Thursday 21 May 2015

"It is within our guidelines for experienced correspondents to give their honest opinion, provided this is approached without any preconceived view"


Here's a complaint that was sent to the BBC nearly a month ago:
Please can you explain why it's acceptable for a senior BBC reporter to tweet praise for a party leader during a general election? Allegra Stratton, tweeting as @BBCAllegra, said on April 24th that Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru was "a very admirably modest politician". That endorsement from the BBC cannot but help Plaid. Are BBC reporters who use the BBC's name in their Twitter handle allowed to say things like this? Are tweets governed by BBC editorial guidelines on impartiality? 

The BBC's reply came today:
Thank you for contacting us.
I understand you were concerned by a tweet sent by Allegra Stratton and that you felt this showed a bias.
I apologise for the delay in replying. We know our correspondents appreciate a quick response and are sorry you’ve had to wait on this occasion.
There is no area of broadcasting where the BBC's commitment to due impartiality is more closely scrutinised than in reporting election campaigns and this is a commitment we take seriously.
Allegra’s reference to Leanne Wood was her honest take on an aspect of her personality from her experience of interviewing her. It is within our guidelines for experienced correspondents to give their honest opinion, provided this is approached without any preconceived view.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your concerns.
Kind regards
BBC Complaints
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

1 comment:

  1. I bet that one was posted in the daily log and read avidly by all.

    Honest.

    ReplyDelete

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