bias has been on following government lines on global warming and road safety. But it's still an overall superb broadcaster that makes ITV and Sky raise their standards too. |
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| krugerman | Sep 29 2014, 04:50 PM Post #33 |
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iCD Research - on behalf of Press Gazette ----------------------------------------- The BBC is the most trusted source of news according to a survey undertaken on behalf of the Press Gazette ( the newspaper of journalists and news papers ) and conducted by iCD Research. Name the print publication, broadcast news outlet or website you most trust when it comes to political news: 1 - BBC News (online, TV and radio): 50.3 per cent. 2 - Sky News (6.5 per cent) 3 - ITV national news (5.3 per cent) 4 - I trust no-one when it comes to political news (five per cent) 5 - ITV regional news (3.7 per cent) 6 - The Times (3.3 per cent) 7 - Daily Mail (2.5 per cent) 8 - Channel 4 News (2.3 per cent) 9 - The Daily Telegraph (1.9 per cent) 10 - The Guardian (1.8 per cent) |
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| jaguar | Sep 29 2014, 06:02 PM Post #34 |
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Of course the BBC are left wing bias, as PS would say, "it's common knowledge". |
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| jeevesnwooster | Sep 29 2014, 06:14 PM Post #35 |
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If that survey has been conducted fairly, it just shows how brainwashed people in this country truly are (although I doubt it has been conducted fairly) People who keep accusing the BBC of having more left or right wing bias, really should look at individuals who work at the corporation. I think anyone would come to the conclusion that it is neither left or right wing, if anything it's biased towards daft middle-class journos and their perception of the national interest |
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| papasmurf | Sep 29 2014, 06:25 PM Post #36 |
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I did not think the Beeb biased at all, until the last year or so, when the just have not been reporting welfare reform stories they should have been at all. The fringe debate at the Tory conference this morning being chaired by Allegra Stratton, political editor of BBC Newsnight was the last straw. The BEEB has been nobbled/hobbled by the Tories. Edited by papasmurf, Sep 29 2014, 06:26 PM.
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| Affa | Sep 29 2014, 07:09 PM Post #37 |
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As it was when Mrs T was PM, especially during the miners strike. Not so for Blair who had more fights with the BBC than any Tory ever has had cause to do - still, if it is 'common knowledge' that the Beeb is lefty, then lefty it must be. Either that or the right wing do a bloody good job of propaganda work. |
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| Tigger | Sep 29 2014, 07:15 PM Post #38 |
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It's not as if you ever use these tactics is it? One of the rules of publicity is to get your message out there first before it get buried under the weight of the counter claims. File under lamentable hypocrite. |
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| C-too | Sep 29 2014, 07:33 PM Post #39 |
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What do you think of this one? The BBC cutting room 'accedentally' cut a tape of the miners strike which then showed the miners throwing stones at the police followed by a police charge. In reality the stone throwing took place AFTER the police charge. Edited by C-too, Sep 29 2014, 07:34 PM.
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| Rich | Sep 29 2014, 07:50 PM Post #40 |
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In my younger days, no other broadcaster could touch the BBC when it came to sports coverage, sadly, the same cannot be said now. |
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