Given how extensively the BBC covered President Obama's anti-Brexit 'back of the queue' intervention during the EU referendum and how often their reporters stressed at the time that what the President said is important ('whether you agree with it or not'), you might have thought that the BBC would have been just as motivated (being 'impartial') to prominently report the President's latest comments re Britain's Brexit vote - especially as they are so striking, and so in contradiction to what he said a few months back.
Barack Obama told NPR that there's no need for "hysteria" about Brexit, that those in charge of the EU went too far too fast, and that if Britain ends up something like Norway - a successful, Atlanticist, non-EU country - then that's absolutely fine by him and the U.S.
Whatever you think of Mr. Obama (or about Brexit), that's a calm, measured, positive take on Brexit.
As Alan at Biased BBC notes, the BBC News website isn't making much of it - to put it mildly. Where once the words of President Obama were all-important, "now he is sidelined to a mere minute or so video story on the sidebar."
I watched the BBC One News at Six. There was no mention whatsoever of Mr. Obama's comments.
Why haven't the BBC made much of this? Is the BBC so wound up in grief about the outcome of the referendum that it either can't bring itself to even 'notice' less alone report President Obama's dramatic yet reassuring words?
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Of course, it's entirely possible - given how vast the BBC's output is - that some parts of the BBC might have gone mad out it. That's where you come in (if you don't mind). Have you heard counter-examples?
Have, say, PM or The World at One or the BBC World Service or Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 or Radio 5 Live given President Obama's comments a lot of attention?
Will tonight's Newsnight make a lot of them?
If you anything about the BBC giving this a decent amount of attention (or any attention), please let me know - because the way the BBC is behaving at the moment I really wouldn't be surprised if much of the rest of the BBC was ignoring it/massively downplaying it too.
I found out here.....keep fighting the fight.
ReplyDeleteHere has #editorialintegrity
DeleteThe BBC... not so much.
Here free and a matter of choice.
The BBC, less so.
Funny old world.
I don't know if the Beeboids want to make too much of a big deal about this. "You ignorant racist plebes! You've defied The Obamessiah! Don't you know how wrong that makes you? You're racist for wanting Out, and racist for not agreeing with Him."
ReplyDeleteNot to say that this is the only way to approach the issue, but the BBC has long established the relevant narratives. and it's hard to imagine that there are BBC editors and producers capable of thinking outside their tiny little box.