The Biased Broadcasting Corporation

[Fareast]

Anyone listen to the second episode of the play 'Greenmantle' on Radio 4 ?

Well ,a bit of a joke there------you didn't listen to it as it was cancelled after the events of July 7th.

Greenmantle takes place 90 years ago and is about the Germans attempting to stir up the Arabs in a Middle Eastern country and the British success in foiling that dastardly plan. It is a real , "Boys Own " adventure story , complete with Richard Hannay [of 39 Steps fame ] and other Gungho characters. It is as far removed from reality as those types of adventure stories usually were.

It was cancelled as ,Mark Damazer , Controller of Radio 4 thought it was , "touching on sensitive matters " i.e. the feelings of Muslims.

At the same time a drama was being broadcast on the morning's Woman's Hour and repeated each evening.This realistic drama was about 4 or 5 Service wives whose husbands are all in Iraq. One soldier is hovering between life and death , after an attack.Each episode was introduced by real -life interviews with Army wives and the play is done , " documentary " style.

I suppose it doesn't really matter if the wives and children of serving men , in Iraq , heard this and were upset ? . Does anybody at the B.B.C. care or does it even enter their brains ?

The sad thing is that the B.B.C. are being financed by public money , their executives ....et al ....get enormous salaries but all they seem to care about are their friends in Islington and what the Guardian might say.

[Greenback]

Broadcasting companies tend to get very jumpy in the immediate aftermath of major events, cancelling and re-scheduling programmes all over the place. Politics doesn't really have anything to do with it.

 

Remember September 11th 2001? Virtually every programme that had even the smallest reference to aeroplanes was kicked off our screens in the following weeks, despite the fact that footage of the planes going into the towers was repeatedly shown on the news – ITV even showed slow-motion replays with classical music over the top as I remember.

 

It's all a bit daft and very muddled, really.

[Kthebean]

I have been listening to the womans hour drama you refer to and I don't really see how it might be upsetting - I would have thought it would be more comforting than anything? I'm sure if they got complaints they would pull it.

[alchresearch]

I've read the original Greenmantle, it's a terrific book and not offensive in the slightest.

[Fareast]

Greenback '

 

Exactly ! Then why , didn't they get jumpy over the fact that there was a possibility of Service wives and children getting upset when they heard a programme about someone being in intensive care in Iraq. ?

Bombs and killings have been going on a lot longer in Iraq than they have in London.

[Fareast]

Kathythebean ,

 

Well , we don't know if anyone has complained about the sensitivity of the broadcast ; possibly no-one has .

However that could mean that service wives and relatives who listen to it , recognise it for what it is -------a piece of drama . Why does the B.B.C. therefore have to presume that a 90 year old adaptation of a book , is likely to upset Muslims ? You can't argue it both ways . Do we know in fact if any Muslims complained about , " Greenmantle " ? It would be interesting if someone could find the figures in each case.

[barny_100]

The following website may be of interest - check back over the archives for various examples from all BBC output. http://www.biased-bbc.blogspot.com/

[Fareast]

Yes , it's difficult to imagine that not too many years ago , the B.B.C. had a reputation for fearless unbiased comment and reporting .

[sherakapod]

you must admit ty do some wonderful programmes though

[Greenback]

Originally posted by Fareast

Yes , it's difficult to imagine that not too many years ago , the B.B.C. had a reputation for fearless unbiased comment and reporting .

 

I can't quite fathom how mentally unstable you would have to be to produce such an exhaustive blog about a perceived bias in the BBC.

 

What on earth does "fearless unbiased comment" mean when it's at home? It seems to me to indicate "opinion". Which is inherently biased.

 

I'm really not sure where you're going with this. Every time there is a disaster of any kind on these shores, programmes are pulled in the aftermath. There's no conspiracy.