OT. Schools...normality and Coronavirus.

[ramAnag]

I haven't commented anything of the sort, but you hear what you want to hear.

Tbf...I did say, ‘I may have misunderstood’. I thought that was what you were implying yesterday...especially in post #329.

[swaledale]

The BBC are left leaning and have been caught out with several biased stances. Brexit is the classic. You only had to watch question time to ascertain that.
They have been very anti Tory before and during the last election, which has Johnson at the moment gunning for them over the license.

What comes out now?
Labour and it's side of the media were being fed leaked documents by "Russia"
Oh how we lapped it up, said the press.
Lets flood the news to push our cause, to get power.

Lets face it, if your of a right wing persuasion then you will think the BBC is biased towards the left.

The factcheck website shows the BBC to be slightly left leaning but not significantly so and its news reports to be factual rather than opinionated.

Let’s look at some of the key figures of the BBC some of whom ahve now moved on.

James Harding (Director of BBC News)- An Oxbridge former classmate of George Osborne, James Harding is as establishment as establishment gets, he was a key player in the phone hacking scandal as Editor of The Times (a Murdoch rag). Despite lying to the high court during the enquiry, when Cameron tasked Oliver Letwin with setting up a ‘regulatory body’, Harding was the first guy in line to lend a hand. A year later, he’s in charge of auntie Beeb.

David Dimbleby- Former member of the Bullingdon Club. If you don’t know what that is picture football hooligans in bow ties. They like to smash up restaraunts with no consequences simply because they are privelidged enough to pay for the damages. Boris Johnson, David Cameron, George Osborne, John Profumo and even Winston Churchill’s dad were all once members of this glorified frat.

Laura Kuennsberg- Not only did she orchestrate the Stephen Doughty fiasco but she was reprimanded by the BBC Trust for breaching the station’s impartiality and accuracy guidelines by doctoring a Jeremy Corbyn interview to mislead the public in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

Nick Robinson- Former President of the Oxford University Conservative Association, founder member of the Macclesfield Young Conservatives, former chairman of the National Young Conservatives.

Andrew Neil- Member of the Glasgow University Conservative Club, worked for the Conservatives as a research assistant, worked for News Corp and was a contributor of the Daily Mail.
How could it possibly get any more right wing? Do you want hangings during Strictly?


I personally think this perception problem with the bbc is the result of effective propaganda. The right wing politically are not happy with any sort of criticism. They are probably also considered left wing because they have journalistic integrity and not report on every snippet they read from some guy’s conspiracy blog as news. They report facts and truth which are probably concepts not popular on the right wing.

The BBC is more balanced and fair than the majority of national broadcasters in this world.


The right berate the BBC for failing to heap praise on a faltering government. They are angered when the BBC tries to hold ministers to account.

The left are frustrated when far right parties get frequently invited to participate in debates and decry right wing political bias shown by some senior BBC journalists.

The fact that the BBC is being attacked from both sides, suggests that, broadly speaking, the centre of mass is neutral. And that the corporation is doing its job.

It would be literally impossible for the BBC to take a position which satisfied everyone.

[Andy_Faber]

The BBC is more balanced and fair than the majority of national broadcasters in this world.
.

That’s still true IMO but my observation is that increasingly over the past decade it’s moved from balanced oversight to taking a stance on issues and steering the viewer/listener in that direction.

[ramAnag]

Lets face it, if your of a right wing persuasion then you will think the BBC is biased towards the left.

The factcheck website shows the BBC to be slightly left leaning but not significantly so and its news reports to be factual rather than opinionated.

Let’s look at some of the key figures of the BBC some of whom ahve now moved on.

James Harding (Director of BBC News)- An Oxbridge former classmate of George Osborne, James Harding is as establishment as establishment gets, he was a key player in the phone hacking scandal as Editor of The Times (a Murdoch rag). Despite lying to the high court during the enquiry, when Cameron tasked Oliver Letwin with setting up a ‘regulatory body’, Harding was the first guy in line to lend a hand. A year later, he’s in charge of auntie Beeb.

David Dimbleby- Former member of the Bullingdon Club. If you don’t know what that is picture football hooligans in bow ties. They like to smash up restaraunts with no consequences simply because they are privelidged enough to pay for the damages. Boris Johnson, David Cameron, George Osborne, John Profumo and even Winston Churchill’s dad were all once members of this glorified frat.

Laura Kuennsberg- Not only did she orchestrate the Stephen Doughty fiasco but she was reprimanded by the BBC Trust for breaching the station’s impartiality and accuracy guidelines by doctoring a Jeremy Corbyn interview to mislead the public in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

Nick Robinson- Former President of the Oxford University Conservative Association, founder member of the Macclesfield Young Conservatives, former chairman of the National Young Conservatives.

Andrew Neil- Member of the Glasgow University Conservative Club, worked for the Conservatives as a research assistant, worked for News Corp and was a contributor of the Daily Mail.
How could it possibly get any more right wing? Do you want hangings during Strictly?


I personally think this perception problem with the bbc is the result of effective propaganda. The right wing politically are not happy with any sort of criticism. They are probably also considered left wing because they have journalistic integrity and not report on every snippet they read from some guy’s conspiracy blog as news. They report facts and truth which are probably concepts not popular on the right wing.

