BBC and Labour winge about Dannatt
Discussion
limpsfield said:
You should listen to PM on Radio4 from Wednesday night - Eddie Mair was giving the Labour guy an almighty kicking over this.
And the Today show in the mornings again on R4 is never afraid to lay into the government.
I think the BBC bashing gets out of hand on here.
No it doesn't. We pay for it so we can bash it as much as we like.And the Today show in the mornings again on R4 is never afraid to lay into the government.
I think the BBC bashing gets out of hand on here.
It has to be said, though, Radio 4 is simply light years ahead in intelligence in comparison to the TV news. Not all of the Beeb is s
te. But a good chunk of it is.Frankly I hope CMD downsizes it to the bits that are still worth having...
Radio 4 really does stand out. It even dares to allow climate change sceptics some air time.
And I agree that we have more "input" into what the BBC does as we own it.
If it were ever privatised or disbanded, we would lose that avenue of attack.
And I agree that we have more "input" into what the BBC does as we own it.
If it were ever privatised or disbanded, we would lose that avenue of attack.
Edited by Eric Mc on Thursday 8th October 10:25
Eddie Mair is a shining beacon of impartiality as far as I can see, and very good at sticking to the point.
The Today program has in the past been pretty badly pro-government I think, with very soft interviews given to ministers, the Pestons of the world apparently giving the line fresh from No. 10, etc. However, I think that the arrival of Evan Davies has improved things a great deal, he seems a lot more impartial and does a good line in questioning. It seems much better recently, so maybe they have actually listened?
The Today program has in the past been pretty badly pro-government I think, with very soft interviews given to ministers, the Pestons of the world apparently giving the line fresh from No. 10, etc. However, I think that the arrival of Evan Davies has improved things a great deal, he seems a lot more impartial and does a good line in questioning. It seems much better recently, so maybe they have actually listened?
The Black Flash said:
Eddie Mair is a shining beacon of impartiality as far as I can see, and very good at sticking to the point.
The Today program has in the past been pretty badly pro-government I think, with very soft interviews given to ministers, the Pestons of the world apparently giving the line fresh from No. 10, etc. However, I think that the arrival of Evan Davies has improved things a great deal, he seems a lot more impartial and does a good line in questioning. It seems much better recently, so maybe they have actually listened?
+1 The Today program has in the past been pretty badly pro-government I think, with very soft interviews given to ministers, the Pestons of the world apparently giving the line fresh from No. 10, etc. However, I think that the arrival of Evan Davies has improved things a great deal, he seems a lot more impartial and does a good line in questioning. It seems much better recently, so maybe they have actually listened?
The Today program has rowed back from its blatant pro labour stance of recent years. I remember James "Jimmy" Naughtie asking a question of a labour minister before the last election that began with " when we win the election what will Labour do about.....etc" Jimmy had gotten so confident that he would not be censured for his pro labour stance that he had ceased even the pretence at disguising it.
For those of you who reckon that the Beeb is not biased still however, I think you need to look a little closer at what exactly happens
The nature of questioning, (is it soft or hard) Is there the killer follow up question (often missing when sympathetically tackling a Cabinet minister, yet always present when questionning a member of the opposition) , the number and agressiveness of interruptions... Mandellson et al are frequently allowed to drone on at great length, yet this week Conservatives were repeatedly interrupted, often before they had gotten more than a handful of words out...
There are so many ways to be biased, without actually saying " I'm a card carrying member of Nu Labour".
A great example was the handling of the EU referendum question, with the Beeb frantically trying to fabricate a party split that clearly is not there, over an issue that actually should shame the Labour Government (breach of election manifesto promise) - note that during the Labour conference the Beeb stayed well away from the referendum question.....
Andy
Edited by andymadmak on Thursday 8th October 10:54
I think its good getting a top level general into the cabinet as an adviser, BUT what about getting a retired senior NCO into a position too as the NCO's see far more of whats actually going on.
Generals think the world smells of paint and all that what what.
I dont really see how labour can knock the conservatives getting a front line soldier (all be it a general) into a postion to advise them.
On the press - I think after the recent shake up the government has had with regards to expenses and taxation etc that the media will be watching ALL parties far more closely from now on. And the bias probably comes more from unprofessional interviewers than from a hardline memo from the top guys in the BBC or channel 4.
Imagine the outcry if an email from within the BBC about taking it easy on labour got out to the tabloids, they dont want that to happen, the bbc dont want their funding pulled or for anything to destabalise (sp) the TV tax.
The media want scandal to sell papers or advertising space, they probably dont care if its labour, tories or monster raving lunny party that cause the scandal as long as it sells papers and increases readership.
Generals think the world smells of paint and all that what what.
I dont really see how labour can knock the conservatives getting a front line soldier (all be it a general) into a postion to advise them.
On the press - I think after the recent shake up the government has had with regards to expenses and taxation etc that the media will be watching ALL parties far more closely from now on. And the bias probably comes more from unprofessional interviewers than from a hardline memo from the top guys in the BBC or channel 4.
Imagine the outcry if an email from within the BBC about taking it easy on labour got out to the tabloids, they dont want that to happen, the bbc dont want their funding pulled or for anything to destabalise (sp) the TV tax.
The media want scandal to sell papers or advertising space, they probably dont care if its labour, tories or monster raving lunny party that cause the scandal as long as it sells papers and increases readership.
Odie said:
I think its good getting a top level general into the cabinet as an adviser, BUT what about getting a retired senior NCO into a position too as the NCO's see far more of whats actually going on.
I agree. What grips my st about senior-ranking officers being interviewed on the TV, appointed to 'consulting' positions etc is that they will always toe the party line when they are in the service, i.e. agree with what the current government says, and only make their disagreements public AFTER leaving the service. If they chose to speak up while still in a position where they could do something about it I would have a lot more respect for them.I noticed that whenever politicians visited us in Iraq the people who might have questioned them about troop levels, equipment issues etc, (such as myself), were always magically on duty when they arrived, meaning the people who did get to meet them were the yes-men of the squadrons/regiments.
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