Redwood v BBC update

This is definitely going to run and run.

Just in case you need reminding



Iain Dale having sought peace with Helen Boaden has despaired of this morning's bulletins on BBC Radio,

Apparently although I did not hear,they started with

Labour has sharply criticised Tory plans to...

And Iain continues

There followed a thirty second clip of Alistair Darling accusing the Conservatives of a lurch to the right and more besides. There was no balancing Conservative voice and little attempt to explain the context. My complaint is not particularly one of bias,although you can understand why Conservatives get hot under the collar about this sort of thing. My complaint is of shoddy journalism. I have no idea what your news guidelines are, but might I respectfully suggest that they need updating.

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I have just quickly watched the latest bulletin on News 24 which starts along the lines of the "Conservatives are planning to abolish inheritance tax.....George Osbourne has refuted suggestions etc etc.Radio 4's world at one uses almost the same words in its bulletin,it is over a minute into the bulletin before Labour comments are mentioned.Perhaps someone has been listening??

An apology too far

More on the BBC and the John Redwood controversy.The corporation has com in for some critisism tghis week over its reporting of John Redwood's policy inititive and Helen Boaden has apologised for using old footage of the former minister attempting o sing along to the Welsh National anthem.

This morning's Indy carries a piece by Terence Blacker where he argues that the apology may have gone too far.Cynically he says that

So pronounced is the corporation's new addiction to confession that the Today programme might usefully consider replacing its "Thought for the Day" spot with a "BBC Public Grovel of the Day".

Adding that

Redwood's none-too-original brainwave (to save money, it would be sensible to cut red tape) received wide, generally even-handed coverage on the BBC news. The inclusion of an unfortunate incident from his past may not have been strictly relevant or fair, but then politics has never been fair.

Totally agree Terence

Redwood-BBC fights back

The arguments about the BBC's coverage of the John Redwood policy initiative continues(see earlier post)

Helen Boaden writing on the editors blog concedes that it wasnt correct for the corporatio to use the footage of Redwood trying to sing along to the Welsh National anthem when he was Welsh minister in the Major government.However she refutes the suggestions that the wording of the bulletins was incorrect.

Redwood v the BBC

The Sun isn't very happy about the Beeb's coverage of the John Redwood policy initiative on tackling red tape.

This is what its leader says this morning

THE BBC’s coverage of Tory plans for £14bn cuts in red tape and bureaucracy was a mockery of impartial journalism.
Instead of examining John Redwood’s arguments, it made a joke of them by unearthing his garbled version of the Welsh anthem from a decade ago.
The caustic bulletins could have been scripted by Labour ministers.
Mr Redwood may be a colourful character. But few can match his understanding of the way Labour and the EU have tied our economy in knots with pointless regulation.
Certainly not the BBC — a bastion of smug, self-satisfied bureaucracy which rightly stands accused by its own watchdogs of being “institutionally biased.”

I think that the paper is being a little unfair on the corporation,after all the press in general have been,not expectedly critical of both the policy and the man himself.It is,in my opinion a fair story.Showing that the Tory party are reverting to former politicains from the right to promote new policies.

Footnote

Read what Polly Toynbee says in this morning's Guardian under the headline"The Tories will have lost their senses if they sign up to so much as a single item in John Redwood's reckless rightwing review