I don't like this BBC. May I turn it in for another model?

[fpb]

Preferably one with less prejudice towards Israel and us.

Comments

[stigandnasty919.livejournal.com]

Fabio, I presume by 'us', you either mean the Catholic Church or the Christian religion. I'd be interested in knowing if there has been something specific in the news or elsewhere that has prompted this comment?

I've been on holiday for a while and have not been listening to the BBC news as much as usual.

In a general way I would probably be more critical of Israel and some of its policies than you would. I would hope that my views are not as a result of prejudice (and I wonder where that prejudice might come from) but if a lifetime in Northern Ireland has taught me nothing else it is that your own prejudices are amongst the most difficult aspects of your personality to recognise.

I also have to say that the more I read newspapers on subjects I know something about - Northern Ireland, the credit crisis etc - the more I recognise the limitations of the press and media. Whether through prejudice, laziness or the inability to understand the complexities of issues, reporters seem to descend to simplistic memes rather than providing a balanced picture. Which is why I get the impression that most reporting of difficult issues is poor. For every unbalanced Guardian article there is an equally unbalanced one in the Daily Mail.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

By "us" I meant the Church, but I might as well have said Italy. The Berlusconi Government - and I am no Berlusconi supporter - has been tarred and feathered by time-servers in the European Parliament for a necessary and indeed inevitable census of Gypsy children in Italy, which, given the horror stories that come out of Gypsy camps. would probably do more to help the Gypsy children themselves than anything the anti-racist lobby has ever done. But what I particularly had in mind was the BBC's atrocious covering of World Youth Day in Sydney. Half a million kids filled Sydney, the Pope pronounced what are widely said to have been memorable speeches, there were many issues with Australian reception or otherwise of the biggest event since the Sydney Olympics. What I mean is that, even if you did not like the Church, there were a lot of stories for any journalist with half a notion of his/her trade to pick up. And what did the BBC speak of, from beginning to end? You guessed it. Priestly child abuse. Absolutely nothing else. As a matter of fact, the Pope made a very fine speech on the subject, and at the very close of his visit made what I regard as a more touching gesture: he said private Mass for four victims of abuse after speaking with them. But if you listened to the BBC you would imagine that nothing else had happened, and, by the way, that nothing serious had been said or done.

[stigandnasty919.livejournal.com]

Sounds, again, like 'line of least resistance' reporting. To report in more detail might require a reporter to try to understand what was said. Best to report on something everyone has heard about before - easier for them.

Is it dreadful, misleading and possibly damaging to the Church? Yes!

Is it different from the way other, many other, issues are reported? Not so sure.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Indeed. That is why I mentioned the abuse of Berlusconi. I should have mentioned that the BBC obediently repeated the whole slanted and indeed falsified account on which the European Parliament based its screed.