So, the UK economy grew by 1% during the last quarter. Let’s see…where is it on the BBC UK news portal? After all, I am sure the State Broadcaster would want to make sure that this significant confirmation of economic progress is impartially flagged up? Oh yes, there is is..it’s the 5th most significant story in the UK today.
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In fairness it is 6th on ITN.
But I just wonder where the BBC would place it if the economy, say, shrank by 0.1%.
They’d make it the lead story and include the phrase “embarrassment for the Government”.
Not only that deafening silence.
Just before I went away for a few days, the BBC were repeatedly predicting a cataclism and humiliation for an isolated Cameron’s attempt to rein in the EU buget.
As it turms out, it seems that he had quite a good war and as it turned out found plenty of allies.
So yesterday he reported back to Parliament, was warmly received, even by many of his eurosceptic right, wrong footing both Labour and their broadcasting arm the BBC who on their news bulletins couldn’t be bothered to report Cameron’s statement.
Growth figures? EU Budget? The widely praised BoE Governor Appointment? These positivse successes can’t be allowed to continue. No doubt they’ll mobilise Five Live – the Tories will have to pay for this
‘As it turms out, it seems that he had quite a good war and as it turned out found plenty of allies.’
Wonder what ‘toys out the pram’ Mason has to say this time?
Or is he still hunting down anger and protests anywhere but the soiled midden that is the Newsnight editorial office?
I’m afraid the journalistic explanation of 1% growth being ignored whereas 1% shrinkage would be trumpeted from the roof tops of New Broadcasting House is something along the lines of ‘…dog bites man…no story….man bites dog…story’
I’m fast becoming resigned to the fact that the left is winning the hearts and minds battle in the UK. The BBC will get their Lab-Lib pact in 2015. Licence fees up ‘to boost growth’, don’t you know.
Does this sound defeatist? Perhaps David Cameron has won me over to his brand of waving the white flag in the face of the oncoming socialist armies.
Don’t become resigned! The left is not winning – not outside their public sector bubble.
Sadly what I find is there is widespread apathy as well as disaffection towards politicians, big business, the media (including the BBC) and the “state”. If there were a way of tapping into and channelling this discontent then things might change but the establishment have it pretty well stitched up.
The failure of the government work programme to reach it’s target is top news however.
The government’s work programme would work if they stopped immigration into this country.
Better to look after the people already in this country. Than bring more in.
The elephant in the room the BBC fails or chooses not to mention, and which is responsible for mopping up 76% of the extra jobs created over the past 15 years.
‘Surreal’ doesn’t do it justice.
Earlier the BBC reported live that growth was only up 0.9 % which was a disaster for the Economy… then corrected live on air by their own business reporter … “I Don’t know where you are getting your figures from, but it’s stayed at 1%” ….. quick look round….. carry on saying how bad things are…. and can we get the Shadow minister for x to give his reaction to this terrible news……
Laughing I just turned it off…
Todays news story is just confirmation of the figures that were published last month. The ONS adjust figures on GDP after a month when they get more data in.
I can’t remember where it was put on the website last month but I remember reading it, so it wasn’t hidden.
That’s pretty good. 6th on itn and not on the sky news website front page.
I’d agree with you there Jim, Sky are getting as left wing biased as the BBC.
Maybe it’s because Sky employs so many ex BBC people, or is it the NUJ influence coming through?
Boulton is married to Anji Hunter, Blair’s former “gatekeeper” at No 10. Half the Labour Party attended the wedding. Nuff said.
PS Can we change the name of this site to biased-bbc-and-sky.com?
BBC choose their moments when to make the economy their number one news item.
‘Sky News’ has it top on its ‘Business News’ page; on BBC ‘Business News’ page it is 5th.
