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BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

theguardian.com

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Re: BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

#41

Post by gadders »

KineticLensman wrote: post #16
gadders wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BBC presenters are supposed to be politically neutral, so Lineker was right to be criticised (quite apart from the fact he was talking rubbish). The ex-director general of the BBC Mark Thompson joined that hotbed of right wing activism, the New York Times. You also have ex-Labour minister James Purnell who had a senior role in the BBC. Frankly if you think the BBC is anything other than the broadcast media wing of th…

> Frankly if you think the BBC is anything other than the broadcast media wing of the Guardian you are severely deluded. The extensive airtime given to Nigel Farage on BBC Question Time (> 30 appearances) contradicts this statement.

They need someone to put the Brexit view and he has been the main face of Brexit for at least the last 20 years.

Re: BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

#42

Post by gadders »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #38
gadders wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BBC presenters are supposed to be politically neutral, so Lineker was right to be criticised (quite apart from the fact he was talking rubbish). The ex-director general of the BBC Mark Thompson joined that hotbed of right wing activism, the New York Times. You also have ex-Labour minister James Purnell who had a senior role in the BBC. Frankly if you think the BBC is anything other than the broadcast media wing of th…

> BBC is anything other than the broadcast media wing of the Guardian Citation needed. Is the BBC run by ex-Guardian people? No: "the controversial appointment of Rishi Sunak’s ex-boss and Conservative Party donor Richard Sharp to the influential role of BBC chair. ... There are also concerns about the appointment of BBC director general Tim Davie, who stood as a councillor for the Conservative Party in 1993 and 1994…

That's not a great article. He doesn't even realise that Rod Liddle is a Social Democrat and was previously in the Labour Party, and Piers Morgan was editor for the Daily Mirror and very much not of the right.

However, my point wasn't that there is a sharing of employees between the Guardian and the BBC, more that they both reflect the same bien pensant North London left wing orthodoxy - Brexit bad, immigration good, climate change an apocalypse etc etc.

Re: BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

#43

Post by gadders »

dontlaugh wrote: post #31
gadders wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Iraq Was was started by a Labour government, and from what I remember the BBC seemed to be very against it.

Yes, that's why the BBC was then subjugated more directly to state control. New Labour was a centre-right party, just like Labour today.

Sadly so is the Tory party.

Re: BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

#44

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

gadders wrote: post #42
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> BBC is anything other than the broadcast media wing of the Guardian Citation needed. Is the BBC run by ex-Guardian people? No: "the controversial appointment of Rishi Sunak’s ex-boss and Conservative Party donor Richard Sharp to the influential role of BBC chair. ... There are also concerns about the appointment of BBC director general Tim Davie, who stood as a councillor for the Conservative Party in 1993 and 1994…

That's not a great article. He doesn't even realise that Rod Liddle is a Social Democrat and was previously in the Labour Party, and Piers Morgan was editor for the Daily Mirror and very much not of the right. However, my point wasn't that there is a sharing of employees between the Guardian and the BBC, more that they both reflect the same bien pensant North London left wing orthodoxy - Brexit bad, immigration good,…

And are you going to address who they do share employees with? It's a party that's not left-wing.

That's factual. The rest "not a great article", "North London left wing orthodoxy", and "BBC is insufficiently pro-Brexit" is vague, feelings-based not fact-based.

Re: BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

#45

Post by [deleted] »

madaxe_again wrote: post #4

Of course they won’t. The BBC is a government organ, with the sole purpose of disseminating government messaging. Criticism of government or policy is non-existent, and when it does appear, microphones are cut and apologies are made. Reminds me of an email I had from the home office recently - “we welcome all positive feedback”. “If you don’t have approving comments to make, keep your mouth shut” is the ethos of Brit…

[deleted]

Re: BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

#46

Post by [deleted] »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #32
marcusverus wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The home office released this milquetoast video about stopping illegal immigration. Watch it. It's only a minute long.[0] Gary Lineker, who presents on the BBC, responded with hysterical comment "This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the ’30s'". Tim Davie, a director at the BBC, said "If you want to be an opiniona…

