7 ms·

The BBC is clearly doing a pretty good job at being unbiased (as per its mandate) as _everyone_ thinks it's biased against _them_. In reality, in an attempt at

by choult 10y ago

The BBC is clearly doing a pretty good job at being unbiased (as per its mandate) as _everyone_ thinks it's biased against _them_. In reality, in an attempt at balance, the Beeb generall gives too much time to fringe views, often lending the appearance of legitimacy to them. (cf. Their climate change coverage up until fairly recently)

ZenoArrow 10y ago
The BBC has a bias for whomever is in power. You can see it most clearly in their political coverage. For example, compare this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpkpUaJF8Og https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpkpUaJF8Og With this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVe5foPumHE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVe5foPumHE
- tonyedgecombe 10y ago
  I'm not sure what your seeing, the Tories weren't plotting against their leader whereas Labour were and still are, no journalist can ignore that.
  - ZenoArrow 10y ago
    At the time of those videos, the Labour leadership coup wasn't in full effect, the questions instead were focused on hammering on the 'unelectable' narrative the BBC and other mainstream media outlets have been aiming at Corbyn since he got in the leadership race. Contrast this with the softball questions that Cameron was getting. Worth remembering there's plenty of controversial decisions that the Conservatives made in the recent past that they could've discussed, that 'no journalist can ignore', I can go into details if you like. Additionally, I could point out plenty of other examples of media spin from the BBC against Corbyn. Would be willing to share more.
    - tonyedgecombe 10y ago
      Or perhaps Corbyn genuinely is unelectable.
      - ZenoArrow 10y ago
        Based on what? The fact he won the Labour leadership election by a landslide? The fact that the Labour party membership has nearly doubled compared to last year? The fact that Labour have held all 4 seats contested in by elections since he was elected leader ( http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/by-elections/by-elections-since-2015-general-election/ http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/by-e... )? The fact that Labour largely maintained their lead in local government representatives during the last local elections? You could probably point to some poll or other that claimed he was unelectable, but as I said before, the media has been attacking him from day one, and many people are swayed by what they read in the media. There's also the issue of the rise of the SNP in Scotland, but that's got very little to do with Corbyn.
        tonyedgecombe 10y ago
        Winning the leadership isn't the same as winning an election, both Labour and the Tories have a history of choosing leaders from the extremes of their party then not being able to get into power. Labour needs to stop blaming the media for their woes and get on with making themselves acceptable to the general electorate.
        ZenoArrow 10y ago
        > "Winning the leadership isn't the same as winning an election, both Labour and the Tories have a history of choosing leaders from the extremes of their party then not being able to get into power." With that you're implying that Corbyn's views are out of sync with the general public. Which views in particular do you believe are the most extreme in this regard? > "Labour needs to stop blaming the media for their woes and get on with making themselves acceptable to the general electorate." Like it or not, the media plays a massive role in shaping public opinion. Whilst the current civil war in the Labour party is damaging the respectability of the Labour party, a large portion of the public will accept whatever they're told in the media as gospel. You only have to look at what happened as a result of the Brexit media campaigns to see how easily people on both sides were swayed by demagoguery, but if you want more specific examples it'd be easy enough to provide some.

by choult 10y ago

ZenoArrow 10y ago

The BBC has a bias for whomever is in power. You can see it most clearly in their political coverage. For example, compare this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpkpUaJF8Og https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpkpUaJF8Og With this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVe5foPumHE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVe5foPumHE

tonyedgecombe 10y ago
I'm not sure what your seeing, the Tories weren't plotting against their leader whereas Labour were and still are, no journalist can ignore that.
- ZenoArrow 10y ago
  At the time of those videos, the Labour leadership coup wasn't in full effect, the questions instead were focused on hammering on the 'unelectable' narrative the BBC and other mainstream media outlets have been aiming at Corbyn since he got in the leadership race. Contrast this with the softball questions that Cameron was getting. Worth remembering there's plenty of controversial decisions that the Conservatives made in the recent past that they could've discussed, that 'no journalist can ignore', I can go into details if you like. Additionally, I could point out plenty of other examples of media spin from the BBC against Corbyn. Would be willing to share more.
  - tonyedgecombe 10y ago
    Or perhaps Corbyn genuinely is unelectable.
    - ZenoArrow 10y ago
      Based on what? The fact he won the Labour leadership election by a landslide? The fact that the Labour party membership has nearly doubled compared to last year? The fact that Labour have held all 4 seats contested in by elections since he was elected leader ( http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/by-elections/by-elections-since-2015-general-election/ http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/by-e... )? The fact that Labour largely maintained their lead in local government representatives during the last local elections? You could probably point to some poll or other that claimed he was unelectable, but as I said before, the media has been attacking him from day one, and many people are swayed by what they read in the media. There's also the issue of the rise of the SNP in Scotland, but that's got very little to do with Corbyn.
      - tonyedgecombe 10y ago
        Winning the leadership isn't the same as winning an election, both Labour and the Tories have a history of choosing leaders from the extremes of their party then not being able to get into power. Labour needs to stop blaming the media for their woes and get on with making themselves acceptable to the general electorate.
        ZenoArrow 10y ago
        > "Winning the leadership isn't the same as winning an election, both Labour and the Tories have a history of choosing leaders from the extremes of their party then not being able to get into power." With that you're implying that Corbyn's views are out of sync with the general public. Which views in particular do you believe are the most extreme in this regard? > "Labour needs to stop blaming the media for their woes and get on with making themselves acceptable to the general electorate." Like it or not, the media plays a massive role in shaping public opinion. Whilst the current civil war in the Labour party is damaging the respectability of the Labour party, a large portion of the public will accept whatever they're told in the media as gospel. You only have to look at what happened as a result of the Brexit media campaigns to see how easily people on both sides were swayed by demagoguery, but if you want more specific examples it'd be easy enough to provide some.