Tag Archives: bbc

Lord Ashcroft, Panorama and a herbivorous Liberal Democrat Peer

By The Voice | Published 1st February 2012 - 4:26 pm

Yesterday’s Press Gazette highlights that the Panorama programme broadcast, entitled Secrets of the Tory Billionaire, on Monday night may help the Independent defend the libel case brought against it by Lord Ashcroft.

In a development that you couldn’t make up, the Independent, in its own coverage of the programme, referred to Lord Ashdown when talking about the Conservative Party’s major benefactor.

This prompted our own Paddy Ashdown to write to the paper with, The Voice suspects, his tongue firmly wedged in his cheek

“It is one thing to misrepresent my position on the benefit cap as you did last week,

…

Posted in News | Also tagged lord ashcroft, paddy ashdown, panorama, Press Gazette, the independent | 4 Comments

Opinion: We need better housing options for the elderly at Christmas

By Ewan Hoyle | Published 28th December 2011 - 1:55 pm

Those elderly and alone at this time of year need attractive alternative housing options.

It is greatly to the BBC news team’s credit that they continue to highlight the plight of those less fortunate as the majority of us look forward excitedly to Christmas. Following on from their piece on homelessness on Wednesday, on Thursday they highlighted the issue of loneliness and isolation among the elderly at this traditionally sociable time of the year.

Homelessness and isolation in old age are two of the most pressing issues resulting from our growing and ageing population. The fantastic work of caring charities helps …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged elderly, housing, intergenerational foundation | 6 Comments

Opinion: Lobbying scandals strengthen Lib Dem calls for reform

By Caron Lindsay | Published 7th December 2011 - 1:27 pm

The Independent’s expose of the tactics used by the lobbying firm Bell Pottinger to impress potential clients shines the spotlight again on the lobbying industry.

A team from Bell Pottinger was filmed pitching to journalists posing as representatives of the Uzbekistan Government, a regime which, as Amnesty’s 2011 report shows, has an atrocious human rights record. The lobbyists boasted of virtually instant access to the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet.

If I were James Dyson, I would not be happy that my PR company were citing access to the Prime Minister on my behalf as part of …

Posted in News, Op-eds | Also tagged Bell Pottinger, geoff hoon, James Dyson, lobbying, nick clegg, patricia hewitt, stephen byers, the independent | 8 Comments

Jo Swinson MP questions BBC on all male Sports Personality shortlist

By Caron Lindsay | Published 30th November 2011 - 2:25 pm

The very first thing that Alex Jones said on Monday evening when the shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year was announced live on the One Show was “they’re all men”. She sounded quite shocked – and rightly so.

She was not alone. World champion swimmer Rebecca Adlington took to Twitter to say that there were many women in sport who deserve recognition this year.

Attention was also given to how those shortlists were made up - voted for predominantly by male sports editors of national newspapers and, inexplicably, representatives of lads’ Mags Nuts and Zoo.

Four MPs, …

Posted in News, Parliament | Also tagged jo swinson, sport | 15 Comments

Opinion: The failings of This Week

By Mark Hofman | Published 23rd October 2011 - 9:25 am

As we kick back and relax from a hard day’s work (or job seeking as is so often the case), we would expect our licence fee funded BBC to reflect our views, those of 23% of the electorate according to last year’s poll (the national election).

However, a glance at our daily political programming would suggest that the BBC is still pandering to the cosy duopoly of Labour and the Tories.

Perhaps this cosy duopoly is most evident on Thursday nights with “This Week” (BBC 1 11.30pm ish), promising “politics with attitude and without the spin”. Andrew Neil (ex-Conservative party employee and …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged andrew neil, charles kennedy, michael portillo, paddy ashdown, this week | 9 Comments

Opinion: Why is the BBC so bad at putting links in science stories?

By Prateek Buch | Published 17th October 2011 - 11:25 am

The BBC’s failure to link properly to the original sources of its stories, especially those relating to developments in science and healthcare, may be just be a personal bugbear, and you may well be blissfully unaware of or affected by it, but do indulge me as I think this matters!

For some time now the likes of medic and writer Ben Goldacre have expressed real concern at the underwhelming way the BBC uses hyperlinks on its website. Specifically, when the BBC website carries a story based on papers published in academic journals, clicking their ‘related internet links’ sends the …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged ben goldacre, james gallagher, journalism | 9 Comments

Opinion: Hackgate – Who do you trust?

By Paul Walter | Published 21st July 2011 - 10:53 am

5 Live Drive had a poll yesterday on “Who do you trust?”, particularly with Hackgate in mind.

Emerging, blinking, from two weeks of saturation “Breaking News”, answering that question is a good way to take stock of where we are.

Who do I trust?

