Takeaway messages

This morning's From Our Own Correspondent on Radio 4 covered a good deal of familiar territory in the familiar BBC way. 

As discussed in the comments section of the previous post, the BBC's Tim Whewell presented a piece about Belgium's 'Jihad Central', the district of Brussels called Molenbeek:

Anonymous28 November 2015 at 12:20 

Another one for your collection - Tim Whewell's PC venture into Mollenbeek on From Our Own Correspondent on the BBC.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06ppsp2 

It's an interesting case study in how to use narrative form, selective quotation, tone of voice, false equations, ellipsis, unverifiable assertions and biased selection of facts to create an impression. I am sure he is a very likeable guy - he seems so - and probably none of it is conscious plotting to distort the truth, but distort it he does.  

One of the unverifiable assertions was that journalists were chasing Muslims down the street looking crying out "Do you know any terrorists?" Really? It sounds improbable but it helps to create the impression that racist tabloids were encouraging group hate by calling Mollenbeek "Jihadi central". But take a look at this article from the sober-minded, pretty liberal and pro-migration Economist:  

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21678840-brussels-not-just-europes-political-and-military-capitalit-also-centre-its 

If somewhere produces a lot of steel then it's not unreasonable to call it "the steel capital of the world". If somewhere has a lot of film and rock stars it's not unreasonable to call it "the home of the stars". And if somewhere produces the highest per capita number of Jihadis in Europe it's not unreasonable to call it Jihadi Central.  

Anyway, have a listen if you can spare the time, as I say it is a marvellous piece in understanding how an impression is created: in this case, Muslim as nice, pro-integration victim. Whewell completely suspends all critical faculties: no interest in whether a substantial section of the Muslim population gives actual or tacit support to the Jihadis; no interest in whether other migrants to Belgium e.g. animists, Christians, Jews and Hindus suffer the same difficulties in integration; no interest in wondering whether non-Muslims, women especially, get hassled in Mollenbeek; and no interest in whether Sharia rules in Mollenbeek (are there Sharia courts for instance?). 

No, it was just a "mood music" piece designed to dull the senses.  

Craig28 November 2015 at 15:40 

I'd have hoped for better from Tim Whewell. He can be a fine reporter.

This, however, was just the usual BBC report, almost a paint-by-numbers affair, all about the sense of alienation and victimhood felt by the Muslims of Molenbeek.  

Reading about Molenbeek elsewhere, it certainly seems as if it's been heavily Islamised, with alcohol suppressed, women pressured to wear the veil and non-Islamic newspapers restricted. Non-Muslim women have been abused and spat at. The area's Jewish shopkeepers were terrorised and forced out; as was the local gay population. The area has become largely a monolithic, Moroccan-background immigrant district. 

http://www.politico.eu/article/molenbeek-broke-my-heart-radicalization-suburb-brussels-gentrification/ 

None of that came out in Tim Whewell's 'FOOC' report.

Besides this doubtless well-meaning but worryingly distorting piece there was also the BBC's David Shukman explaining why he's feeling guardedly "optimistic" about significant "advances" arising from the Paris conference on (what Kate Adie introduced as) "man-made global warming"....

...and an emotional piece from freelance reporter Chris Haslam on the plight of a newly-arrived Syrian refugee family in Berlin. 

He told the heart-rending story of a man called Malik from Latakia who is suffering from cancer. He received state support for his chemotherapy until (Chris told us) the Syrian police asked him to become an informer. If he became an informer, the police said, the Syrian state would continue to fund his treatment. So the man fled, taking his wife (Shabima) and three children (Omar, Seema and Anas) with him, arriving in Germany three weeks ago.

Chris Haslam worried about the dehumanising effects of Germany's asylum processes and, even more, about the Germans requiring asylum seekers to wear green armbands, which he said reminded him uncomfortably of the country's Nazi past. 

To give you a proper flavour of the report, here's just one extract from it:

After 40 days in the European wilderness they arrived in Berlin - another frightened, anonymous, desparate family who risked their lives on a one-way journey into the unknown. 

Look at your own family and ask yourself if you'd make it. 

If there's one thing you can say about From Our Own Correspondent is that it's rarely shy about giving Radio 4 audiences a strong takeaway message. Today's edition was  certainly no exception to that.

Whatever happened to Richard Black?

I've heard very little news in recent days, but I did manage to hear a few minutes of Today on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

They were building towards an interview with former environment secretary Owen Paterson (which I didn't hear), based on a speech he'd just given/was about to give (I can't remember which), calling for a wholesale government re-think on global warming whilst bashing 'the Green Blob' (Greenpeace et al) for causing more harm than good.

A brief foray onto Twitter shows that one BBC reporter's coverage of Mr Paterson's speech has won plaudits from some quarters (namely, 'the Green Blob').

Here's Leo Hickman, chief advisor on climate change for the WWF:

News at 10 item on Paterson by @davidshukmanbbc gently mocks his record in office and says speech unlikely to make difference

— Leo Hickman (@LeoHickman) October 15, 2014

And here's Sam Barrett, campaign director for Avaaz (and former head of media for Oxfam):

Interesting piece by @davidshukmanbbc on Paterson / climate. Not sure what the news was but made him look daft @carbonbrief @dpcarrington

— Sam Barratt (@samdbarratt) October 15, 2014

Hmm, approval from two green campaigners for a BBC reporter gently mocking Mr Paterson and making the sceptical former minister look daft? Are those the sort of things an impartial BBC reporter should be doing?

Judge the report for yourselves here.

Another reply to David Skukman on Twitter - demonstrating the same 'gentling mocking spirit' - comes from the director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU):

Just watched @davidshukmanbbc report on @Owen_PatersonMP lecture - hall apparently half empty. Anyone there compare turnout with capacity?
— Richard Black (@_richardblack) October 15, 2014

This Richard Black is the very same Richard Black who used to be  the BBC's environment correspondent. People at 'climate sceptic' blogs (like Watts Up With That, Bishop Hill and Biased BBC) would regularly accuse him of acting like a green activist during his time as the BBC's environment correspondent. Eventually, he left the BBC and became an official member of the 'Green Blob'. 

This Richard Black is also cited (being critical of Owen Paterson) in the BBC News website's main report on the speech. 

Maybe when David Shukman decides its time to seek pastures new (presumably pastures full of wind turbines), Richard Black might be able to wangle him a job at the ECIU, "a non-profit organisation that supports informed debate on energy and climate change issues in the UK", albeit a gently mocking kind of informed debate, probably.

In the same spirit, here's Richard's latest publicity shot, showing him sporting a fine Roger Delgado-era Master's beard from Doctor Who: