Why is the BBC so biased

[i claudius]

I was just watching a report by the BBC about a riot in a detention camp for immigrants trying to get to Australia, they had a long interview with a woman from the green party,who claimed that conditions were atrocious at the camp,and that more and more Australians want them closed and the immigrants allowed in , just a tiny bit that said that many there had commited crimes there and had been deported and others had had their claim turned down .

To be honest if any Australians are reading this it made me ashamed that the British broadcasting service are from my country, spreading untruths like this

[GinBoy2]

All media is biased, the BBC is no different, contrary to I 'think' the popular belief by many Brits.

In this age of many and various news sources the trick is to accept that they all have bias, but as long as they present fact with biased spin, then we as 'hopefully' intelligent consumers can take the input from multiple sources and sort out the truth from the spin.

The problem of course is when those same consumers regard one source as gospel truth and then the self fulfilling prophesy starts to take hold.

I'm American, so maybe we have a heads start with Fox News, but it appears that the BBC is rapidly going down that same road, albeit with a cloak of impartiality! In some ways much more dangerous than Fox, which makes no bones about it's bias

[Baerboxer]

All media is biased, the BBC is no different, contrary to I 'think' the popular belief by many Brits.

In this age of many and various news sources the trick is to accept that they all have bias, but as long as they present fact with biased spin, then we as 'hopefully' intelligent consumers can take the input from multiple sources and sort out the truth from the spin.

The problem of course is when those same consumers regard one source as gospel truth and then the self fulfilling prophesy starts to take hold.

I'm American, so maybe we have a heads start with Fox News, but it appears that the BBC is rapidly going down that same road, albeit with a cloak of impartiality! In some ways much more dangerous than Fox, which makes no bones about it's bias

The "Beeb" is not a private or public company. So supposedly not, like say News Corp, biased to it's owners view. That creates the illusion of impartiality.

The Beeb has moved further to the PC left and liberal ideals and has been censured on a number of occasions.

It is more dangerous because many still think it is putting out the news rather than a version with a spin on it.

Just look at Head's reporting of Thailand as an example. Carefully chosen words to promote the faction he personally favors, no attempt to comment or investigate the side he favors, little or no mention of certain facts, and certainly no balance.

That started a long time ago. Now the very overpaid BBC positions are filled only with those who show the "right" political leanings.

It has become a disgrace to all Journalism once stood for.

[shamrock09]

I could not agree with you more. I have sadly watched the BBC deteriorate over the years. Once it was noted for truth and honesty, but now just a lot of spin. I think,too, you are spot on in the comparison with Fox News. Nice to see somebody making sense on Thai Visa.

All media is biased, the BBC is no different, contrary to I 'think' the popular belief by many Brits.

In this age of many and various news sources the trick is to accept that they all have bias, but as long as they present fact with biased spin, then we as 'hopefully' intelligent consumers can take the input from multiple sources and sort out the truth from the spin.

The problem of course is when those same consumers regard one source as gospel truth and then the self fulfilling prophesy starts to take hold.

I'm American, so maybe we have a heads start with Fox News, but it appears that the BBC is rapidly going down that same road, albeit with a cloak of impartiality! In some ways much more dangerous than Fox, which makes no bones about it's bias

[nong38]

I am afraid that once some people get to the right position they bring in like minded people to consolidate their own position. Head as been mentioned, he sees a different picture than I do most of the time, meanwhile back at BBC HO there are and always have been some rum characters there, some of them look unemployable and their behavior is rather odd, add this to the PC Brigade ( who are bunch of lefties most of the time) and you end up with the sort of bias that more and more are begining to notice. The big problem is how to weed them out and install a more neutral group of people to run what used to be a great organization.

As regards the goings on on Christmas Island the Aussies I know seem to be of the same mind of people in the UK, go back from where you come we are full, we cannot afford to keep you!

[SoiBiker]

Right wing people often think the BBC is biased to the left. Left-wingers often find it biased to the right.

This tells us two things -

1 - The BBC presents a balanced view.

2 - Some people don't like hearing any point of view that contradicts their own.

[i claudius]

Right wing people often think the BBC is biased to the left. Left-wingers often find it biased to the right.

