Sunday, March 04, 2007
I've officially given up on the BBC
What a load of rubbish their coverage of Conference has been. Having to endure The World at One's take on the weekend (which included a lengthy interview with the Tory candidate in Sutton & Cheam saying how she was going to beat the Lib Dems at the next election) was painful enough. Now I see that they've put up this piece claiming that Ming's speech means he is "setting out the conditions for a coalition with Labour".
The optimist in me likes to think this was just a piece of lazy reporting - the cynic in me thinks it was a case of wilful misunderstanding. But having been in the room for the entire speech I can honestly say that the thought of coalitions did not cross my mind. In context, the "five tests" section came across as a way to draw key distinctions between us and Labour that Brown is very unlikely to change - and in such a way to echo Brown's "five key tests" on joining the Euro.
My guess as to what has happened is that the reporter who wrote that article didn't even watch the speech - most likely they have simply reproduced this press release and got the message totally, totally wrong.
And Ming did mention proportional representation - it got the loudest and most sustained round of applause in the entire speech. So there.
Edit: If anyone knows who the anonymous "senior party official" mentioned in the BBC article is, do tell. Is it someone who actually speaks for the Leadership or just a random officer with a grudge? Either way, they have questions to answer.
The optimist in me likes to think this was just a piece of lazy reporting - the cynic in me thinks it was a case of wilful misunderstanding. But having been in the room for the entire speech I can honestly say that the thought of coalitions did not cross my mind. In context, the "five tests" section came across as a way to draw key distinctions between us and Labour that Brown is very unlikely to change - and in such a way to echo Brown's "five key tests" on joining the Euro.
My guess as to what has happened is that the reporter who wrote that article didn't even watch the speech - most likely they have simply reproduced this press release and got the message totally, totally wrong.
And Ming did mention proportional representation - it got the loudest and most sustained round of applause in the entire speech. So there.
Edit: If anyone knows who the anonymous "senior party official" mentioned in the BBC article is, do tell. Is it someone who actually speaks for the Leadership or just a random officer with a grudge? Either way, they have questions to answer.
# posted by Joe Taylor @ 4:19 pm 
Comments:
The quality of BBC news has dipped recently. My take on this (ex newpaper journalist, also confirmed by a couple of insiders:
• they're trying to chase Sky News do:
• straight news reporting and comment is now mixed, often in the same 'news' piece
• the BBC news website is established and has lost its once excellent touch and authority
• they're bothered by new media and are trying to compete in a way an organisation like the Beeb can't - all they're doing is letting opinion get in the way of the job of reporting the news.
• they're - I suspect - full of left-leaning arts and humanities graduates for whom opinion is stock in trade and objectivity (insert postmodern shit here)
I'm a semi-detatched party member: I think we're least worst option, so am not inclined to get very upset if the media don't love us, but I have to say that the BBC's coverage of the conferrence was utter, partial, agenda-ridden shit.
• they're trying to chase Sky News do:
• straight news reporting and comment is now mixed, often in the same 'news' piece
• the BBC news website is established and has lost its once excellent touch and authority
• they're bothered by new media and are trying to compete in a way an organisation like the Beeb can't - all they're doing is letting opinion get in the way of the job of reporting the news.
• they're - I suspect - full of left-leaning arts and humanities graduates for whom opinion is stock in trade and objectivity (insert postmodern shit here)
I'm a semi-detatched party member: I think we're least worst option, so am not inclined to get very upset if the media don't love us, but I have to say that the BBC's coverage of the conferrence was utter, partial, agenda-ridden shit.
Well he did say that if he passed these 5 tests Brown would be the guy to lead Britain which seems clear to me.
The fact that the LD flack said the same thing merely puts a tin hat on what Ming said.
If Brown says he will aim at those 5 (the only tangible change would be dumping id cards) then Ming not just his flack are committed to helping him.
In which case either vote for the Labour organ grinder or the Tory alternative.
The fact that the LD flack said the same thing merely puts a tin hat on what Ming said.
If Brown says he will aim at those 5 (the only tangible change would be dumping id cards) then Ming not just his flack are committed to helping him.
In which case either vote for the Labour organ grinder or the Tory alternative.
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