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Would you say BBC News swings more to the right or left

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Reply 20
Original post by Mathemagicien
Its the least biased I have come across. It is very careful to be politically correct, but other than that there is very little bias imo


Ever tried Reuters?
Original post by Retired_Messiah
I read a wikipedia article of criticism against the BBC once and it had both pro-muslim bias and anti-muslim bias on it so I haven't a clue what they're doin.


It can be both at the same time. For the sake of preserving social order it runs positive stories about Islam and uses positive language when talking about Muslims, but the way in which it presents Islam would be considered blasphemous under an Islamic worldview and it manufactures consent for the killing of Muslims.

This is what I meant when I said it is a progressive mouthpiece.
I think the BBC's problem is that it is establishmentarian. It leans whichever way the upper-middle class urban elite who work within it do.

They as a rule these days pay lip-service to socialism, so I guess you can say it's left-leaning, but that's not based on any solid lasting organizational ideology. It's just the virtue signalling of their staff and intended audience.
The left want to keep the BBC, the right want to privatise it, that tells you everything you need to know, the left like it as it helps them.
Reply 24
Original post by Drewski
I think the fact that it gets a pretty even number of complaints from people claiming it's "too right" and "too left" suggests it's doing a pretty good job overall.

People will always see a bias if they want to.
The "too right" complaints are likely to come from sandal and sock wearing beardie Graudian readers or SWP/Momentum members
(edited 7 years ago)
For the most part it's unbiased. Bias problems I've seen tend to be with individual articles and/or journalists, rather than a deliberate bias running through the organisation.

Right wing people accuse it of being left wing biased, left wing people accuse it of right wing bias. It was being accused of being anti UKIP when it ran stories about UKIP candidates, and of being pro-UKIP by giving Farage "too much" coverage back when his party didn't have a single MP. And this happens for lots of political issues - both sides of a debate will accuse it of bias at some point, and I get a bit sick of it to be honest.

The BBC does have bias problems with some articles as I've said, but it's nowhere near the level that a lot of people make it out to be.
Original post by generallee
It is hardly doing itself or the country any favours with its relentlessly negative post Brexit coverage.

We are leaving the EU, so would it be too much to examine the ways in which we will make this work? It is kinda important.


So basically it's biased because it didn't pump out positive leave stories like the dailymail, which was at one point claiming the pound would surge on a leave...? http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=GBP&to=USD&view=1M
It swings more to the right imo.
Original post by viffer
The "too right" complaints are likely to come from sandal and sock wearing beardie Graudian readers or SWP/Momentum members


So what?

Doesn't matter who the complaints come from, the fact that they get them is enough. And when they do get them, they tend to get an equal amount from both side. That's a pretty good indicator of a lack of bias to me.
Nothing but anti-Corbyn attacks and leading up to the referendum it focused entirely on the leave campaign. They are being forced to become right-wing because the tories are constantly threatening to cut its funding even further, that's why it tends to pander.
Original post by BefuddledPenguin
Nothing but anti-Corbyn attacks and leading up to the referendum it focused entirely on the leave campaign. They are being forced to become right-wing because the tories are constantly threatening to cut its funding even further, that's why it tends to pander.


Spot on.
Reply 32
Original post by Drewski
So what?

Doesn't matter who the complaints come from, the fact that they get them is enough. And when they do get them, they tend to get an equal amount from both side. That's a pretty good indicator of a lack of bias to me.
You clearly haven't thought that through. Al Beeb is undoubtedly left of centre. The issue is the extent of that. My point is that those very Left of centre will consider it too right for their liking. That doesn't alter or excuse bias from a publicly funded broadcaster.
Original post by BefuddledPenguin
Nothing but anti-Corbyn attacks and leading up to the referendum it focused entirely on the leave campaign. They are being forced to become right-wing because the tories are constantly threatening to cut its funding even further, that's why it tends to pander.


Just because they attack Jeremy Corbyn that doesn't mean they're somehow a right wing news outlet. BBC News see Jeremy as an unelectable socialist - and who doesn't? He has never had a job in the private sector, his main appeal is to idealistic young people and his economic policies border complete lunacy. The BBC, I'll admit, is not a far-left organisation - but it is centre-left. The BBC want someone like Yvette Cooper or Andy Burnham to lead the party because they see those two as more serious electoral candidates; it's only Corbyn supports who see otherwise.
Original post by viffer
You clearly haven't thought that through. Al Beeb is undoubtedly left of centre. The issue is the extent of that. My point is that those very Left of centre will consider it too right for their liking. That doesn't alter or excuse bias from a publicly funded broadcaster.


Their duty is to provide balance, not a lack of bias. People will always have bias - it's nigh on impossible to remove that completely.
Reply 35
Original post by BefuddledPenguin
Nothing but anti-Corbyn attacks and leading up to the referendum it focused entirely on the leave campaign. They are being forced to become right-wing because the tories are constantly threatening to cut its funding even further, that's why it tends to pander.


So you can't criticise Corbyn without being pigeonholed as right wing?
Left more than right. But even so, it seems like most media outlets are right anyway, so in the interest of equality something swinging to the left from time to time is fair.
Reply 37
Original post by Drewski
Their duty is to provide balance.
One they do not try hard enough to achieve
Reply 38
Original post by Craig1998
Left more than right. But even so, it seems like most media outlets are right anyway, so in the interest of equality something swinging to the left from time to time is fair.
A taxpayer funded public broadcaster has a duty to be balanced in its own output. Not redress the overall balance in privately owned media output.
Original post by viffer
One they do not try hard enough to achieve


In your opinion.

In mine they do a pretty decent job.



There's also the small matter of are you a good judge of what they're trying to do if you don't actually know what it is they're doing? Are they going for no bias, or are they going for balance? They're two fundamentally different things with very different methods. If you don't know what their aim is, how can you possibly be a judge of how they're achieving it?
(edited 7 years ago)

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