The BBC up to its old tricks

I once told a friend of mine, who works for the BBC, that the reason I criticise it is that I feel as if I own it and care for it. There are two problems with the organisation. The first is that it is far, far too big. One or two TV channels, one or two radio channels, its excellent news service put out on multiple formats and that would be enough.

The other problem is its bias, which really must be addressed.

Two examples, taken at the same time on two separate days. There are others.

Yesterday on the Today radio programme, Evan Davis introduced a piece on Directors’ pay (in the news that day). Guess what the BBC line is on this – impartial and feeling it is a matter for the owners of the company? No, you are harking back to the days of Lord Reith. They gathered together two people who agreed it was too high and, just in case either of them differed from the BBC line, the presenter, Evan Davis framed his questions at such length that they could hardly get a word in edgeways. These were effectively short speeches to which he invited the contributors to agree.

Today, at around the same time, Jim Naughtie, who to be fair is known to have left-wing sympathies, I just don’t understand how he is allowed to present a news programme, did a piece on the protesters who forced the closure of St Paul’s Cathedral for the first time since the war. He gathered together two people who thought, extraordinarily, that the Church of England should be involved in the purely political matter of the worth of the City of London, and again pronounced the BBC line, inviting them to agree. They did, of course.

These two pieces were presented as impartial comment. They are two egregious examples, and you can see and hear them every day, of appalling, politically motivated journalism. People complain about the American Fox News being biased to the Right Wing but this is exactly the same coming from the other direction, and at least Fox doesn’t pretend to be anything other than it is.

It is not the function of the taxpayer-funded broadcaster to disseminate left-wing  opinion. For years it has advertised positions only in the left-wing Guardian newspaper and we are now suffering from the results.

Another malevolent ‘line’ from the BBC is its support for, indeed almost complete lack of criticism of, the European Union. This topic is highly relevant now, in that (a) it seems to be falling apart and (b) a large number of MPs, to say nothing of a majority of the people, want us to leave the EU. What sort of debate do you think the BBC is going to offer when its Chairman and his deputy have both often mouthed their contempt for anyone who even criticises the EU?

It is with great regret that I say this, but I am coming to the conclusion that unless things change dramatically in this organisation, we are going to be forced to get rid of a wonderful institution, rooted in, but no longer supporting, a superb set of ideals. But what else can we do?

We can't let it go on.