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

[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.