Do you believe the BBC has an inherent left wing bias?

[marcosgt]

turbobloke said:

marcosgt said:

I guess you could retitle the thread "Do you have an inherent right wing bias?"

Result would be identical.

M.

Not so, since there are folk of a left wing persuasion who recognise a BBC bias to the left. Not least several of its employees

Doesn't mean the results on PH would be any different...

You could have a poll saying, "Do you think David Cameron has an inherent left wing bias" and it would pretty much say the same thing!

M

[ExChrispy Porker]

Probably yes.
Does it matter? Probably no.

[NoNeed]

ExChrispy Porker said:

What does 'inherent' mean?

dictionarywebisite said:

in·her·ent
   [in-heer-uhnt, -her-] Show IPA

adjective
1.
existing in someone or something as a permanent and inseparable element, quality, or attribute: an inherent distrust of strangers.

2.
Grammar . standing before a noun.

3.
inhering; infixed.

HTH

[Countdown]

What does "left-wing" mean ?

[Rich_W]

marcosgt said:

I guess you could retitle the thread "Do you have an inherent right wing bias?"

Result would be identical.

M.

I was thinking about this the other day.

People on the Left REFUSE to see anything other than 'their way or the highway'
People on the Right will sometimes accept the Left may have a point on some issues.

Very much like those that say "Violence never solves anything" (not even Wars aparently) Those who view Violence as an option will often consider non-violent ways as an alternative.

Not everything is Black n White. Unless you are Left wing (or John Terry )

[ExChrispy Porker]

NoNeed said:

HTH

Thanks.
It's the permanent and inseparable bit I was wondering about.

[Countdown]

Rich_W said:

People on the Left REFUSE to see anything other than 'their way or the highway'
People on the Right will sometimes accept the Left may have a point on some issues.

But on some issues I'm Left-wing and on some I'm Right-wing.

And yet my intransigence (or otherwise) is fairly consistent.

[ExChrispy Porker]

Countdown said:

But on some issues I'm Left-wing and on some I'm Right-wing.

And yet my intransigence (or otherwise) is fairly consistent.

me too.
(and a lot of other people I would guess)

[purplepolarbear]

Is there another forum similar to this with similar opportunities to discuss news topics but which was set up to be about something that appeals to Guardian readers instead of cars?

If the question were asked there "Do you believe the BBC has an inherent right-wing bias", would they say yes?

[Rich_W]

As you can both consider alternatives, I put you both down as central leaning to the right. Which is normal.

IME Lefties won't even consdier the opposing view as having merit.

[ExChrispy Porker]

purplepolarbear said:

Is there another forum similar to this with similar opportunities to discuss news topics but which was set up to be about something that appeals to Guardian readers instead of cars?

If the question were asked there "Do you believe the BBC has an inherent right-wing bias", would they say yes?

I doubt there are 232000 Guardian readers.

[turbobloke]

ExChrispy Porker said:

purplepolarbear said:

Is there another forum similar to this with similar opportunities to discuss news topics but which was set up to be about something that appeals to Guardian readers instead of cars?

If the question were asked there "Do you believe the BBC has an inherent right-wing bias", would they say yes?

I doubt there are 232000 Guardian readers.

It would depend on whether or not they were being honest, among other things. The leftist bias of the BBC is so obvious that it doesn't need endless debate, but where would threads such as this be without endless debate...except closed or heading into oblivion along with The Guardian.

And to reiterate, the discussion was entirely about PH viewpoints not the national perspective or even the view of The Grauniad's dwindling circulation, or its correspondingly shrinking total readership.

[DonkeyApple]

ExChrispy Porker said:

Countdown said:

But on some issues I'm Left-wing and on some I'm Right-wing.

And yet my intransigence (or otherwise) is fairly consistent.

me too.
(and a lot of other people I would guess)

I suspect it is called 'the norm'. For example, most people are hugely in favour and proud of the welfare state but at the same time want to see its abusers strung up along the Mall. In one mindset you have a general left wing natural state but with a strength and resolve to protect it. The latter, sadly, has been actively eroded over the decades, but that is a different discussion.

