Yeah it’s an opinion piece but some interesting stuff about how even conservative journalists when they don’t toe the line are pushed to the side.

  • CapriciousDay@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    23
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 day ago

    Part of the problem is that highly partisan rightwingers were imposed on the BBC by the Conservatives. It speaks to Keir Starmer’s mortal weakness that he has not sought to replace them with unbiased figures.

    In other words, the BBC behaves much like Starmer’s government: appeasing critics on the right and far right, while suppressing the left.

    I don’t think Starmer has much of a “mortal weakness” here, he’s just right wing and winning.

  • JasSmith@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    20
    arrow-down
    10
    ·
    1 day ago

    The BBC is under constant accusations of political bias on both sides. The fact they have weathered this partisan storm angering both sides in the current political climate is testament to their ability to remain as close to objective as is possible. The current alternative to the BBC is no BBC, and I think that would be a shame.

    That said, highlighting instances of questionable judgement, like this, has value. The BBC isn’t perfect, and the public should keep leaders and management on its toes.

    • wewbull@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      20
      ·
      23 hours ago

      My problem with the BBC is the reporting is so hyper-conservative that the plot of Mars Attacks would be:

      • US president to welcome martian delegation
      • Talks break down with Martian representatives
      • Skirmishes break our across Nevada

      All factually correct but nothing that says that WE’RE UNDER ATTACK BY INVADERS FROM ANOTHER PLANET. I’m not looking for hyperbole, just some context on the story.

      Under the Tories the BBC would constantly say “X said the sky is yellow” and leave it at that. It’s totally impartial to say “X incorrectly states that the sky is yellow”. It’s factually wrong and not saying that looks to many like tacit endorsement of the statement. Similarly with Trump, he’s taking actions that are unheard of in American history. The BBC will just say what he’s doing and not how exceptional it is, making it seem like just another Monday. It validates his actions.

    • IndustryStandard@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      21 hours ago

      This is irrelevant and a fallacy. If one person punches another person and both people say the other one started first, then actually one person did still start first.

      Similarly, the right screams that they are the victim when they are not.

    • Flax@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      23 hours ago

      It’s good to scrutinise the BBC often, but it’s an absolute asset and great that we have it. I’d even go as far as to say that we might become a hole like America without the BBC.

    • Eiren (she/her)@lemmygrad.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      23 hours ago

      The BBC are accused of bias “from both sides” because their job is to establish and defend the establishment’s preferred Overton window; or in other words, to set the standard for what “impartial”/“common sense” is held to be.

      To the extent political beliefs are down to individual values and preferences, there is no objective centre, and moderacy amounts to a “golden mean” bias. On the other hand, to the extent political claims are able to be proven or disproven by science, at least one side must be wrong and only one can be right, and so the centre is simply ignorant.