Another reliable source of BBC bias is Anita Anand on Any Answers. Here's how she began this week's edition:
So tell me, just between friends: Are you finding the EU referendum debate a bit...well...boring? If you are, what can the politicians do to engage you? What will Brexit do to the UK's skills base? Is it going to weaken it? Is it going to strengthen it? Particularly keen to hear from you if you're running a business which maybe employs a significant proportion of EU workers. What happens the day after if we leave?
Some leading questions and a specific invitation to people who are likely to be pro-Remain. How very Anita in its impartiality!
Still, there was a fair spread of opinion and little of of the blatant one-sided hectoring from the presenter that can sometimes mar the programme.
There were, however, a few callers who sounded as if they were auditioning for Down the Line and Anita didn't entirely refrain from hectoring either - such as this call which I would be seriously failing in my duties as a blogger not to transcribe in full (as it's pure comedy gold):
There were, however, a few callers who sounded as if they were auditioning for Down the Line and Anita didn't entirely refrain from hectoring either - such as this call which I would be seriously failing in my duties as a blogger not to transcribe in full (as it's pure comedy gold):
Caller: Afternoon. I'm really confused now. For years and years and years I've been a firm federal Europist. With David Cameron's shenanigans - because nobody really believes what he said and it was all done to placate the Tory Party...Anita (interrupting): What shenanigans are you talking about? The renegotiation - that he could renegotiate from the inside...aha?Caller: The renegotiations, or whatever you'd like to call it, yeah. They're all done to favour the internal workings of the Tory Party not the national interest. So I then went to 'Out' and I'm now dithering because I really think a strong Europe is a good thing to go, but I actually want to....Anita (interrupting): I'm confused. So hang on a minute....No. I'm confused. I just want to chart your journey. So you were a strong 'In-y' and now you're an 'Out-y' and I'm still trying to find the bridge that led you from one camp to the other there.Caller: Because I don't believe what Cameron, and I actually want to...Anita (interrupting): But, but, but...to not believe what Cameron did means you thought there was a problem. Being an 'In-y' there was something very, very wrong with the status quo that you wanted a renegotiation and you didn't believe that it happened?Caller: I don't think what he came out with wasn't already there. I think it was just presented as a new way of looking at it.Anita: OK, but now you've gone from being happy with what was the status quo to being very unhappy with it and wanting to get out and I'm just wondering what it was that pushed you over that edge?Caller: Well, what I'm happy with..what I'm unhappy with is the way Cameron went about it, and I want to vote 'Out' purely to show I don't want Cameron to crow on the basis he approved a negotiation and we all won.Anita (interrupting): So the future of Europe is dependent on you basically delivering a slap to the Prime Minister?Caller: Well, that's my dilemma at the moment because I actually firmly believe in Europe but I actually want to give a slap to the Prime Minister. And I can't find any other way of doing it. But there's a 'yes or a no' not a 'yes and swing about' bit.Anita: OK, all right, thank you very much.
I don't know about anyone else, but I am thoroughly enjoying watching these idiot Beeboids bend over backwards to support Cameron's lies. They must feel dirty afterwards and in need of a deep cleanse.
ReplyDeleteAside from that, this is just one more sign of a Brexit result. If so many voters are this petty-minded that they'll vote against something they like just to give a slap to the Tories, it's over.
Hey, maybe that's a new angle on taking the BBC down as well: convince everyone that the BBC really is a Tory mouthpiece and must be stopped. Judging from the coordination on the EU, immigration, and Nowt To Do With Islam, it shouldn't be a tough sell.
The odd thing about this call was that it reflected a discussion I had with friends yesterday afternoon. One is firmly pro-Brexit, the other undecided but (to my mind) clearly inclined to Remain. The one inclined to Remain (who tends to move among a much more left-wing crowd than me!) said she thought a lot of her friends would vote 'Out' just to get rid of Cameron - because they dislike him so much. (She can't stand him herself). I thought that was such a silly reason to vote 'Out' that I didn't really believe her - especially as Cameron will be gone in a couple of years either way. And then this chap pops on 'Any Answers' saying much the same thing. So maybe the 'Leave' side will get a lot of undecided lefties and pro-EU types voting for them simply because of their undying hatred of the PM, irrational as that may seem.
DeleteAs for the BBC, there are so many left-wingers on Twitter endlessly slating the 'Tory BBC' at the moment that, along with the firmly anti-BBC cybernats, your cunning plan might well work.
The dopey Beeboids will probably wear those complaints proudly as a 'Complaints From Both Sides' badge.
DeleteCome to think of it, Cameron remarked a few times during the Scottish Referendum that people shouldn't vote Leave just to kick the Tories, so maybe he'll revisit that this time. You have to wonder if maybe some Beeboids won't be hearing the same thing you are from their friends and family. I guess we'll know if it's having an effect when we start hearing them play that angle. But then they'll be doubly protecting Cameron, and I'm not sure delicate Beeboid brains can handle so much doublethink.
Wow! This part really wound me up:
ReplyDelete"So tell me, just between friends: Are you finding the EU referendum debate a bit...well...boring?"
This is the classic meme doing the rounds of the MSM. Could you imagine her saying "Are you finding this debate about gender equality a bit...well...boring?"
No, neither can I. This "boring" theme of newscasters, comedians and commentators is a pro ploy designed to make people think it's unfashionable or socially unacceptable to be interested in the referendum, this despite the public regularly putting mass immigration at the top or near the top of their concerns. The other one is to make it sound as if the issues are horrendously complex, like tax coding or something. Either way, they want voters to switch off, so that when the day comes they naturally gravitate to the alleged soft option of staying with the EU.
Good point. I think I'll use that tactic in future on certain issues.
DeleteThe point of having a programme called “Any Answers” is for members of the public to respond and add to the answers to the questions raised in “Any Questions”. Just that. The function of the presenter is to listen and perhaps occasionally help them express the views more coherently. The conversation you have quoted is the exact opposite of this. Anita Anand attempts to trap the caller into saying something he doesn’t mean in order to promote her own point of view. Why even have callers? Why not just have an hour of Anita boring us with BBC groupthink? I don’t like to keep picking on the woman, but she really is a disgrace.
ReplyDelete