News from the New Party

Impartiality and the BBC

It is gratifying to learn that the BBC has been considering the issue of impartiality with respect to its output.  It would be even more gratifying if the report commissioned by the BBC to consider the matter demonstrated any real comprehension of where the problems might be.

Rather than tackle the woeful news coverage of the Middle East, for example, which appears to hold Israel responsible for the Hamas/Fatah fighting in Gaza last week, it has alighted on what it appears to regard as a far more grievous instance of bias: the corporation's weather maps.

The introduction of the BBC's 3D weather maps in 2005 was used as an example of how the corporation can be seen as biased towards the south-east of England.

Because of the way the maps were tilted, they appeared to suggest that northern Scotland was on the periphery.

Although the problem was quickly ironed out, the report warned that "the continuing practice of giving temperature forecasts for conurbations rather than rural areas may suggest a presumption that the bulk of the audience lives in large cities, whereas the opposite is in fact the case".

It is a sad fact, but we are obliged to point out to the geographically-challenged apparatchiks of the BBC that northern Scotland is on the periphery.  Not everybody can live within fifty miles of Birmingham, some places are just a bit further out of the way than others.  That's life.  No doubt this is understood by the people of the Outer Hebrides, who presumably have more urgent concerns than the niceties of the presentation of BBC weather forecasts. 

More seriously, the BBC report has acknowledged that its unconditional surrender to the Make Poverty History campaign in the run up to Live 8 may have breached editorial guidelines, and anticipates that the London Olympics of 2012 may present the corporation with further challenges:

"Coverage of international championships has sometimes drawn criticism that the British media are too preoccupied with British competitors," it said.

"That pull will be all the greater when the Olympic flame reaches British soil in what is likely to be the year of the Queen's diamond jubilee".

Heaven forfend that the BBC might be seen to support British athletes. 

On balance, it has to be said that while the BBC deserves some credit for addressing the issue, this report has demonstrated largely that it has no serious understanding of the problems, or of how to correct them.  The BBC Trust member responsible for the report is Richard Tait:

"BBC audiences believe that impartiality should not lead to political correctness," said Richard Tait, the BBC Trust member in charge of the report.

"The BBC agrees and one of our new principles makes clear that impartiality is no excuse for insipid programme-making."

The point is, however, that political correctness is the default position of the BBC and that this is what is driving much of the BBC's impartiality.  The ludicrous realignment of weather maps to counter imaginary offence and outrage from outlying areas of the country; the concern to be seen to avoid supporting British athletes at the Olympics; and the enthusiastic support for the Make Poverty History campaign are all obviously instances of political correctness skewing BBC editorial and decision-making processes.  Andrew Marr is quoted in the BBC report as saying that the corporation has an "innate liberal bias".  We can quibble about his definition of the term liberal, but he is essentially correct.  This report will do nothing to counter the corporation's innate bias.