Bias in the BBC?

So, the BBC agreed to Boris being given an interview by Andrew Marr so he could make political capital out of the latest terrorist attacks? This after the father of the young man specifically asked that this was not used as a political football.

Bias? No question about it! Disgraceful

Rebecca Long-Bailey is most definitely NOT a ‘non-entity’. She is a member of the Shadow Cabinet, an experience and erudite politician and possible future leadership material.

Like Sturgeon she took no shit from two overbearing men.

I liked the quiet style of Price.

No surprise. I think the description of journalist hardly describe Kuenssberg’s trade.

BBC News - Laura Kuenssberg report on Jeremy Corbyn inaccurate, says BBC Trust

Pathetic performance by the brexiters, Inc Labour and Tory brexiters.

Their lips are moving but all I hear is rubbish

DH has put it on mute

What a travesty this BBC debate is.

There are leaders of the Liberal Democrats, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Caroline Lucas former Green MP.

Then we have three nonentities representing the Labour party, Conservative party and the so-called Brexit party.

What an insult!

Are the BBC biased? I have a friend I have known for a very long time. She used to work for the BBC and was very loyal, she wouldn't watch anything else. She is so upset by the bias that she won't watch BBC at all now.

Good post, Eloethan.

It appears that some Gransnetters are unconcerned about the considerable bias towards the Conservatives in the mainstream media. The BBC is in a particularly vulnerable position because it depends on governments to continue to support the licence fee - and bad feeling has already been whipped up about the BBC. Perhaps that accounts for some of the current coverage.

There are apparently new "tech experts" running the Conservative campaign who have said, in effect, they are keen to use any tactics, even those that arouse controversy, to drown out the voices of opposition parties and keep the Conservative Party centre stage.

An example of this is the short Facebook broadcast put out by the Conservatives. It begins with Laura Kuenssberg saying the words “pointless delay to Brexit”, a clip from an archived news broadcast. It obviously gives the impression it was Kuenssberg, as political editor, making that judgment. In fact she was quoting Boris Johnson's comment when he rejected a further extension to article 50. This is followed by footage of Huw Edwards saying in his usual gloomy voice that there will be “another Brexit delay”, followed by footage of opposition leaders, accompanied by of sinister sounding music.

The BBC has said the Conservative Party used the clips without its permission, adding “This is a completely unacceptable use of BBC content which distorts our output and which could damage perceptions of our impartiality." (I think that boat's already sailed but this blatant misuse of material is quite shocking and proof of the Conservative Party's willingness to use underhand, dishonest tactics to smear other parties.)

Channel 4 is also now a target of the Conservatives' underhand and threatening tactics. When Boris Johnson declined to participate in Channel 4's leadership debate re climate change, instead offering Michael Gove, Channel 4 replaced him with an ice sculpture. ( Something similar had been done by Kay Burley on Sky News when James Cleverly refused to be interviewed - she instead spoke to an empty chair.) In response, Boris Johnson threatened Channel 4 with having its licence revoked.

We have already had the "doctored" footage of an interview with Keith Starmer.

These sort of tactics are very much the type of behaviour that occurs in the US elections almost nothing appears to be out of bounds - where all sorts of misrepresentations and character assassinations are used to detract from actual policies. I think people should be very afraid of a party that is willing to use such manipulation and deceit to try to win at any cost.

You may not think these incidents are of any great concern Callistemon but I think they are, and, since much of our media is in the hands of those who support, either willingly or by necessity, right wing parties, it is good that those outside the media bubble keep highlighting these sorts of issues.

Lead story on BBC news briefing this morning .....not the fact that Johnson CBA’d to turn up to the Climate Change Debate?

No!

The lead story is that Boris has complained to OFCOM about being replaced by a melting ice sculpture.

You really couldn’t make it up ???

lemongrove this is not ‘over the years’ this is the here and now and cannot be ignored. I have listened to three different channels tonight and the bias by the BBC was breathtaking, not ‘supposed’.

Now we even have Laura Kuenssberg and Huw Edwards being poached by the Tories and used to promote Tory values... albeit stolen footage.

What’s the betting they don’t feature this abuse in their election ‘coverage’.

Michael Heseltine has launched a scathing attack on the Conservative Party. The former deputy leader told voters to back the Liberal Democrats instead of voting Tory. You’d think this would be huge news. But Laura Kuenssberg seems eerily quiet on the matter.

The BBC did report that Heseltine told Conservative voters to vote for former Conservatives standing as independents or Lib Dem candidates.

On 26 November, Heseltine told BBC Radio 4‘s Today show that it’s a “complete nonsense” that Brexit “can be done by Christmas”. He continued:

I cannot vote or support people who are going to make the country poorer and less influential, full stop, end of story.

Yet the BBC‘s political editor has hardly said a word about this. She did send out one tweet on 25 November, when ITV first reported on Heseltine’s Tory takedown:

www.thecanary.co/trending/2019/11/26/laura-kuenssberg-is-eerily-quiet-about-the-major-attack-on-the-tories/

Oh dear. This is such a dirty election

BBC News Press Team
@BBCNewsPR
We’re aware of Conservative Party Facebook adverts using edited BBC content. This is a completely unacceptable use of BBC content which distorts our output and which could damage perceptions of our impartiality. We are asking the Conservatives to remove these adverts.

And - before anyone pulls me up, when I say pronunciation I do not mean regional accents.

I mean not knowing how to pronounce certain words.
Including 'Brexit'.

Either someone has made a cock up (never happened before) or this is deliberate?
I do think they are making some cock ups lately and wondered if some of the employees are not as sharp and on the ball as they used to be? Not as professional?
One always thought of the BBC as very professional but some of the standards seem to have been lowered; even with such things as pronunciation, the dreadful spelling in sub-titles, showing a complete lack of understanding of the subject matter.

It’s because the subject and the supposed bias of the BBC has been discussed ad nauseum on here yehbutno over the years.
Many used to say it favoured the right, and others said it favoured the left.IMHO it gets it about right, somewhere in the middle.It’s not your fault for raising it again of course, but that explains some of our ‘jaded’ responses.

Yes, get back to the OP please. The bias of the BBC doubtless has been discussed before, but does that mean that a topic cannot be raised again when yet another blatant example arises?

There seem to be those who cannot discuss a topic rationally keeping to the point and somehow miss that point completely.

Interesting that the same old, same old are attacking posters instead of discussing the OP. Hmmmm

This link allows you to complain to the BBC about the BBC (no guarantee that they'll take notice)

www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints/make-a-complaint/#/Complaint

I remember thinking that Laura Kuenssberg was quite vicious to and about Theresa May, back in the day,

Those were the days! When left wing Gransnetters loved Laura Kuenssberg and posters were jumped on like a ton of bricks if they said they weren't keen on her.



Poor Laura, can't do right for doing wrong.

Callistemon and Lemongrove - agreed!
This is the start of the LP posters making their excuses early because they're heading for defeat, and it's all someone's else's fault, it couldn't possibly be because the electorate can see through Corbyn and his cronies, and his impossible spending plans, and of course the BBC must be in cohoots with the Tories! It's laughable. And then they'll claim that the result of this election is illegal. So let's have another one, and whilst we're at it, let's have another referendum as well. It's really getting boring now, same old, same old.

www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/trust-in-politicians-has-fallen-to-an-all-time-low-in-the-uk/27/11/

I think it is incredibly sad. Institutions like the BBC, government etc of which we were all so proud have completely lost so much respect and trust.

It bodes ill indeed for our democracy,

I agree Maw. Hope the pendulum swings back sometime. No way can we have a fair election at the moment