Saturday, March 15, 2014

A question of balance

The BBC is always telling us that it has to show balance in its reporting, believing that somehow if it gets complains about bias from both sides of an issue then it has struck that balance. Truth it has to be said not featuring in their quest for balance. Over the years though it has become increasingly obvious that what the BBC perceives as the middle ground is somewhat to the left of what most people believe is the middle ground hence the BBC's often uncritical view of what the Labour Party says or does. By staffing itself with left wingers, the BBC's bias became almost a self fulfilling prophecy...
Telegraph.
A new row about alleged BBC bias has broken out after one of the corporation’s flagship news programmes hired a union official to report on the economy.
The BBC’s Newsnight programme announced on Friday that it had appointed Duncan Weldon, as the programme’s Economics Correspondent.
Mr Weldon was until recently the senior economist at the Trades Union Congress. He also used to work for Harriet Harman, Labour’s deputy leader and wrote a blog.
The announcement was made on Twitter, the social media networking site, by Ian Katz, the programme’s editor and a former deputy editor ofThe Guardian.
Mr Katz described Mr Weldon as “one of most exciting and original economic thinkers around”. Mr Weldon replied: “A huge thank you to everyone for their congratulations. I'm pretty excited & looking forward to getting started.”
But the Conservative party said it was outraged by the appointment which it sees as further evidence of Labour bias at the corporation.
Officials are still fuming after the corporation appointed James Purnell, a Labour Cabinet minister under Gordon Brown, as its director of strategy and digital last year.
One Tory source said: “Arthur Scargill or Len McCluskey would have been a more objective appointment. This is a ‘Grade A’ BBC stitch up.”
It's a bit like going to a communist for an objective overview of the capitalist system really. You can hardly expect a balanced view from a man who has based his ethos on what passes for socialist economics (the type of economics that doesn't work after the money runs out)
If you really want to see what a real economist with an actual grasp of reality as opposed to wishful thinking thinks I suggest reading Tim Worstall in the side column of this blog, particularly the labels marked ragging on Richie in which he regularly takes to task a left wing economist.
If the BBC wish to avoid accusations of bias (something they don't seem too) then choosing a trades union representative, to comment on the economy as run by the Tories (more or less) does not seem to be the way to do it.
You'd think that getting someone in to report on the economy you'd choose someone who is markedly neutral with regards to politics.
That the BBC have chosen otherwise tells you all you need to know about them.

3 annotations:

Longrider said...

Calling Murphy an economist is stretching it a bit, isn't it?

Kath Lissenden said...

What really annoys me with the BBC and has for some time now is the fact that they are guilty by omission, yes their bias is apparent and prevalent, but they are also more guilty of simply ignoring stories so they don't have to show a fair and balanced view point.
There are umpteen occasions when other news channels have covered stories that the BBC have completely swept under the carpet. In my humble opinion so they can't be accused of bias after all if you don't cover a story you cant be biased. This ignorance annoys me far more than the BBC's blatant and clear support of the left wing.
I have even heard my mother say "why in god's name have the BBC ignored that story, it is far more important than which member of some obscure pop ensemble married what other z list nobody"
I know from an older perspective (mother being 73 this year) that the BBC's trivialisation of news is very irksome to many.
The trouble is for too long the BBC went unchecked and uncontrolled because "They are the BBC" and therefore trustworthy (HA HA) and above question.
As a result they are now so entrenched in leftist rhetoric it will take many years to extricate them from the mire of bullshit they are drowning in.
My faith in the BBC died over 15 years ago and I will never believe anything they tell me ever again.

Quiet_Man said...

@Longrider,
I believe that's what Murphy considers himself. I also believe the BBC have introduced him occasionally as that when presenting his tax fairness nonsense.