Here's Huw interacting (in a rather snippy, Simpsonesque fashion) with a far-left historian/journalist:
Huw Edwards: Thanks to all my BBC News colleagues for their hard work — thanks to the many millions worldwide who watched us overnight — and here’s hoping for a future in which public debate can be conducted with far more courtesy and tolerance. Diolch.Mark Curtis: This doesn't capture it. The BBC played a (predictably) despicable role in the election in order to secure a win for the establishment candidate. It largely whitewashed his lies and public conduct, failing to report numerous of his actual policies, while demonising his opponent.Huw Edwards: But this really does capture it, Mark. The abusive guff from left and right will no doubt continue. Thousands of BBC News staff of all backgrounds and outlooks working together to secure a result? Grow up. Nadolig Llawen.Mark Curtis: I know you need to tell yourself and the public this, but people saw for themselves how BBC performed during the election (along with now considerable academic and other analysis). The idea that BBC reporting is generally impartial or accurate is unsutainable, in fact laughable.Huw Edwards: Explain again, Mark. Slowly. With your ‘academic and other analysis’. How does an organisation direct thousands of its staff to work in unison to back one political cause? I know you need to tell yourself this stuff, but it’s risible.Mark Curtis: Huw, IMO, there’s no point in arguing with anyone in an institution, since they adopt groupthink, especially one whose DG dismisses criticism as “conspiracy theories”. BBC is in denial but has been exposed. There should be an indpt enquiry to determine whether you or I are right.
Diolch = Thank you
Nadolig Llawen = Merry Christmas
Huw = Hugh
A yw'r BBC yn rhagfarnllyd? = Is the BBC biased?
After a long and exhaustive enquiry led by a handpicked team, you know what they would find
ReplyDeleteThey got it just about right, with the right balance of arguments and coverage from all sides.
Indeed. And they'd get all the Corbyn-supporting/ex-BBC academics at Cardiff University to provide 'the evidence', as they always do.
DeleteFor the hundredth time, Huw, if you are biased to the soggy Left, as the BBC are, then you are going to get claims of bias from both everyone to the right of Yvette Cooper and everyone to the Left of Keir Starmer.
ReplyDeleteI would say the only difference is that the claims of bias from the right are proveable, through Craig's Interruptometer and Bias Ratios, examination of BBC staff twitter feeds, and statements by ex or even current BBC staff who have let the cat out of the bag (champagne all round on Blair's victory and no Leave voters actually on the BBC staff anywhere).
The claims of bias by the Far Left are really more about bias towards Corbyn and his gang. If the BBC were really, in a fully ideological sense, biased against the Far Left, they wouldn't have lots of commentators from the Far Left on their programmes (e.g. Ash Sarkar) while have zero Far Right representatives on.
The Far Left and Soggy Left don't differ much over objectives. It's more a debate about methods: Fabian style gradualism versus Leninist revolution.
Note that viewers watching the election coverage on BBC1 Wales would have seen local election coverage not Huw in London, don't expect he cares..
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