The BBC is more balanced and fair than the majority of national broadcasters in this world.


The right berate the BBC for failing to heap praise on a faltering government. They are angered when the BBC tries to hold ministers to account.

The left are frustrated when far right parties get frequently invited to participate in debates and decry right wing political bias shown by some senior BBC journalists.

The fact that the BBC is being attacked from both sides, suggests that, broadly speaking, the centre of mass is neutral. And that the corporation is doing its job.

It would be literally impossible for the BBC to take a position which satisfied everyone.

Well put Swale, couldn’t agree more and nice to see a few facts.

The two key sentiments are, imo, your final sentence, ‘it would be literally impossible for the BBC to take a position which satisfied everyone’, and the one Andy alludes to, ‘The BBC is more balanced and fair than the majority of national broadcasters in this world.’

I’m sure if the likes of Naga Munchetty, Louise Minchin, Dan Walker, Charlie Stayt, Alex Jones, Matt Baker, Huw Edwards, Matt Allwright, Clive Myrie, Jane Hill, Emily Maitlis and Andrew Marr etc were all the closet Corbynistas and rabid left wingers full of revolutionary zeal that some suggest, then TTR would have produced an appropriate YouTube clip by now.

I imagine that if your job involves the daily covering and investigation of serious social issues then you are likely to become a little ‘left leaning’, but to suggest there is anything more sinister going on seems totally absurd to me. Be careful what you wish for.

[Geoff Parkstone]

That last point is very relevant rA. Exposure to issues creates support for them more often than not

But I rarely if ever watch bbc tv, and certainly not political / current affairs programmes. I find the bbc radio services much more informative.

[ramAnag]

That last point is very relevant rA. Exposure to issues creates support for them more often than not

But I rarely if ever watch bbc tv, and certainly not political / current affairs programmes. I find the bbc radio services much more informative.

Inclined to agree, GP. Same organisation though, and I used the TV examples because this whole argument blew up from specific criticism of Ms. Munchetty, an occasionally irritating but otherwise very competent presenter...imo.

[Trickytreesreds]

Well put Swale, couldn’t agree more and nice to see a few facts.

The two key sentiments are, imo, your final sentence, ‘it would be literally impossible for the BBC to take a position which satisfied everyone’, and the one Andy alludes to, ‘The BBC is more balanced and fair than the majority of national broadcasters in this world.’

I’m sure if the likes of Naga Munchetty, Louise Minchin, Dan Walker, Charlie Stayt, Alex Jones, Matt Baker, Huw Edwards, Matt Allwright, Clive Myrie, Jane Hill, Emily Maitlis and Andrew Marr etc were all the closet Corbynistas and rabid left wingers full of revolutionary zeal that some suggest, then TTR would have produced an appropriate YouTube clip by now.

I imagine that if your job involves the daily covering and investigation of serious social issues then you are likely to become a little ‘left leaning’, but to suggest there is anything more sinister going on seems totally absurd to me. Be careful what you wish for.

But you moan at Youtube clips?
In fact you refuse to listen, because you don't like the information presented.

You and Swale like it, bacause it suits your stance. The BBC has more copies of the Gaurdian around the place than any other paper.

Here's one from the BBC try to defend it. Even though the pol being run at the time showed how little trust the public has in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-SgsoHMCPk radio

Listen to this on BBC inside political programming. Robin Aitkin MBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSy8bWuuWQU&t=662s

Impartial my ass, in politics/diversity/woke issues

[swaledale]

That’s still true IMO but my observation is that increasingly over the past decade it’s moved from balanced oversight to taking a stance on issues and steering the viewer/listener in that direction.

That opinion is no doubt influenced by your philosophy, as indeed everybody's is, but personal perceptions are notoriously inaccurate for obvious reasons we all live in our own personal bubble, but its difficult to argue with an an unbiased review of its output over a considerable period of time!

[AdiSalisbury]

Sorry, I'm with Tricky. I don't need the youtube links or plucked Swaley facts, I have my own eyes and ears and trust them better to form an opinion than anything else. The BBC (and most others, but seeing as we all have a legal obligation to fund the Beeb, I've the right to feel aggreived with their behaviour) do not report with impartiality, they push their agenda's and coerce viewers direction of opinion, whether through careful coperate direction, or by allowing individual reporters to run away with their political leanings.

[swaledale]

But you moan at Youtube clips?
In fact you refuse to listen, because you don't like the information presented.

You and Swale like it, bacause it suits your stance. The BBC has more copies of the Gaurdian around the place than any other paper.

Here's one from the BBC try to defend it. Even though the pol being run at the time showed how little trust the public has in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-SgsoHMCPk radio

Listen to this on BBC inside political programming. Robin Aitkin MBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSy8bWuuWQU&t=662s

Impartial my ass, in politics/diversity/woke issues

But your merely displaying your extreme prejudice here, as in fact most of your posts do, and lets face it you have been shown to be somewhat cavalier with the facts and indeed the source of your views!

You happen to be at odds with the way society is developing, I get it that for a dinosaur and bigot like yourself this is uncomfortable and against your views, but unfortunately for you, times change, attitudes change and whilst there may indeed be a large number of the population who to some extent share these views, this is the reality and either accept that or as i suspect will be the case grumble and moan down the pub and the internet until you shuffle off your mortal coil.