This tells us two things -

1 - The BBC presents a balanced view.

2 - Some people don't like hearing any point of view that contradicts their own.

I do not mind hearing both sides of a story ,unfortunately,the BBC these days only gives one side ,the left's

[simple1]

As a matter of detail the riot at Christmas Island has been reported as instigated by foreign criminals awaiting deportation after serving one or more years in Oz prisons. In some reports it is alleged the primary participants are from NZ.

Twenty-five-year-old detainee Matej Cuperka told the ABC that ex-convicts who had their Australian visas cancelled after serving time in jail started the riot.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-09/guards-abandon-christmas-island-detention-centre/6922866

There is a great deal of debate within Oz on offshore detention and conditions for asylum seekers. It's probably 50 - 50 on those that agree versus disagree with the current treatment & secrecy surrounding the claimants. Hardly a murmur concerning the large numbers who arrive by air with some form of visa (majority Chinese), then immediately claim refugee status.

[allanos]

Research and investigation have shown that the majority of mainstream journalists these days are either liberal or left-leaning.

Inevitably, therefore, there is an in-built lefti-ish bias to their reporting. Often, however well-meaning they think they are being,

they are simply patronising. I see it in a lot of the journalism and reporting which comes out of Africa. There always seems to

be a particular spin applied to it, which, presumably, the writer thinks resonates with his readers' views.

I like to think, and I certainly hope, that there is a "silent majority" of "intelligent" people out there which, as mentioned in some of

the posts here today, derive their information from a variety of sources, consider it, analyse it and then form a balanced opinion

as to where the truth of a particular matter lies.

[partington]

That's because only the left is any good.

People who support righties: generally tossers. (Jeremy Clarkson, Jim Davidson, Andrew LLoyd Webber EDIT: Paul Daniels, Stuart Hall, Bernard Manning, Jimmy Savile!!!)

People who support lefties: witty , clever, and nice people. (David Mitchell, Stephen Fry, Alan Bennett, David Tennant EDIT: Patrick Stewart, Stephen Hawking!).

I don't need to Labour the point .

As you can see I am completely unbiased myself.

Edited November 9, 2015 by partington

[Krataiboy]

It's all Greek, apparently, to poster I Claudius. But why does he accuse the BBC of bias, without presenting any facts to support his case. Maybe he should have watched Al Jazeera's account of the events on Christmas Island instead. This gave considerable detail, including video footage, on the conditions under which would-be immigrants are held and included a first-hand account by a local journalist of the lasting physical and mental damage many inmates suffered as a result.

It is difficult to defend the inhumane attitude of Australia, a country literally built on successive waves of immigration and now one of the least sympathetic to those seeking refuge from war and famine. The White Australia Policy has long been just a part of history, but the same old dog-in-a-manger attitude seems to persist today among "ordinary" Aussies whose forebears cynically destroyed an indigenous people and developed culture to build their glittering new Jerusalem" Down Under".

[Briggsy]

The BBC, particularly its international BBC World Channel, broadcasts one bleeding heart story after another, often portraying Western governments, corporations and people as greedy, uncaring, immoral and responsible for the plight of the rest of the totally messed up countries in the world and their feckless, undisciplined populations.

I am not sure why this is. Here are some ideas.

Western middle class guilt.

Crowd pleasing. The majority of the world are not Western.

A diversionary tactic

Not sure

But here is a fabulous article about it from the Independent.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/why-is-the-bbc-so-bad-at-tv-news-10052412.html

[arthurriding]

Right wing people often think the BBC is biased to the left. Left-wingers often find it biased to the right.

This tells us two things -

1 - The BBC presents a balanced view.

2 - Some people don't like hearing any point of view that contradicts their own.

I do not mind hearing both sides of a story ,unfortunately,the BBC these days only gives one side ,the left's

Actually the truth is that the BBC is far too right wing, not left wing! It gives far too much prominence to crackpot right wing theories, very little to the left wing. There is a weird myth put about by right wingers that somehow most of the mass media in the UK & US is left wing but if you look at reality you can see that in the vast majority of cases it is the right wing view that is mainly reported. Having said that, at least the BBC usually tries to show some of both sides and compared to the weirdo fantasists of Fox News (whose reporters always seem high on some sort of hallucinogenic drugs) the BBC tends to be masters of impartiality. But to be truly impartial the BBC does need to get rid of the predominance of righties who now infect the organisation.

