Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, closely following on from this:
is now urging the BBC to be “more muscular in asserting their judgement and objectivity,” calling it the nation's “best bulwark against fake news":
Objectivity means stating this fact is wrong, that fact is true, and not giving airtime to total nonsense at all. Where facts can be established, your duty is to tell the truth. Objective reality exists. Your job is to find it and tell it. Have confidence, broadcasters. Your country needs you.
I can hear you all crying in unison, "Oh, for God's sake, please don't encourage them, Matt!"
All the BBC's dreams are coming true at one with this Culture Secretary it seems. This is exactly what they've been saying themselves and now the Government is echoing them to the rafters.
John Whittingdale is a long distant memory it seems.
More immigrants means greater demand for housing: Fact!
ReplyDeleteGreater demand for housing means higher prices: Fact!
More immigrants means increased labour supply: Fact!
Greater labour supply equals lower wages: Fact!
“There is no truth in Izvestiya and there is no information in Pravda.” [Old Russian saying]
"There is no truth in BBC and there is no information in BBC." [New British saying] Fact!
Yes, I will never forget the Newsnight "special" that spent a whole hour on the housing crisis without once mentioning mass immigration as a potential contributory causal factor.
DeleteMaybe Matt remembers what happened to Whittingdale, who was only ever a mild critic of the BBC (the revelation about his paid-for proclivities) and has taken that as a warning.
ReplyDeleteI used to work in the newspaper industry at a senior level. Most newspapers and especially The Sun were able to exert considerable influence over certain people. Over a number of years newspapers obtained or paid for unsavoury details about the private lives of some celebrities, sportsmen and politicians. They sometimes published but often kept them under wraps in exchange for other favours from those people . Eg exclusivity on stories, events or news. I know of one famous footballer who had to provide a free weekly column for five years as payment for keeping his transgressions out of the press. I promise this is absolutely true.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the BBC do the same or politicians instinctively know the damage that can be done to reputations by a concerted BBC campaign against them. Just saying.
The BBC does pursue vendettas: Mary Whitehouse, Carol Thatcher, Norman Tebbit, Nigel Farage, Sky/Murdoch, Boris Johnson, Cliff Richard...
DeleteWeasel interesting anecdote. But add on that the BBC Is far far better funded and dominant than any newspaper. And almost completely unaccountable (forget the lapdogs at Ofcom).
DeleteI speculate that Governments don’t rein in the BBC because of both fear and alliance.