Talking about 6th place: “UK education sixth in global ranking”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20498356
“Sir Michael Barber, a former adviser to Tony Blair, said…
Labour’s education spokesman Stephen Twigg said…
And then, in the final paragraphs: “A Department for Education spokeswoman said…”
Before we praise labour (as you know Twigg is doing) it’s worth noting: “The rankings combine international test results and data such as graduation rates between 2006 and 2010.”
Just to add: Twigg also reported as saying ‘the findings did not provide evidence for the current government’s support for free schools.’
WTF???!!! Are Twigg and/or the reporter/s complete idiots?
Foreign school findings didn’t provide support for free schools in Britain (???), but Twigg should read the New Statesman – they’re supported over here all right –
“In a boost to Gove, the poll found that 79 per cent of people believe that his flagship policy of free schools is a “good idea for education in the UK”. ”
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/05/education-poll-schools-fees
The news about the British economy as portrayed by the BBC is interesting. The article on the web site is full of grudging acceptance with gloomy qualifications such as “The Olympic Games helped to boost growth over the summer.” Translation: the upturn is temporary. Another example: “Payback is likely in the fourth quarter.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20506971
Compare and contrast the previous ominous analysis with this from the archive:
“Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned Britain of economic “bumps in the road” ahead but vowed “we will weather the storm together”. And in a pre-election swipe at his political rivals, he said “now is not the time to turn back”, adding: “I will not let you down.”
Uplifting. Optimistic. Churchillian.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8558821.stm
The current judgment of the BBC is that current government policies can’t possibly succeed. It’s the news ‘narrative’; the ‘story’; the unfolding drama; as fictitious a tale as Snow White. “News” appears these days resembles evidence manufactured to support this narrative whether its Gaza, Benghazi the British economy or Jimmy Savile..
This narrative is born not from careful analysis but in the gut of a partisan press. Sadly both left and right are guilty of ignoring inconvenient facts in favour of their beliefs. I see no pulling back from this trend of advocacy journalism.
But perhaps that’s a good thing. As with David P’s “tweets” strand, I’d rather know where a newsman stands politically than have his prejudices hidden behind his proclamation of some high-minded calling.
From the right wing press – and it only appears in the Money Section not thier main news pages.
“The Olympic and Paralympic Games helped spark the strongest rise in household spending in more than two years, which drove the UK’s dramatic bounce back from recession between July and September, official figures confirmed today.”
“But economists still warn the figure was flattered by one-off effects such as the Olympic boost, and a bounce back from the previous quarter which had been hampered by the Diamond Jubilee holiday which meant the third quarter had one extra working day.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-2239046/Economy-defies-gloomy-predictions-cut-growth-1-jump-GDP-confirmed.html
why do you people keep quoting “the right wing press” in general and the daily mail in particular?
i don’t have to contribute to them under threat of law
the matter in hand is the bbc
less of the strawmen distractions if you please
Pretty straightforward to me. If the BBC and the “right wing press” (especially the blatantly anti-BBC Daily Mail) say the same thing on the same topic then it can hardly be used as an example of BBC bias. The original post also related to the BBC website for which you “don’t have to contribute to them under threat of law”.
you just don’t get it
i’m convinced you are a troll
a pity poor one at that
Nah, he just works for the BBC.
Oh, I see what you mean…..
No, don’t work for the BBC and I don’t work in the public sector. Any other assumptions you wish to make. It certainly seems that the “clique” do not like their views being challenged.
that’s just a cut and paste of a post on another thread
just getting lazy now!!
But he’s right though isn’t he. the ‘I don’t pay for it’ argument is a red herring. . It is entirely legitimate to use another news org as a benchmark.
not on a site specifically about a compulsorily funded
broadcaster
how simple can i possibly make this?
so it can be any colour of fish it wants…..the point he made is still irrelevant
where exactly do you think the bbc get the money to operate the website?
ROFLMAO
Think you are missing the point – you do not need a TV License to access the BBC website.
