tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post5860392170858425329..comments2024-01-01T17:21:52.555+00:00Comments on Is the BBC biased?: StatsCraighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-82501827340541960332016-06-21T04:11:22.370+01:002016-06-21T04:11:22.370+01:00PPS: I didn't think to pay attention at first,...PPS: I didn't think to pay attention at first, but for most of it I didn't see any wide audience shots during loud applause, so I can't tell if it's more people approving or a smaller group being louder. /tinfoilhatDavid Preiser (USA)https://www.blogger.com/profile/00055001852090086556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-26571602321222982212016-06-21T04:09:11.789+01:002016-06-21T04:09:11.789+01:00I just watched the Cameron episode. Brutal. Of cou...I just watched the Cameron episode. Brutal. Of course, as soon as I saw it was in Milton Keynes, I knew it would be bad for Cameron. But I have to give credit to the BBC. Dimbleby said the audience was evenly split between Out, In, and Not Sure (or evenly between the first two with a small portion of the latter). I don't think anyone except the Leavers asked a question. Maybe that one woman who told Cameron he wasn't getting the message out was for Remain, but that's it. Near the end there was one guy who asked a anti-democratic question about whether or not it was fair for all the pro-Remain young people to allow a Brexit result, harming their future against their will. The last question was a nervous pro-Remain question about what plans Cameron had to keep on fighting for more reform after a Remain result (at least I think that's what he meant). Delusional, but he seemed sincere. Cameron thought he was absolutely right, of course.<br /><br />It was brutal because of the questions, but also because it became more and more obvious that Cameron really has only talking points and no real convincing reasons to Remain. He's committed to the idea now, but it's not clear that he actually believes it. At times he seemed like someone stuck defending something he didn't believe, like a child caught in a lie and not wise enough to stop digging.<br /><br />I'm not sure what the point is of flouting the balance of the audience when only one side is allowed to ask almost all the questions. It was weird. In fact, Gove wasn't really challenged like this, and tended to give illuminating responses rather than spouting talking points for which the BBC could seriously have dubbed in audio from a stump speech three weeks ago and his lips wouldn't even be out of synch it's so rehearsed and banal.<br /><br />PS: I have to say Dimbleby was in rare form, and I mean that in a good way. Full credit to him in these, his best work since the Leaders' QT before the general election, where the audience predicted the result right there, but everyone missed it.David Preiser (USA)https://www.blogger.com/profile/00055001852090086556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-77185178777710344592016-06-20T20:52:14.402+01:002016-06-20T20:52:14.402+01:00The Gove/Cameron specials were interesting too in ...The Gove/Cameron specials were interesting too in that respect. I caught up on the Cameron one tonight and, though the Remain backers were the louder ones (i.e. the only ones who whooped!), the pro-Leave ones contingent looked at least as numerous and applauded heavily just as heavily. Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08741318067991857821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-29661482558822991092016-06-19T23:37:21.237+01:002016-06-19T23:37:21.237+01:00Excellent work as always, Craig. The evidence is p...Excellent work as always, Craig. The evidence is pretty clear that their numbers game is a sham. All those balanced segments with one from each side make the Beeboids complacent, content in the knowledge that they are dutifully balanced over time. So they don't even care the solo appearances are overwhelmingly lop-sided.<br /><br />The Question Time panels look better for them, yes, but Dimbleby hasn't been very fair, clearly favoring Remain with his challenges and audience moderation. The show is also proof that audiences behave differently when the BBC puts on real pressure not to rig them. I don't know if it's a case where someone different than usual comes in to supervise, like they did for that Leaders' QT before the general election, but the audiences are much more Leave-friendly in certain cities than you'd expect based on previous episodes from those locations.<br /><br />It's different when the BBC isn't phoning up student activist groups or teachers' unions because the producers feel there should be more of them on hand that evening, or reject applicants because their submitted question doesn't fit the theme they're going for that week.David Preiser (USA)https://www.blogger.com/profile/00055001852090086556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3272054900018746845.post-68070569595265356692016-06-19T21:08:05.660+01:002016-06-19T21:08:05.660+01:00The relatively balanced approach of QT shows it ca...The relatively balanced approach of QT shows it can be done (though there is still the small matter of audience selection - which seems to be all over the place) and bias on programmes like BBC Newsnight must therefore be the result of conscious efforts to be biased. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com