BBC biased or incompetent?

These are two separate things POGS. There is a right-wing bias amongst the political staff of the BBC and there has also been a relentless promotion of Farage and his ilk over many years.

I do not hold individual Tories on the staff responsible, but the ethos has been so pro-brexit, not just from the moment David Dimbleby announced "that's it, We're out" but for years before that.

varian Sun 04-Aug-19 11:41:38
"I do not put the blame for the relentless promotion of Farage by the BBC onto any or all of these right wing commentators."
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Excuse me. How on earth do you work that one out!

Why did you state:-

"Commentators like Andrew Neil, Nick Robinson, Laura Kuennsberg and John Humphries are all Conservatives and the relentless promotion of Farage and his ilk has been an utter disgrace."????

How can anyone possibly excuse the BBC inviting Farage onto QT 29 times before the referendum . Hannan once and not inviting one single MEP from any other party?

Farage has not been relentlessly promoted by the BBC. That’s an opinion that you hold varian because you loathe Nigel Farage. I don’t like Alistair Campbell and he has been on the BBC quite often over the Brexit situation, but I would never say he has been relentlessly promoted by the BBC just because I don’t like him. Supporters of both sides of the argument have been given air time on the BBC.

I do not put the blame for the relentless promotion of Farage by the BBC onto any or all of these right wing commentators.

During the years leading up to the fraudulent referendum of 2016, Farage appeared on Question Time, regarded as the BBC's 'flagship' political discussion programme, no less than 29 times. The only other MEP invited onto the QT panel over these years was the arch- brexiter Tory MEP, Daniel Hannan (who assured us all that no- one was talking about us leaving the single market).

No other MEP was ever invited onto the QT panel - no Conservative other than Hannan, no Labour, no Liberal Democrat, no Green or SNP. Not one MEP was able to speak up for our EU membership.

For more than twenty years the person responsible for selecting the QT audience was Alison Fuller Pedley, who was a member of UKIP.

varian

"Commentators like Andrew Neil, Nick Robinson, Laura Kuennsberg and John Humphries are all Conservatives and the relentless promotion of Farage and his ilk has been an utter disgrace."
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Where/when have they ' promoted' Nigel Farage?

You make a reasoned argument re Andrew Neil.

However I could have said I ' know ' Alistair Campbell, Baroness Betty Boothroyd et al would always vote for Labour because of their history but that would prove me wrong in stating ' I know' how they vote wouldn't it.

I have not witnessed Andrew Neil, Nick Robinson, Laura Kuennsberg and John Humphries ever ' Promote ' Nigel Farage as you state.

I have noted they make salient points to broaden the debate or use diverse angles to NOT appear bias but that is the art of a good interviewer. Some see that as ' sticking it to all of them left or right', others see it as bias because they don't like the hard questioning of their man/woman because it doesn't suit their politics and that again applies to left/right of politics.

Did you see Andrew Neil for example interview Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson? That was hardly a pro Conservative journalist giving his side an easy ride! He did his job and he did it without bias if he is a supposed Conservative voter.

Somewhat hypocritical I will say I find some interviewers bias when they are interviewing somebody they dislike either personally or politically but that is an opinion not a fact.
The 4 you state ' promote ' Nigel Farage ' are certainly not among them.

Identifying certain BBC journalists as right wing is not just based on their performance as interviewers and commentators, but
on their past and present political affiliations and stated opinions.

For instance, Andrew Neil was the chairman of the Federation of Conservative students, worked for the Conservative party, promoted the right wing agenda of his employer Rupert Murdoch when he was editor of the Sunday Times and is currently the chairman of The Spectator magazine.

He recently attacked Carole Cadwalladr, the investigative journalist who exposed the dealings between Cambridge Analytica and the Leave campaign, calling her "Karol Kodswallop, the mad cat woman,,", which says more about him than it does about her.

It’s sad isn’t Pantglas that when people don’t exactly mirror the view of the poster they are labelled hard right/facist or hard left/communist. This is very noticeable on Gransnet with the hard right/facist label. They feel the need to belittle those who don’t agree with them. It must make them feel better

Right again POGS. I have Socialist friends who believe I’m to the right of Genghis Khan and right wing Tory pals who think I’m a right little Commie! They have to label and dismiss anyone who doesn’t agree with everything they believe in!

varian

Your post of 07.30 is a load of generalised hogwash.

You are pigeonholing people into what You believe they live there lives by.

"Commentators like Andrew Neil, Nick Robinson, Laura Kuennsberg and John Humphries are all Conservatives and the relentless promotion of Farage and his ilk has been an utter disgrace."
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Do you know how the above vote? I have never noted any of the above ' Promote' Nigel Farage. Can you give a couple of examples. I think all 4 of the above actually ' give some stick' to those on the left and right of politics. It will depend on what is current news, the story, the interviewee..
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"It suits the right-wing press to condition their readers into regarding the BBC as left-wing as it does when they refer to Corbyn as a communist, and to ridicule what they term "politidal correctness"..

Ah the right wing press. The Left Wing press condition their readers. Social Media propaganda sites condition their readers. It is again your belief that 'everybody' who does not agree with you must by default therefore read the right wing press. It is a form of self - conceit and refuses to accept that others who do not agree with you have a brain and will read comments/articles etc. from left and right media sources to make their assessments. Not everybody is indoctrinated by their left/right wing political opinions and are more astute and diverse in their reading material and understand the left/right wing press, propaganda social media sites/blogs are doing their job, trying to form opinion.
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"No one could seriously regard the political stance of the BBC as left-wing unless they are comparing it with Fox News"
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Of course they can. The same as others would say you cannot seriously regard the political stance of the BBC as right-wing. It is in the eye of the beholder.

