The BBC’s ‘on the ground’ piece for the Christmas junior doctors’ strike is based almost entirely on uncritical quotes from two BMA officials who are not named as such. This is the award-winning journalism you pay for on pain of prosecution…
Yesterday’s article in the South of England section was titled “I am sleep-deprived, overworked and deserve more” and carried quotes from three people, one of whom was the chief executive of the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust in Reading. The only two junior doctors consulted were called Heather Gunn and Matt Bilton. Gunn said “I do not want to be strike, I want to be at work helping my colleagues. Unfortunately the reality is that many doctors like myself face the prospect of not having a job”…
Bilton said “The government… put an offer this past week but it was too little, too late, and so unfortunately we have no alternative.” Nice line that, wonder who came up with it…
Nowhere in the piece does the BBC care to mention that Gunn is deputy chairman of the BMA’s South Central Regional Council and Matt Bilton is longtime Chairman of the BMA’s Thames Valley Regional Resident Doctors Committee. Pop that piece in the bin would you darling…
The BBC has today sent an round robin email to members of a staff network:
“A message from Alice Macandrew (BBC Pride Executive Sponsor) and Simone Marquis (Chief Talent and Inclusion Officer)
Dear all,
We recognise that the last few days have been difficult for many of you. Like many other organisations, the BBC is waiting to see the updated Equality Act 2010 Code of Practice in order to understand the Supreme Court ruling more fully and any legal implications to our policies and practices.
We want to be really clear that in no circumstances will we accept this ruling being used as a mechanic to create an environment of hostility towards our trans and non-binary colleagues. We are committed to ensuring that everyone at the BBC feels safe and accepted when they come to work – and that we engender a culture of belonging. This means all of us of us working together.
For that reason, we’re keen to create a space to hear from our trans and non- binary colleagues on what more we can do to create an environment where the community feels valued, safe and respected. We would like to invite trans and non-binary colleagues to a dedicated In-Person Listening session.
It will be a great opportunity for us to meet you and for you to share how you are feeling, to help us understand what some of your challenges are and discuss your thoughts about what practical steps we could take to create an inclusive environment. Alice will host as the ExCo Sponsor while Rhodri Evans from the D&l team will be present to help facilitate the session alongside Anna Shackleton the HR Director for BBC Pride, and Matt the co-chair of BBC Pride We’ve arranged two sessions, one in London and one in Salford.”
The BBC confirms to Guido this is internal email – “a staff network message to their members, not a corporate central message from the BBC.” Talk about impartial reporting…
Guido had a cursory scroll of the BBC News website earlier and had a look at their article titled: “UK borrowing costs at highest for a year after Budget.” That headline is nowhere to be seen now…
The article was given a new headline by 10 a.m. today on online displays: “Investors reaction to Budget ‘very different’ to Truss, says Reeves’ colleague.” The entire top of the piece had market analysis replaced with supportive quotes from ‘colleague’ Darren Jones. Who happens to be Chief Secretary to the Treasury…
Gone is testimony from actual analysts:
“Yields have been driven higher after the chancellor announced a sharp rise in government borrowing… Kathleen Brooks, an analyst at trading firm XTB, said the movement indicated that the Budget ‘has not been well received’ by markets. ‘This is another sign that the chancellor overestimated the market’s desire to absorb more sovereign debt issuance from the UK,’ she said.”
That was replaced by multiple quotes from Jones claiming a spike in gilt yields was fine and normal:
“He said investors always reacted to Budgets because they present a whole load of new information. ‘We’ve all got a bit of anxiety from what happened when Liz Truss was in government.'”
The article’s headline doesn’t reference Jones, so it just reads “Investors’ reaction to Budget ‘very different’ to Truss.” So it looks to a layman like an impartial observer’s view…
Note the article isn’t a live piece. BBC readers can’t see previous updates – just the brand new Labour-positive version. Wouldn’t be the first time the BBC has caved in to the slightest pressure from the Number 10 press office…
Robert Jenrick on the Today programme:
“Can you now give a guarantee to your listeners this morning that no BBC presenter in the future will be exposed as a paedophile, as a number have been in the recent past? No, of course you can’t…”