[Rykbanlor]

Right wing people often think the BBC is biased to the left. Left-wingers often find it biased to the right.

This tells us two things -

1 - The BBC presents a balanced view.

2 - Some people don't like hearing any point of view that contradicts their own.

I do not mind hearing both sides of a story ,unfortunately,the BBC these days only gives one side ,the left's

I can't help but feel you've just proved Soi Biker's point there.

[masuk]

I know it seems tough, and Christmas Island is no holiday camp, but it seems that the government is tired of non-citizens breaking the law, so they have a "12 months sentence and you go back to home base" policy.

This is not based on race or colour or nationality. Even Kiwis are being sent home if they break the law, and they've always been considered 'family'.

But the other side of the coin is that more than 12,000 refugees from the current crisis are being admitted, the first families already on the way.

The treatment of inmates at Christmas Island is going to be closely looked at after the current fiasco, I'm sure.

[vogie]

Right wing people often think the BBC is biased to the left. Left-wingers often find it biased to the right.

This tells us two things -

1 - The BBC presents a balanced view.

2 - Some people don't like hearing any point of view that contradicts their own.

The BBC certainly does not give a balanced view!

[Rykbanlor]

The boundaries of left and right shift too. What was considered conservative 40 years ago is closer to the left now. Right wing domestic/financial/social policy is despicable in both the States and UK, but then when your system essentially rests on a choice between 2 parties what options are left?

SOmebody once said (I forget who but feel it was a 19th century US politicain) that the rise of political parties, party politics and ideals, would be the ruin of true democracy. Yup.

[Thaimike370]

The BBC has always been biased, it is very left wing and green party politics, every program is biased to their way of thinking, it is very anti UKIP. I personally think it should be broken up and the good parts sold to commercial TV businesses. Scrap the rubbish and save the British license payer £150.00 per year.

[MockingJay]

BBC, CNN, etc. are owned/controlled by the CIA, FED and the industrial/military complex... Do you truly believe they are independent, unbiased, uncensored open speech sources? That's so cute!!! Keep on dreaming!

Edited November 9, 2015 by MockingJay

[weegee]

I am afraid that once some people get to the right position they bring in like minded people to consolidate their own position. Head as been mentioned, he sees a different picture than I do most of the time, meanwhile back at BBC HO there are and always have been some rum characters there, some of them look unemployable and their behavior is rather odd, add this to the PC Brigade ( who are bunch of lefties most of the time) and you end up with the sort of bias that more and more are begining to notice. The big problem is how to weed them out and install a more neutral group of people to run what used to be a great organization.

As regards the goings on on Christmas Island the Aussies I know seem to be of the same mind of people in the UK, go back from where you come we are full, we cannot afford to keep you!

Unwanted for sure....It costs $50,000 AUD per person per year just to keep them there....Just watched it on TV, and they have more facilities, than most who are in OZ...Tennis Courts, GYM, Medical at top level....and the statement about them not having phones....HOW did they get in contact with the do-gooders in Aust...?

If they want to get out of there....name a country!...many Aussies would chip in to pay the fare. Anywhere but Australia.We can no longer afford them, sitting around on the dole....

[Sutty]

Woman from green party says it all

[earthpig]

you claudius,

The BBC is an extremist propaganda organ of Eurodecadence, championing the usual secular suspects of gittish income redistribution, murderous pacifism and sexual perversity. In so doing it is no different from other publications found throughout "gayropa", with the exception that the clapped out British subsidize this Heinous Horror Show with their tax quid, which certainly betrays that refined masochism in the national character that heretofore had been best exemplified in their national cuisine.

[harrry]

Three issues here....

one the BBC is not a broadcaster of Australia.....it belongs to the UK

2. No one likes the system but Australia has a right to decided on who enters and under what conditions. It allready takes many more "refugees" than most other countries.