Well, I certainly don't agree with Braverman's words there at all. If people are crossing the channel to apply for asylum, then I don't see how it can be determined that they are illegal. It's not possible to apply for asylum from outside of the UK, so they can only apply once they hit our shores and yet Braverman is branding them all as "illegal"? The immigration services have been completely stripped back by the To…

[deleted]

Re: BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

#47

Post by marcusverus »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #32
marcusverus wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The home office released this milquetoast video about stopping illegal immigration. Watch it. It's only a minute long.[0] Gary Lineker, who presents on the BBC, responded with hysterical comment "This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the ’30s'". Tim Davie, a director at the BBC, said "If you want to be an opiniona…

Well, I certainly don't agree with Braverman's words there at all. If people are crossing the channel to apply for asylum, then I don't see how it can be determined that they are illegal. It's not possible to apply for asylum from outside of the UK, so they can only apply once they hit our shores and yet Braverman is branding them all as "illegal"? The immigration services have been completely stripped back by the To…

It's all well and good to disagree with the policy, or the choice of the word "illegal". Had Gary Lineker done so, we wouldn't have heard a peep. But he called it Nazi rhetoric, which is hysterical, divisive and harmful to the public discourse.

> If people are crossing the channel to apply for asylum, then I don't see how it can be determined that they are illegal.

Intentionally circumventing legal entry points when entering a given country is generally illegal.

> It's not possible to apply for asylum from outside of the UK, so they can only apply once they hit our shores and yet Braverman is branding them all as "illegal"?

The UK doesn't grant asylum to people who travel to the UK through a 'safe third country'[0]. Why would sneaking across the channel be made any less illegal by making an invalid asylum claim?

> The immigration services have been completely stripped back by the Tories, so a lot of the statements are a result of their toxic-environment policy on immigration.

Tories were elected to implement immigration reform. What makes it toxic?

> Honestly, the asylum issue is a right-wing dog whistle and it's not actually a big problem with the UK.

The Tories are in power and this issue matters to their constituents. Waving it off as a "dog whistle" assumes bad faith which is, in my experience, a poor substitute for understanding the other side's arguments.

Also, "It's not that big of a problem" is an odd formulation. You acknowledge that there's a problem, but don't want it solved? Help me understand this mindset.

[0]https://www.gov.uk/claim-asylum/eligibility

Re: BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

#48

Post by dontlaugh »

gadders wrote: post #43
dontlaugh wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, that's why the BBC was then subjugated more directly to state control. New Labour was a centre-right party, just like Labour today.

Sadly so is the Tory party.

I’d say they’re still to the right of this New New Labour.

Re: BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

#49

Post by gadders »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #44
gadders wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not a great article. He doesn't even realise that Rod Liddle is a Social Democrat and was previously in the Labour Party, and Piers Morgan was editor for the Daily Mirror and very much not of the right. However, my point wasn't that there is a sharing of employees between the Guardian and the BBC, more that they both reflect the same bien pensant North London left wing orthodoxy - Brexit bad, immigration good,…

And are you going to address who they do share employees with? It's a party that's not left-wing. That's factual. The rest "not a great article", "North London left wing orthodoxy", and "BBC is insufficiently pro-Brexit" is vague, feelings-based not fact-based.

The BBC also had Gavyn Davies as a chairman.

Re: BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of rightwing backlash

#50

Post by crtasm »

fwlr wrote: post #23

“A BBC spokesperson said: “Wild Isles consists of five episodes: Our Precious Isles, Woodland, Grassland, Freshwater and Ocean. Saving Our Wild Isles is a separate film inspired by the series that was commissioned by the RSPB and WWF. We’ve acquired it for iPlayer.” “ Talk about burying the lede! This is the last line of the article!

I note that paragraph has since been removed.
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