4 ms·

the BBC can't be very biased because all sides accuse it of being biased against them I don’t think that’s true. For example you won’t find many Remainers clai

the BBC can't be very biased because all sides accuse it of being biased against them I don’t think that’s true. For example you won’t find many Remainers claiming that the BBC was pro-Leave. Nor would you find many opposing Scottish independence saying the BBC was pro Scottish independence. It clearly does “take sides”. The traditional left-right axis doesn’t work as a model here. The BBC’s bias is towards the opinions and interests of upper-middle-class Londoners, some of which would be traditionally be considered left and some of which would be right.

msclrhd 7y ago
It depends on the show and the presenter. John Humpfreys was very pro-Leave -- there was one segment on the Today program where he was interviewing someone advocating for a people's vote and angrily asked them how working people would feel betrayed (or something to that effect); meanwhile, he was very soft when interviewing Gove and other Tories. The same applies to how the Today program focused its vox pops on Leave-voting areas. Likewise, if you look at something like The News Quiz, that and the presenters/guests are left wing and pro-Remain.
sparkie 7y ago
The BBC's bias can be considered as pro-State. While some of their journalists and presenters have their own biases, the overall direction they take is to act as the mouthpiece of the government, particularly for international coverage. For domestic coverage, there is enough representation of the opposition to at least make it look like democracy is working and that people aren't being manipulated to do exactly what the State wants them to do. They hold the government to scrutiny on minor issues where there's a difference in the views of the opposition, but on major issues where both parties are united (for example, on going to war), the BBC simply repeats what they're told to.

msclrhd 7y ago

It depends on the show and the presenter. John Humpfreys was very pro-Leave -- there was one segment on the Today program where he was interviewing someone advocating for a people's vote and angrily asked them how working people would feel betrayed (or something to that effect); meanwhile, he was very soft when interviewing Gove and other Tories. The same applies to how the Today program focused its vox pops on Leave-voting areas. Likewise, if you look at something like The News Quiz, that and the presenters/guests are left wing and pro-Remain.

sparkie 7y ago

The BBC's bias can be considered as pro-State. While some of their journalists and presenters have their own biases, the overall direction they take is to act as the mouthpiece of the government, particularly for international coverage. For domestic coverage, there is enough representation of the opposition to at least make it look like democracy is working and that people aren't being manipulated to do exactly what the State wants them to do. They hold the government to scrutiny on minor issues where there's a difference in the views of the opposition, but on major issues where both parties are united (for example, on going to war), the BBC simply repeats what they're told to.