Vince Cable is the first person who springs to mind. He (inadvertently publicly) “declared war on Mr Murdoch”. He was then forced to be “hors de combat”. He said “I think we are going to win” and we did. Murdoch is in retreat. Well done, Vince.

Tom Watson is the second person I trust as a result of this …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged david cameron, news international, rebekah brooks, the guardian, tom watson, vince cable | 7 Comments

Dear BBC…

By Mark Pack | Published 10th February 2011 - 10:25 am

Dear BBC,

I’d like you to reconsider your decision to ban the use of the word “reform” when your staff are reporting or commenting on the proposed changes to the voting system for the House of Commons (as reported in The Independent last month).

Given that the phrase “electoral reform” has been a widely used term for decades to describe all sorts of different proposals to change the electoral system and given that it has been widely used by proponents on all sides of those exchanges too, I’m surprised that you now are of the view that it isn’t an appropriate …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged av referendum, electoral reform, journalism | 14 Comments

Don Foster writes…the BBC licence fee settlement is a win for the Lib Dems

By Don Foster MP | Published 26th October 2010 - 1:13 pm

The BBC is at the centre of a continuous storm of criticism over everything from pay to politics. Some of it is even contradictory – it sometimes seems like everyone on every side of every debate is convinced that the BBC is biased in favour of the other side. This is a symptom of the BBC’s situation, unique amongst broadcasters: because it is funded by everyone, it is in the unenviable position of having to please everyone.

It should not be immune to criticism. The detractors are correct in that the BBC isn’t perfect and doesn’t always get it right. But …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged licence fee | 24 Comments

SNP ends legal challenge over election debate

By Mark Pack | Published 25th June 2010 - 8:49 pm

The Press Gazette reports:

The Scottish National Party has dropped its legal challenge against the BBC’s decision not to allow its leader Alex Salmond to appear in its televised debate in the run-up to the general election.

A judicial review of the matter was scheduled to be heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

You can read the full story here.

Posted in News | Also tagged leaders tv debate, snp | 1 Comment

Dear Nick Robinson…

By Mark Pack | Published 9th April 2010 - 9:20 am

Dear Nick,

Sorry to be boring and quote things like numbers and evidence.

But on the 10pm news you said, “I think both sides agree the Tories have won the politics of the first week”.

I’d have thought the public should get a look in on this and you know what the public’s verdict is?

By a slim lead (within the margin of error, to be fair) the public says that the Liberal Democrats have run the most impressive campaign so far (see http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/2566).

Makes the idea that the Tories have won the politics look a bit different, I’d have thought?

Yours,

One of those horrible …

Posted in General Election | Also tagged nick robinson | 4 Comments

Memo to the media: Clegg was first on Labour’s stealth tax, as Tories play catch-up

By Stephen Tall | Published 25th March 2010 - 1:40 pm

Excuse me, while I discard my customery mode of politness, and begin to vent …

[vent] What is it with the media, and their inability to report the Lib Dems or our policies or statements?

The political news this morning has been dominated by a ‘Stealth tax’ dispute … PoliticsHome informs us that, ‘The Conservatives have accused the government of a effectively creating an additional tax on 30 million people by freezing personal allowances on income tax, as part of yesterday’s Budget.’

Except it took the Tories a day to cotton on to that story. The chap who spotted Labour’s tax …

Posted in News | Also tagged budget 2010, ming campbell, nick clegg | 3 Comments

Any Questions does it again: no Lib Dem this week

By Mark Pack | Published 17th March 2010 - 10:20 pm

Yup, Any Questions has done it again with this week’s panel featuring a Tory MP, a Labour MP, a right-wing pundit and a Green candidate – but no Liberal Democrat. Details of how to lodge your complaint with the BBC here.

Posted in News | Also tagged any questions | 5 Comments

Opinion: The BBC – Snog, Marry or Avoid?

By Chris White | Published 11th March 2010 - 2:20 pm

It has been open season on the BBC of late.

We all have our reasons for criticism: the incompetent decision to close 6 Music, the failure to manage budgets, the excessive salaries of performers and especially of senior managers create a climate of anger which serves only to underline the perhaps more important failures to deliver quality public service broadcasting.

I have long been a critic of the ‘Today’ programme, which is overlong, too pleased with itself and too inclined to slide into its comfort zone of two party politics. Andrew Neil’s political vehicle ‘This Week’, a weekly genuflection before the …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged mark thompson | 9 Comments

Pro-Lib Dem bias at the BBC shocker

By Mark Pack | Published 9th March 2010 - 10:51 pm

Of course, I read that caption from earlier today as a mark of praise rather than of exasperation:

Posted in Humour | Also tagged chris huhne | 4 Comments

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