The BBC – now the political bias is obvious

Many thousands gathered in London today to join those who have marched all the way from Jarrow to, as they put it, “save the NHS”.  It’s a cause which you may or may not agree with.  But you won’t know about it at all if you rely on the BBC (or, I gather, Sky) for your news.  They have quite deliberately chosen to ignore it.  I only know about it because of Twitter.  The BBC has form on this, of course.  And there are those who say that it’s not political; that protests and demos are only newsworthy if they become violent.

That would be bad enough, if true.  But it isn’t.  When public sector workers went on strike for a day recently, that was covered.  So there is no escaping the conclusion that someone at the BBC has taken a deliberate decision, and issued orders to the effect, that no protests or demonstrations against government measures or intentions are to be covered.  This, remember, is a public service broadcaster paid for by a household tax known as the licence fee.

You don’t care?  Or you’re a right-winger who thinks that they’re correct not to cover these dreadful lefties?  Then you are very foolish.  Democracy demands unbiased reporting of news.

Reporting or distorting? News on the BBC

I spent that wedding shopping in Tesco with a friend who, like me, wanted to avoid it.  Like me, she switched off the Today programme this morning, having had far too much of the hysterical coverage.  The first person I spoke to this morning, at 8.30, was as sick of it as I was.  And on Facebook my friends and the discussion threads I follow were far more annoyed than enthusiastic.  Many people will not be watching or listening to any news programmes for the rest of the day.  The strong opinion is that the BBC got it wrong in its coverage; in its sheer amount, of course, and in its refusal to acknowledge any contrary opinion.  That meant that a great many people who were initially indifferent to the royal nuptials ended up downright hostile.

Someone in BBC news made a decision that from early April every news bulletin had to have a royal wedding story, so by this morning we knew what to expect.  Only positive stuff was allowed.  It’s been the BBC acting as a propaganda machine, and we deserve better than that.  Just as we deserve better from them on political issues.