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

[norwyn.livejournal.com]

Let me know how that works for you...I've been unsatisfied with our news coverage here...listen to the song "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley, and you will get the gist of what passes for news here.

Apparently, the only peoples that it is still socially appropriate to express prejudice against are the Israelis and the Christians.

[fishlivejournal.livejournal.com]

It worries me that the venom is directed against people who have been able to create working democracies. It implies that their real objection is to freedom.

[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.

Have a different model!

[fishlivejournal.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the length, but I figured you'd want the whole article. APN is always willing to complain about the secular media, so I think this must be accurate:
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ONE GOOD FRIDAY SYDNEY GAVE ITS HEART TO JESUS CHRIST
Editors note: The heading for our story is not ours but was taken directly from a secular newspaper reporting on the Stations of the Cross held on the Friday of World Youth Day in Sydney. Such was the impact of the event on the hearts of Sydney-siders both Christian and otherwise.

The Bible came to life across Sydney last week as the final days of Jesus were re-enacted, watched by scores of thousands who lined the route of the procession, gathered at the various stations of the cross set up across the city, and at the site where the principal gatherings of World Youth Day were held on the shores of Sydney Harbour.

A young actor walked the path Jesus took to His death and was crucified on a five-metre cross towering above the lights of Sydney Harbour. For three hours, Sydney was transformed into the streets of ancient Jerusalem during the spectacular re-enactment of the last hours of the life of Jesus Christ as part of a landmark event in the World Youth Day celebrations.

The Last Supper of Jesus and His disciples was conducted on the steps of St Mary's Cathedral, Jesus was condemned to death at the NSW Art Gallery, whipped and scourged at the Opera House, made a spectacular entrance by barge under Sydney Harbour Bridge to Cockle Bay and was crucified at East Darling Harbour. At the crucifixion, it was a much more solemn crowd than that which estatically welcomed the Pope to Sydney or joined the Sydney Archbishop, Cardinal George Pell, for the World Youth Day opening Mass.

In fading light the 27-year-old actor, Alfio Stutio, was dragged to centre stage by his centurion guards, stripped of his robes then tied to a wooden and metal cross. In what has been likened to Cathy Freeman's lighting of the Olympic cauldron, but without the mechanical hiccup, the Cross of Calvary was hydraulically raised and Jesus suffered His final torment overlooking picturesque Sydney Harbour bathed in an ephemeral sunset afterglow. Amazing Grace was sung, the Lord's Prayer recited and Jesus, in a bitter wind, promised paradise to the thief and died.

His body was brought down from the cross and cradled by a weeping Mary. The dramatic ending pointed pilgrims to the message of Christ's resurrection which was celebrated last Sunday at the closing Mass of World Youth Day at Randwick racecourse presided over by Pope Benedict.

In between those two events on Saturday evening Randwick Racecourse was transformed into a sea of colour and candle light as an estimated 235,000 people took part in the candle-lit Evening Vigil which was a spectacular two-hour presentation of liturgy and music. The atmosphere was one of both joyful celebration and prayerful reflection. The Vigil explored the theme of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the way in which the Holy Spirit works to transform the lives of the pilgrims. One attendee described the evening as “a truly special and memorable occasion.”

On the Sunday some 400,000 people attended the final Papal Mass which brought a remarkable week to a close before pilgrims and the Pope began their long journeys home.

Source: Compiled by APN from media reports