A News-watch investigation into one of the BBC’s flagship news programmes has found it to be heavily biased in favour of Britain remaining in the EU. Twenty consecutive editions of the programme – one of the main ‘hard news’ formats on the BBC – between February 22 and March 19 were surveyed. The main finding was that staunchly pro-EU figures …
Referendum Blog: April 3
MARR BIAS? Today’s edition of the Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 leaned firmly towards the ‘remain’ side. Three guests – former BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders, business secretary Sajid David and actor Jeremy Irons – all were given the opportunity to declare they favoured ‘remain’ and advanced without challenge from Marr their detailed reasons for doing so. Alison Pearson was …
News-watch Launches EU Referendum Blog
This new service will track on a regular basis programme items that seem to be biased towards the pro-EU side. The observations are not the result of detailed analysis. Rather, they are pointers based on News-watch’s experience in tracking the BBC over many years, and on past BBC performance. If you spot BBC bias, do let us know. You can …
BBC Environment programme flouts BBC impartiality rules
Costing the Earth; The Environment after Exit (BBC Radio 4 March 15 and 16) h/t Craig Byers of Is the BBC Biased? The programme, presented by Tom Heap, investigated the current impact on the UK of EU-related policies affecting conservation, fisheries, farming and renewable energy, and explored what might happen in the event of Brexit. The main fulcrum was whether, …
Analysis of Newsnight reveals strong imbalance against Brexit case
News-watch has completed preliminary research on 40 editions of Newsnight between January 13 and March 11 based on the full transcription and analysis of the relevant parts of each programme. Daily news and current affairs programmes such as Newsnight are not required to be balanced within each edition, but it would be expected that over a two-month period, the handling …
Kate Hoey welcomes new BBC complaints website
A new website, BBC Complaints – www.bbccomplaints.com – has been launched by News-watch. Its purpose is to help hold the BBC to account: to ensure that, as is required by law (expressed in its Charter and Public Purposes), it is properly impartial in its coverage of news and current affairs; to fill an important gap by creating a new, independent …
General Election Survey – Summer 2015
News-watch monitored four BBC programmes between March 30 and May 10, 2015. The programmes were: Today and The World at One on BBC Radio 4, BBC1’s News at Ten, and BBC2’s Newsnight.
Charter Renewal Review Fails to Tackle BBC Bias
Former deputy governor of the Bank of England Sir David Clementi’s review of BBC governance as part of BBC Charter renewal looks impressive at first glance – but he has badly misunderstood what is required. What he proposes will leave the Corporation entrenched at the heart of the broadcasting establishment and almost impervious to real change; even worse, the proposals …
Bridgen putdown underlines rot at heart of BBC complaints process
As the crucial referendum vote looms, how DO you complain about the BBC? The reality is that the Corporation is its own judge and jury in dealing with complaints and has neatly-honed putdowns for almost every eventuality. The odds are particularly stacked in the EU debate, as the News-watch submission to the DCMS consultation on BBC Charter renewal outlines. In …
BBC referendum coverage flunks early impartiality test
At the heart of David Cameron’s renegotiation claim is something deeply contentious and what many believe to be a bare-faced lie: that he has secured for Britain an unqualified opt-out from the ‘ever closure union’ ratchet clause in the treaties that underpins and drives the EU project. The BBC – as the UK’s main public service broadcaster – ought to …