Do you ever get the feeling that you're being lectured to by the BBC?
I'll quote two excepts.
The first tells us to get a grip and get some "perspective":
"We can't cope!" is the collective cry from across Europe, as the huddled masses spill onto its shores and scramble over hastily-assembled razor wire fences."The numbers are too great. It's biblical!"A little perspective, however, would not go amiss.This may be Europe's biggest migration crisis since World War Two, but it is nothing compared to the challenges facing neighbouring countries in the Middle East.Take a look at the numbers in Turkey. In Jordan. In Lebanon.There are millions of people seeking shelter, in countries that have far fewer resources to help them cope.
The second, somewhat in the manner of a Biblical parable, contrasts those who "see" an "overwhelming moral imperative to act" (presumably Germany and Sweden) with those "who wants to close their eyes and wish the migration crisis away" (presumably meaning the UK):
No-one can fail to be moved by the tragic stories of sinking ships and shattered lives. The gruesome discovery of 71 decomposing bodies locked inside a lorry in Austria is only the latest in a shameful saga.Politicians say enough is enough. Something must be done. And they mean it.But for every European who sees an overwhelming moral imperative to act there may be another who wants to close their eyes and wish the migration crisis away.
Impartial BBC reporting? Well, it doesn't seem like it to me.
No. And they use magnificent isolation from responsibility and consequences to broadcast their propaganda whilst quietly ignoring a bunch of more pressing questions in favour of looking and feeling good about themselves.
ReplyDeleteChris Morris: " Take a look at the numbers in Turkey. In Jordan. In Lebanon.
ReplyDeleteThere are millions of people seeking shelter, in countries that have far fewer resources to help them cope."
Well, it is a shame the BBC did not pay more attention back in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 & 2007 when refugees first started to leave Iraq. Maybe if they had reported on the migration crisis as much then as they do now and said it had to be stopped, the trafficking business might be considerably smaller.
There's a fine line between reporting what's happening, as gruesome as it may be, and playing for emotions. The BBC blurs that line regularly, and does not care for they believe their cause is just. It's wrong, regardless of one's personal sympathy for the subject. There are times when the emotional approach leads them astray, like "the humanity of the Taliban", or the "It all started when Israel hit back" narrative.
ReplyDeleteYep, it's advocacy not reportage.
ReplyDeleteIf it wasn't advocacy, then the focus would be equally on concerns about terrorist infiltration, importing followers of a totalitarian ideology in the millions, bringing in corrupt practices etc etc. - and not just on the humanitarian side of things.