BBC bias...
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sidicks

Original Poster:

25,218 posts

251 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Bloomberg news story:

Headline: U.K. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Fall Most in Eight Months (3)
March 16 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. unemployment claims unexpectedly fell in February by the most in eight months, adding to signs that the economy may be recovering from the impact of the winter freeze.

BBC new story:
Headline: UK unemployment total hits 17-year high
UK unemployment rose by 27,000 in the three months to the end of January to 2.53 million, the highest since 1994.

Then in the text:
However, the ONS figures also showed that the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance fell by 10,200 in February to 1.45 million.

Focussing on the positive or the negative, you decide...

???
Sidicks

gtdc

4,259 posts

313 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
No surprise.

DSM2

3,624 posts

230 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
None at all.

One only has to see the way they have exaggerated the dangers and risks regarding the Japanese nuclear problem. I'm not wishing to play it down but the BBC reporters have dramatised it beyond belief.


Fittster

20,120 posts

243 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Telegraph:

"Unemployment surges to 17-year high
Unemployment has reached a 17-year high of more than 2.5m and youth joblessness is at record levels, official statistics showed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8385124/Un...

Daily Mail:

"Youth unemployment highest since records began as total without jobs jumps to 2.53m"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366713/Th...

Caulkhead

4,938 posts

187 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
I can't imagine why BBC journalists, who are public sector employees paid vast salaries funded by taxing the man in the street, would be against a government making huge public sector sending cuts. . . . . . .

Godzuki

73,668 posts

285 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Caulkhead said:
I can't imagine why BBC journalists, who are public sector employees paid vast salaries funded by taxing the man in the street, would be against a government making huge public sector sending cuts. . . . . . .
Because they are journalists... The idea is to give information as to what is going on, not portray who they are annoyed with.

Brighton Derly

597 posts

189 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Telegraph said:
There were almost half a million job vacancies in the three months to February,
Correction: there were almost half a million job vacancies advertised at the job centre in the three months to February. The majority of job vacancies are advertised elsewhere. You won't find work in a shop, bank, bar, or cinema at the job centre, for example. It's all cleaning jobs, care workers and call centres. But there are well over one million jobs out there if you look hard enough.

Andy Zarse

10,870 posts

277 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Oh and look at the lentil noshing BBC's wall to wall of the nuclear problem in Japan... ramping it up more than somewhat.

Nuclear Power - No Thanks or what!!

Fittster

20,120 posts

243 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Andy Zarse said:
Oh and look at the lentil noshing BBC's wall to wall of the nuclear problem in Japan... ramping it up more than somewhat.

Nuclear Power - No Thanks or what!!
Which media outlet is currently reporting positive stories about nuclear power?

Mojooo

13,291 posts

210 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
The BBC one seems to be providing more relevant information if you ask me...

Godzuki

73,668 posts

285 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Brighton Derly said:
Correction: there were almost half a million job vacancies advertised at the job centre in the three months to February. The majority of job vacancies are advertised elsewhere. You won't find work in a shop, bank, bar, or cinema at the job centre, for example. It's all cleaning jobs, care workers and call centres. But there are well over one million jobs out there if you look hard enough.
If you have no job, then a cleaning job, care worker, etc, will have to do.

Sticks.

9,719 posts

281 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Here's the item. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12757675

Not starting with the main total unemployment figure would be unusual.

As it is, it goes....

parar 1, total;
para 2, total as a %;
para 3 claimant no/s down;
para 4 another record high 16 - 24; etc.

So the biased BBC has hidden the positive news in para 3, is that what you were saying?

I suppose you may have a point, but only for those whose attention span is less than six lines.

sharpfocus

13,966 posts

221 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
I don't mind the bias, it's paying for it that really gets on my tits.

sidicks

Original Poster:

25,218 posts

251 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Sticks. said:
Here's the item. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12757675

Not starting with the main total unemployment figure would be unusual.

As it is, it goes....

parar 1, total;
para 2, total as a %;
para 3 claimant no/s down;
para 4 another record high 16 - 24; etc.

So the biased BBC has hidden the positive news in para 3, is that what you were saying?

I suppose you may have a point, but only for those whose attention span is less than six lines.
Is the headline positive or negative?

rover 623gsi

5,230 posts

191 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
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most media headlines are negative

jains15

1,013 posts

203 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
sharpfocus said:
I don't mind the bias, it's paying for it that really gets on my tits.
Quite

I can understnad the bias, because I can understand how institutionally left they (probably more so than the labour party). So 'nasty party' get in, talks about cuts, privatisation and job losses, feel threatened and so rebound - with bias.

For the record I see it most on the news, I find it hard to find bias in other areas, WotU has been unbiased so far as was the previous WotSS, Top Gear is about as anti bbc as a bbc program can be etc etc.

The best thing to be honest, is to be thankful that you are aware of it. That way you can also look elsewhere for news too and take an average that's what I do. The BBC play on their reputation and fluffy bunny "Aunti Beeb - oh look how vital to world peace the World Service is" viewpoint and blatently abuse the position. We know from the Legtard debacle that complaining is futile so in my view the only thing to do is carry on or try to raise awareness.

Sorry there isn't an easy answer

Sticks.

9,719 posts

281 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
sidicks said:
Is the headline positive or negative?
Highest unemployment since 96? Trying to ignore that in favour of a positive headline out of that would appear to be showing bias. The record high unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds of 18% would've been an easy headline but only makes it to para 6.

Any article will start with the number of unemployed (it is reporting the latest unemployment figures, after all), and the %, by which means we measure/compare it. So the positive news comes immediately after that.

I thought about how I would re-write this piece in a logical and unbiased way. If you can, then feel free.

tomw2000

2,508 posts

225 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
It's things like this that led to my new year's resolution to not watch or listen to any BBC news.

This forum is now my primary source of balanced political views and current affairs smile

greygoose

9,669 posts

225 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
tomw2000 said:
This forum is now my primary source of balanced political views and current affairs smile
Have you found any yet?

Sticks.

9,719 posts

281 months

Wednesday 16th March 2011
quotequote all
Btw, the 'claimant count' was a measure introduced by the last Labour govt which some thought, including me, a means of making the unemployment situation look better than it would otherwise have done.

If the BBC had led with claimant figures as headline 2 years ago, would that have been biased?