I think you have TOTALLY missed it
without a tv licence there would be NO BBC WEBSITE
THE WEBSITE IS NOT DIVORCED FROM THE BBC
IT IS THE SAME THING!!!
Priceless, Albaman, priceless. Public sector mentality at its best.
Johnny-there has to be a medical term for that kind of thing!! 🙂
By his name he sounds “hideously white”.
Good.
The people of Rotherham have had this brought to their attention (not via a BBC-NUJ priority, but via Canada):-
“Canadian TV audience told Rotherham Council ‘used kids as political weapon'”
(inc 7 min video).
http://rotherhamadvertiser.co.uk/news/93141/canadian-tv-audience-told-rotherham-council-used-kids-as-political-weapon-.aspx?
A good point is raised by the ‘Toronto sun news’ piece
What has the odious Shami Chakrabarti has to say about Rotherhams Stalinist mystery play?
Does any one know?
Shami Chakrabarti doesn’t need to grow a moustache for Movember she already has one.
I think we can guess. As a Leveson assessor, she is in favour of press censorship, and was on the LSE board when Gaddhafi’s son bought its favours. Unsurprisingly she is a Common Purpose graduate too.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.277705965607133.73382.154011691309895&type=3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shami_Chakrabarti
http://www.commonpurpose.org.uk/events–campaigns/masterclass-series/masterclass-quotes
Nothing about it at all on her mini-group’s website, of course.
BBC-NUJ members: they don’t give priority to supporting action for freedom of the press.
“If the National Union of Journalists won’t defend journalism, what’s the point of it?”
By Andrew Gilligan .
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100191729/if-the-national-union-of-journalists-wont-defend-journalism-whats-the-point-of-it/
Was Gilligan born yesterday? Why do any unions exist? It certainly isn’t to protect the integrity of whatever trade the members work in.
Three points, off/on topic:
Education: In the mid-60s, if you got two As at A-level, you were almost certain to get into Oxbridge.
Growth: Why do economists, government and the media never mention the margin of error when presenting economic statistics?
Shami: I am still feeling sick from the shock of seeing her carry that flag at the Olympics.
Still no BBC-NUJ priority for analysing Rotherham Labour Party political commissariat.
‘Telegraph’:
“Ukip fostering row: ‘mafia’ council told us to keep quiet, say parents.
“The parents at the centre of the Ukip fostering row said the council had behaved ‘like the mafia’ and told them to keep quiet after removing three children from their care.”
By Steven Swinford and Sam Marsden.
[Excerpt]:-
“The couple believe Rotherham metropolitan borough council hoped they would ‘sink into the background’ after social workers took the ethnic minority children away because they were members of the UK Independence Party.
“The wife said: ‘These people will just do it again. They came round like the mafia and said we are taking the children because you are members of Ukip.
“‘We do feel that they had a hidden agenda. It was in their interests for us to keep quiet. These people thought we would just quietly sink into the background [but] we are not just going to go away and remain quiet, we have been so badly treated.'”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9706739/Ukip-fostering-row-mafia-council-told-us-to-keep-quiet-say-parents.html
Mac on… the Rotherham UKIP row.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239575/Mac–Rotherham-UKIP-row.html
Are you interested/concerned about Islamic jihadists in e.g. Syria?
Well, apparently all we need to do is get a two minutes’ soundbite on this from presumably some Muslim at BBC Arabic (or Al Jazeera Arabic?)
“Jihadists in Syria: What you need to know”
By BBC Arabic.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20465287
From the way, and tone of voice in which this is presented, is there any suggestion that the West should treat such Islamic jihadists as our enemy?
Choudary.
What priority will INBBC’s Casciani and INBBC chum Chakrabarti give to opposing Choudary’s re-entry to U.K if he goes to Islamic Republic of Pakistan?:-
“Few would shed tears if Britain barred Anjem Choudary from returning.”
By Shiraz Maher.
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2012/11/few-would-shed-tears-if-britain-barred-anjem-choudary-from-returning/