Oedo 808 Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Left-wing bias? It's written through the BBC's very DNA, says Peter Sissons | Mail OnlineI believe him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Peter Sissons? Check. The Daily Mail? Check. Age old conservative grudge against the existence of the BBC dressed up as vaguely reasonable argument? Check. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oedo 808 Posted January 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Peter Sissons? Check. The Daily Mail? Check. Age old conservative grudge against the existence of the BBC dressed up as vaguely reasonable argument? Check.Change the subject. Check. Attack the source not the story. Check. It's in the Daily Mail so it can't be true. Check. Dismiss the whole thing with an air of lefty superiority. Checked and double checked. You should get a job at the BBC, you'd be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltz Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 It's a service free of advertising, provided at a low, flat rate on every TV. It has essence of socialism in its nature, of course it has a left-wing bias.It's nothing new. Find me a news broadcast that doesn't lean in some direction...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oedo 808 Posted January 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 The problem is that the BBC is supposed to be and still purports to be unbiased.The BBC shall:contain comprehensive, authoritative and impartial coverage of news and current affairs in the United Kingdom and throughout the worldThat's what it says in their charter - it's their legal obligation and they're not living up to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltz Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Well, until anyone can definitely, firmly prove bias with substantial evidence then they're doing as they've said. Complain to the PCC/Ofcom if you can cite examples, that's how things (sometimes) get changed in news media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOX Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 The Mail isn't really one to point fingers in terms of bias, though.EDIT: Oop, turns out it's from the boy's autobiography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oedo 808 Posted January 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 The Mail isn't really one to point fingers in terms of bias, thoughApples and Oranges. The Mail is a right wing paper. The BBC is 'unbiased'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOX Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Apples and Oranges. The Mail is a right wing paper. The BBC is 'unbiased'.Personally I'm not seeing the 'obvious' bias. But if you do, Ofcom's just a Google away. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Jack Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Never thought I'd see Fox defending the BBC... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Is the BBC really biased to the left or is it just biased to the centre? Their own political editor is a tory, so I'm not sure it's as cut and dried as is made out. Especially as there hasn't been a left sided government since the 70s.I think the BBC does try to be fair and in doing so because the right and it's built in sense of entitlement isn't being served they keep shouting "BIAS!" at the BBC in an effort to scare it into submission. What they really want is control of the corporation and it's output, rather than in independent and fair national broadcaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Chamber Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Is the BBC really biased to the left or is it just biased to the centre? Their own political editor is a tory, so I'm not sure it's as cut and dried as is made out. Especially as there hasn't been a left sided government since the 70s.I think the BBC does try to be fair and in doing so because the right and it's built in sense of entitlement isn't being served they keep shouting "BIAS!" at the BBC in an effort to scare it into submission. What they really want is control of the corporation and it's output, rather than in independent and fair national broadcaster.It isn't biased to the right, therefore it must be run by rabid Commies who are itching to shoot anyone with more than twenty quid in the bank.Dennis Thatcher used to, in all seriousness, call it the Bolshevik Broadcasting Corporation. If only... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oedo 808 Posted January 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Well, until anyone can definitely, firmly prove bias with substantial evidence then they're doing as they've said. Complain to the PCC/Ofcom if you can cite examples, that's how things (sometimes) get changed in news media.I agree with you that the BBC is biased. And as a news source which claims impartiality I feel that questions should be asked about them. The best way for me to address that right now is in the public domain through raising awareness rather than by the PCC/Ofcom route which, I am sure others with a greater understanding of the legal obligations of the press, can pursue more vociferously and with a greater deal of success than I. It's a good idea though.Personally I'm not seeing the 'obvious' bias. But if you do, Ofcom's just a Google away.Why is the word obvious in quotations? What are you quoting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 If anyone honestly thinks that the BBC is some sort of covert communist operation, they are one step away from tin foil hats and a bell tower. The Daily Mail has its own agenda, regardless of whether that article came from his autobiography or not. I wouldn't even grant it the title of "newspaper".Despite the constant panning it gets from the right, for me the BBC is a provider of quality programming (even if the new digital expansion has included some pish). If Peter Sissons thinks the Beeb is red, I do wonder how sweaty he gets watching Channel 4 News. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oedo 808 Posted January 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Is the BBC really biased to the left or is it just biased to the centre?Maybe they think the left is the centre.Their own political editor is a tory, so I'm not sure it's as cut and dried as is made out. Especially as there hasn't been a left sided government since the 70s.I'd describe it as a sort of wishy-washy leftyism that happily includes New Labour in all it's half-baked nonsense but not real Socialism.What they really want is control of the corporation and it's output, rather than in independent and fair national broadcasterMaybe that's true, but it doesn't change my opinion on Peter Sisson's article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 Why is the word obvious in quotations? What are you quoting?I'm sure you're aware that those are apostrophes used incorrectly not quotation marks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oedo 808 Posted January 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 The Daily Mail has its own agendaWhat Peter Sisson has said fits perfectly with that agenda. So they printed it. And if it didn't, they wouldn't have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 What Peter Sisson has said fits perfectly with that agenda. So they printed it. And if it didn't, they wouldn't have.I agree. The "Britain" that the Daily Mail purports to represent is, for the majority of the country, a complete fiction. Reds under the bed, Diana, immigrants, political correctness gone mad, Diana, homosexuals, welfare recipients, Diana, IT'S SCARY OUTSIDE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oedo 808 Posted January 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 I'm sure you're aware that those are apostrophes used incorrectly not quotation marks.That wasn't 'obvious' to me.I agree. The "Britain" that the Daily Mail purports to represent is, for the majority of the country, a complete fiction. Reds under the bed, Diana, immigrants, political correctness gone mad, Diana, homosexuals, welfare recipients, Diana, IT'S SCARY OUTSIDE.The irony is that some of the scariest people in the country are Daily Mail reporters. They appear on Question Time occasionally to make Tory politicians look as sweet and cuddly as Andrex puppies by comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Stu Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 The only thing I've noticed is Paxman's red socks at election time, though I wouldn't rule him out of trolling us.Though TBH, I couldn't read the article. Not to say I couldn't access it, I just couldn't read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Stu Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 I take it back, I just watched Posh And Posher: Why Public School Boys Run Britain. Some fair points later on, particularly about the decline of grammar schools in the nation, but overall this seemed pretty biased, beat up on the toffs stuff. As if the success of public school education is the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Was the the Andrew Neil documentary? 'cause he's not exactly renowned for his Leninist views... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Stu Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Was the the Andrew Neil documentary? 'cause he's not exactly renowned for his Leninist views...Yes. I suppose he came over as more classist than anything else. I've possibly fallen into the trap of thinking that's the same as being left-biased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 As if the success of public school education is the problem.There is an argument that that is very much part of the problem. Leaving aside the unethical idea that a "successful" education should only be available to those that can afford it, in Scotland the absence of parents' choice and private schools would have an enormous and mostly positive impact on the state system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Stu Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 There is an argument that that is very much part of the problem. Leaving aside the unethical idea that a "successful" education should only be available to those that can afford it, in Scotland the absence of parents' choice and private schools would have an enormous and mostly positive impact on the state system.How on earth would the abolition of private education improve state education? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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