It isn't logical for someone to be far right or far left unless there is some depressing event that has occured in their life to which their mechanism to cope is to try and tranfer to those around them. Fear is a good example. To me, being strongly of one political persuasion is a sign of a flawed character, of weakness, lack of control. To be pitied and potentially held in contempt and in some instances, crushed.

The majority of this country are actually to the left, it is the deeply founded British belief of fair play and ethics. Where we cry out and demand affirmative action is traditionally when someone breaches our unwritten code of what makes us British. It is why this country is so tollerant. Anyone who has spent time on the mainland(or infact almost any other country amongst the populace) tends to be shocked at how intollerant Europeans are by comparison. It's linked to our overall, intrinsic way of thinking that being 'English' is a state of mind and a way of acting as opposed to beeing wholly defined by where someone was born. It's why we tend to see scrotey chavs as 'foreign'.

Anyway, the BBC, more than not, does represent the British if we take into account that soppy appeasers tend to like to be heard and for their opinions to be enforced on others so will naturally gravitate towards a media entity such as the BBC where the charter protects them from the right wing thinking that scares and affronts them.

The mere existance of the Charter means that the BBC is a safe haven from the right and we can see the result of this. There are things which the BBC gets badly wrong, but for the most part it is an exceptional entity that no other country in the world can ever hope of having, it is something to be proud of. You can spot the silly angles and people and easily avoid them.

[turbobloke]

DonkeyApple said:

You can spot the silly angles and people and easily avoid them.

You, and I, and others, not everybody.

The fact that not everybody inhales is no excuse for a supposedly impartial broadcaster to emit information pollution.

[Dr Jekyll]

DonkeyApple said:

The majority of this country are actually to the left, it is the deeply founded British belief of fair play and ethics.

So Stalin believed in fair play and ethics did he? Or was he right wing?
You can't just define left wing as 'being nice'.

[DonkeyApple]

Dr Jekyll said:

So Stalin believed in fair play and ethics did he? Or was he right wing?
You can't just define left wing as 'being nice'.

Er, first line, bit mental. Second line, where did I say this?

[DonkeyApple]

turbobloke said:

DonkeyApple said:

You can spot the silly angles and people and easily avoid them.

You, and I, and others, not everybody.

The fact that not everybody inhales is no excuse for a supposedly impartial broadcaster to emit information pollution.

True, but the Charter means that it can only ever have a left leaning. But the Charter also prevents it from being mentally left.

The Charter is essential for the BBC to exist, but the existence of the Charter puts us where we are at present.

What will be interesting is whether the move of large chunks of the BBC away from easy supplies of humous and fair trade anal lubricator will over the next few years remove some of the overly leftie elements.

Although, last time I went to those Northern neck of the woods they seem to have become soppy, latte consuming mincers so I wouldn't expect too much.

[turbobloke]

Story so far :just as the numbers go no mre no less:

126 votes cast

PH population now 292141

83% agree with the BBC leftist bias proposition, 17% disagree

This gives a margin of error of 8.6 i.e. ~9 at the 99% confidence level, so definitely a meaningful result already.

[obob]

DonkeyApple said:

turbobloke said:

DonkeyApple said:

You can spot the silly angles and people and easily avoid them.

You, and I, and others, not everybody.

The fact that not everybody inhales is no excuse for a supposedly impartial broadcaster to emit information pollution.

True, but the Charter means that it can only ever have a left leaning. But the Charter also prevents it from being mentally left.

The Charter is essential for the BBC to exist, but the existence of the Charter puts us where we are at present.

What will be interesting is whether the move of large chunks of the BBC away from easy supplies of humous and fair trade anal lubricator will over the next few years remove some of the overly leftie elements.

Although, last time I went to those Northern neck of the woods they seem to have become soppy, latte consuming mincers so I wouldn't expect too much.

If more than 1 in 10 people in Salford know what a latte is I'll eat my hat.

[rudecherub]

DonkeyApple said:

The majority of this country are actually to the left

err no, they aren't. Especially if we discount the disproportionate Scottish vote. England has a built in Tory bias.

And that's before we consider that Thatcher permanently moved the Centre of politics to the Right.

Hence Labour dropped the Socialist agenda, if Labour stood on pre-thatcherite Labour policies it would never get elected again.