3. There may be some questions about the people deported from australia for crimes. Many of them have lived their whole lives in Australia having grown up in the system since they were a few months old. Personally I have no problem with people who just come to Australia and commit crime being deported but it is a little different if people have lived their entire lives, maybe 50 or 60 years there.

Edited November 9, 2015 by harrry

[MiKT]

BBC, CNN, etc. are owned/controlled by the CIA, FED and the industrial/military complex... Do you truly believe they are independent, unbiased, uncensored open speech sources? That's so cute!!! Keep on dreaming!

The BBC we see here are not the old impartial BBC, they are now a commercial operation operating out of Singapore - hence all the previously unthinkable advertisements. However, they are much more likely being manipulated by the Chinese than the CIA.

"Industrial/military complex" - I love it, best laugh I have had all day. Keep on smoking that stuff.

[piersbeckett]

That's because only the left is any good.

People who support righties: generally tossers. (Jeremy Clarkson, Jim Davidson, Andrew LLoyd Webber EDIT: Paul Daniels, Stuart Hall, Bernard Manning, Jimmy Savile!!!)

People who support lefties: witty , clever, and nice people. (David Mitchell, Stephen Fry, Alan Bennett, David Tennant EDIT: Patrick Stewart, Stephen Hawking!).

I don't need to Labour the point .

As you can see I am completely unbiased myself.

'Right', you could of mentioned the tossers from the 'left' and the nice, intelligent people from the 'right' for instance the contributors to The Spectator but you've gone for serious people of the left and tossers from the right with the exception of Alan Bennett who, I think, might creep in as a tosser.

Truth is there's good and bad on both sides, IMO and I, for one, liked your post.

[David in the north]

BBC is run by trendy lefties, tree huggers & luvvies

[Ulic]

All media is biased, the BBC is no different, contrary to I 'think' the popular belief by many Brits.

In this age of many and various news sources the trick is to accept that they all have bias, but as long as they present fact with biased spin, then we as 'hopefully' intelligent consumers can take the input from multiple sources and sort out the truth from the spin.

The problem of course is when those same consumers regard one source as gospel truth and then the self fulfilling prophesy starts to take hold.

I'm American, so maybe we have a heads start with Fox News, but it appears that the BBC is rapidly going down that same road, albeit with a cloak of impartiality! In some ways much more dangerous than Fox, which makes no bones about it's bias

FOX News, "fair and balanced" says it all, it's all the others that are biased, left wing

propaganda media fronts masquerading as news organizations. ,

[Muhendis]

All media is biased, the BBC is no different, contrary to I 'think' the popular belief by many Brits.

In this age of many and various news sources the trick is to accept that they all have bias, but as long as they present fact with biased spin, then we as 'hopefully' intelligent consumers can take the input from multiple sources and sort out the truth from the spin.

The problem of course is when those same consumers regard one source as gospel truth and then the self fulfilling prophesy starts to take hold.

I'm American, so maybe we have a heads start with Fox News, but it appears that the BBC is rapidly going down that same road, albeit with a cloak of impartiality! In some ways much more dangerous than Fox, which makes no bones about it's bias

Agreed without hesitation. I would also add that whichever newsroom you listen to is giving out what the reporter sent them. The further away from home they get, the more the elasticated journalistic licence is stretched.

The BBC is forever going down the same road as all the others. Some might say they built the road. Also if the UK govt. is unhappy about any particular news item then as the paymaster, they can and do call in the head of BBC for a brief interview.

[razer]

David Cameron ... big shake-up at highest levels of BBC ... reporting seems to have changed to focusing on Tory agenda in different areas.

Example ... ONLY sympathy stories on illegal migrants in Calais and the nearly one million pouring into Europe. Zero ... nothing ... on the violence and rapes being committed by migrants on German soil or the rejection of women medical staff, or the warnings for German girls to keep themselves covered. BBC's version is all heart breaking tear-jerking stories of family refugees ... giving the impression all the people coming from the Middle East are poor displaced mommies, daddies and children. Even Panorama lost their credibility.

Example ... Cameron posturing to kick ass if the EU does not negotiate while really supporting the EU agenda.

It is absurdity.

[MaeJoMTB]

BBC is controlled by the British Security forces, as are all News media sources in the UK.

You only get to see what they want you to see.