A decision by BBC Trustees to reject a complaint about the BBC’s EU coverage was a ‘farce’, leading Eurosceptic MPs Kate Hoey and Philip Hollobone have said. The complaint – based on research by Newswatch – centred on an edition of Newsnight last January which covered David Cameron’s decision to announce a radical overhaul of EU policy to include a referendum …
EU ‘Come-out’ Donor Sykes gets Today Roasting
Newswatch reports show that Today does not give EU ‘come-outers’ the chance to properly air their case. When they do appear they are usually bracketed with ‘Loonies’, or given no chance to explain their support for leaving the EU. Today presenter Evan Davis continued the tradition when he interviewed this week (November 18) Yorkshire businessman Paul Sykes about his decision …
Newswatch surveys: Since 2005, Today has carried only six minutes a year of those who support EU withdrawal talking about the subject
Newswatch has been monitoring the Today programme for approximately 6 months of the year since 2005. It is the longest-ever, and most detailed, research project of its kind. In the latest survey period it has been established that withdrawalists talking about withdrawal took up minimal programme time. That fits in with longer-term trends. Since 2005: Total feature airtime in monitored …
Latest Newswatch report: Today ignored UK Withdrawal from the EU, but gave multiple airings for those who want stronger EU ties.
The latest News-watch report shows that Today went out of its way to give those who were opposed to change in Britain’s relationship with the EU – including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg – multiple platforms in which they had clear time and space to advance arguments in favour of their views, including the hotly disputed claim by Europhiles that 3.5m jobs would …
BBC Trustees reject Newsnight EU bias complaint
The BBC Trustees have yet again flatly rejected claims that their EU coverage is biased. Conservative MP Philip Hollobone and Labour’s Kate Hoey filed a complaint about an edition of Newsnight on January 23, when David Cameron announced his policy of holding an ‘in/out’ referendum. The programme contained just one ‘come-outer’ (UKIP’s Nigel Farage) ranged against battery of 17 studio …
Is the BBC properly balanced and impartial in its reporting of complex issues such as the EU, immigration and climate change?
For more than 15 years, Newswatch has been investigating BBC output using a systematic process of transcription logging and detailed analysis. The answer, in certain key respects – especially with regard to the EU – is a resounding and disturbing ‘no’. Especially prominent in the data is a consistent and systematic failure to investigate or allow or even facilitate the …
Hot off the Press: Latest Newswatch EU Survey Covering Summer 2013
Newswatch’s latest survey shows that the BBC continues to ignore the case for withdrawal. Only 513 words in 13 weeks of the Today programme were ‘come-outers’ talking about their views about withdrawal. That was only 0.7% of the EU output. There were only six such contributions, despite this being a period when the topic of withdrawal was central to the …
BBC ‘Enmeshed in Comic Relief’
A BBC Panorama investigation into Comic Relief has shown that the charity invests in tobacco, arms and alcohol, despite its ‘holier-than-thou’ ethical claims and telling the public that every penny it raises goes to the developing world. The real issue here is not solely Comic Relief’s hypocritical investment policy, but rather the close relationship between the charity and the BBC …
Four out of ten ‘think BBC biased’, says survey
An ICM survey has found that 40% of those questioned thought the BBC was biased in its news coverage. The survey, commissioned by the Sunday Telegraph, also found that 70% of the 2,000 who took part wanted the £145.50 licence fee reduced or scrapped. Fewer than 10% wanted the fee to be increased in line with inflation when the BBC …