Dinamho

"POGS I watch Politics Live every day (when it's on) with my lunch. The guests are always balanced."
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What's your point in addressing me?

I did not state Politics Live was not 'balanced'! I'm sorry if you read my comment in that way but I thought the context behind my post was clear, obviously not.

My post was making the point that naming only those on one side of the political divide has a mirror image to those on the other side of the Political divide.

I used as an example of my point by using the constant use of guests to counterbalance the faux argument the BBC only invites right wing guests such as Nigel Forage /Tim Weatherspoons, Bannon, Mark Francois in answer to a previous poster who felt the BBC favoured inviting only right wing guests.

I will however not be a hypocrite because Questionn Time, unlike Politics Live, does consistently have a panel of 5 and it is inevitably Co sists of 3/4 left 1/2 right. It should be more balanced like the Daily Politics programme which is fair and balanced as a rule.

When the BBC agrees with me I consider that its news reporting to be excellent and fair, when it disagrees, I think it is biased and unfair.

Excellent point, M0nica. We recently sat through breakfast at a hotel where a couple on the table to one side of us was complaining of the BBC’s left wing bias, a couple to the other side of its right wing bias. They were citing the same programmes.

It isn’t known as the Brexit Broadcasting Corporation for nothing. Farage is always on Question Time, yet someone like Caroline Lucas who actually is an MP doesn’t get anything like the same amount of publicity.

I think that the BBC does promote "social liberal" attitudes which conservatives might regard as left wing, but probably are reflection of the times.

However when it comes to politics the bias is firmly to the right. Commentators like Andrew Neil, Nick Robinson, Laura Kuennsberg and John Humphries are all Conservatives and the relentless promotion of Farage and his ilk has been an utter disgrace.

It suits the right-wing press to condition their readers into regarding the BBC as left-wing as it does when they refer to Corbyn as a communist, and to ridicule what they term "politidal correctness"..

No one could seriously regard the political stance of the BBC as left-wing unless they are comparing it with Fox News

I’m not sure the BBC was ever impartial. I felt it was very establishment/conservative years ago, becoming more liberal as time went on and now is very left wing.

I have no problem with any of that - as long as I’m aware of bias I can balance it myself by using other sources of information.

Surely the point is Monica, that the BBC is supposed to be impartial.

Day6 I don't think you've been watching BBC. Line of Duty which was very popular had 1 black inspector I think, in an early series. Killing Eve, Keeping Faith - no black people. Poldark one black person in the current series. We live in a mixed race, multi-cultural society and I for one am pleased to see such diversity on tv. There is a wide range of programmes on BBC which caters for all tastes. As I write the Proms on tv tonight feature Mahler and Britten.

I can only think that some of you are prejudiced by the constant knocking of BBC by the Murdoch press,

POGS I watch Politics Live every day (when it's on) with my lunch. The guests are always balanced. 1 MP from the right and 1 from the left. Journalsits equally balanced. Plus the extra guest who can be from either side but they are only on to talk about a particular topic and then they leave.

When the BBC agrees with me I consider that its news reporting to be excellent and fair, when it disagrees, I think it is biased and unfair.

One reason why MF and the Wetherspoons' man are on tv so often is because they are the only people who are happy to give an opinion. Same goes for Digby Jones former head of the CBI who always managed to find time. The new Director General, Dame Carolyn Fairbairn is a completely different kettle of fish. DJ was a senior partner in a small firm of solicitors for 3 years whereas CF has had a very successful career as an economist, financial journalist and management consultant and apparently doesn't have the time to appear on so many programmes.

The day after the Liberal Democrats have won a resounding success in the Brecon and Radnorshire byelection, overturning a Tory majority of over eight thousand the BBC Any Questions panel will feature one Tory MP, one Labour MP, a journalist from a left-wing website and a journalist from the Telegraph. Who will represent the majority of UK voters who do not support either any kind of extreme party of the right or left?

Day6 thankyou for writing so clearly the reasons we no longer have a television.
I do watch a few things on iplayer though eg Montalbano.

Day6...once again I agree whole-heartedly. Fictional drama can just about survive having a mixed race cast (even when it's not really appropriate), but casting a black girl as Queen of England is going too far!

Which programmes are they day6?

I used to think the BBC was the bastion of good TV drama and the licence money was well spent.

No longer. Every drama panders to left wing political correctness in the extreme. They cannot portray every day life any more. The dramas are preachy, virtue-signalling tripe and tick every single diversity box (every time) to the point that they become ridiculous. Anyone would think all police chiefs now have to be black, bolshi women and every family has to be of mixed race, with at least one disabled member, and a homosexual son or daughter for good measure.

I have no problem with diversity. I have no problem with black, bolshi women. I have no problem with mixed race families. I have no problem that gay and disabled people feature in dramas. I do have a problem with taking the viewer for an idiot and lecturing us whilst shunting life as it's really lived to the sidelines because boxes have to be ticked and messages about modern life relayed to us. It is patronising, warped and contrived 'BBC reality' we have to suck up time after time to indulge self-satisfied TV producers. The fact that it is SO obvious makes it worse.

So do I.

Not sure how to answer your point other than I must watch more.