Monday 4 May 2015

Groupthink



DB at Biased BBC has highlighted a tweet from BBC World Service journalist Steph Hegarty on the Texas terror attack which probably reflects a common view at the BBC:
Looking further into her Twitter output, Steph (who proudly displays her BBC credentials and uses Twitter as part of her reporting - see her coverage of the Nigerian elections) seems to hold quite a few of the expected views. 

(Very few BBC reporters have ever been found by DB (or anyone else) who don't hold the expected views.)

Sue: Since the hyperlink facility is impossible to use in the comments field, I thought I'd better add the YouTube video of the meeting that the BBC sees as Controversial and provocative.



10 comments:


  1. I watched the whole of the live-stream video of this event https://youtu.be/v52q0Z_nSEM (apart from the ‘empty room’ passage after the hall was evacuated) and I must say if any of those knee-jerk, wet behind the ears BBC journalists have seen it I’d be surprised.

    I’d like to hear exactly what they object to in the speeches made by Pamela Geller, Geert Wilders and Robert Spencer or comments made by various attendees that spoke.

    Has the world gone completely mad?

    Why would these young behind-the-scenes BBC employees be defending Islamic blasphemy laws? They’re supposed to be, or be involved with, journalists and news gatherers. Yet they sympathise with those opposed to freedom of speech. To the extent of blocking Tweeterers that dare to challenge them. It’s their feeble version of shooting the messenger.

    (I wonder if Jon Donnison will have anything to say about it?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really does beggar belief, doesn't it?

      DB has indeed got himself blocked for daring to question Steph Hegarty- as (looking at the comments on B-BBC) has everyone else who's politely but firmly questioned her position on this.

      Jon Donnison is remaining studiously uncontroversial - except for one tweet bemoaning the Australian diplomatic mission to abolish death penalty for not mentioning that the US is "among {sic} biggest killers".

      I'm growing more and more sure that he must have been forced to tone it down - and stop banging on about Israel - by the powers-that-be at the BBC.

      Delete
    2. "...sure that he must have been forced to tone it down"

      Makes you wonder if the challenges on forums may actually register more than those tasked with decrying them, or the BBC 'we can't vouch for what staff may do on their teabreaks' itself would admit.

      And, maybe, even closed or stalled complaints.

      I have several of the latter, I suspect due to deadlines imposed on complainants (apologies for delay not accepted by the BBC in the other direction) now the former, where it became a Mexican stand-off quite quickly; 'He's an experienced BBC reporter of integrity, so whatever he says we believe him to be right. But your views do matter...'.

      Delete
    3. Yes, it's an optimistic sign that the relentless pressure from blogs like ours (including BBC Watch and B-BBC) has (possibly) made the BBC sit up - whether directly, through monitoring us like hawks, or indirectly, through others who've carried out points forward from a position of influence.

      Either way, if my hunch about JonDon is correct, I'd feel like we're really getting somewhere.

      JD's bias was so outrageous it HAD to happen at some time. The BBC couldn't tolerate forever the sheer ease with which we Beeb-watching bloggers could trot out tweet after tweet after tweet after tweet (ad infinitum) as an instant QED of BBC bias.

      Hopefully.

      Delete
    4. OT...ish... but do you get a notification of every post... and check it out?

      I was just wondering if you might soon do me the honour of casting a professional eye over a certain beta site that has rather grown like topsy and could benefit from a fresh viewpoint and roadtest.

      I was thinking of just popping a URL on an old post thread that you could then delete.

      Or is there a way to DM via Blogger as we seem both to use it?

      Delete
    5. Alas not, but we can see a list of every comment we get (or at least every comment that reaches us...and some apparently don't), and we then work out way through them, hopefully not missing any.

      As you know, I ain't no great techie (internet-wise) and I don't know if it's possible to DM on Blogger (though DB has taught me how to do it on Twitter - if you ever want to do that)...

      ...but, yes, please drop a URL onto an old post and I will be able to find it and delete it.

      Delete
  2. She ticks every bien pensant box, doesn't she?

    For her information, rights that you aren't allowed to exercise are not rights, as we coming to understand in the UK.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If you want an unbiased presentation on the event: try this -

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/05/livestream-afdijihad-watch-muhammad-art-exhibit-and-cartoon-contest

    I particularly liked the Rasta patriot at 1:26.

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  4. Ex New Statesman, eh? Does Ian Katz know?

    His kind of gal.

    I am guessing she wasn't actually there.

    But like some fellow traveling colleagues there to [ahem]' 'report', albeit critically, she could have been.

    Maybe she needs to brush up on her Pastor Neimoller.

    Lucky it was a truck full of fertiliser. Even the BBC bunker may not be enough eventually.

    I know RT's don't mean endorsement, but this one is also quite special:

    Steph Hegarty retweeted
    Nitin Srivastava @TweetNitinS · 2h 2 hours ago
    An Indian,a Pakistani and an Irish working as a team.Happens only in BBC. #NepalEarthquake @BBCHindi @stephhegarty

    Hate to break it to Nitin and her, but in my time overseas with many different employers, it happened and happens outside the BBC more than they appear capable of grasping, and never was the need felt to comment on it in such a way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. David Preiser5 May 2015 at 02:04

    "Serrano had it coming to him for deliberately provoking Catholics."

    "She had it coming to her for wearing that short skirt."

    ReplyDelete

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