The BBC guilty of not fact checking a story?

The Guardian reports a case of the BBC falling for a story without checking it.

'BBC Radio 5 Live featured a fictitious story about Downing Street's new cat after being duped by independent film-maker Chris Atkins to coincide with the launch of website churnalism.com'

The Guardian  have the audio. One has to wonder how the BBC justify their claims to be a premier news gathering and reporting organisation when they fall for this sort of story. Maybe the chance to have a few digs at Tory cuts and lack of planning was just too tempting for the Labour loving BBC.

Denying the Conservative Party the 'oxygen of publicity'

BBC 5Live has been promoting the 'recession is over' and Conservative cuts would 'put the recovery at risk' all morning so when I heard that Gabby Logan was going to discuss this with MPs I was expecting her and the Labour and Lib Dem representatives to gang up on the Conservative MP. The reality was even more bizarre: Laim Byrne for Labour and Vince 'Saint' Cable able to pour scorn on Conservative economic policy, encouraged by Gaby Logan, and no Conservative there to respond.

When I blogged about the new 5Live schedules for this general election year, I predicted left-wing bias, it seems I was correct to do so.

BBC 5Live limber up for the general election update

The new 5Live line-up starts on Monday 11 January and there is an even more left-leaning line-up than ever before.

06:00–09:00 - 5 live Breakfast - All the main news with Nicky Campbell and Shelagh Fogarty. I think we can tell all we need to know about Nicky Campbell for his description of Paul Staines/Guido Fawkes as a 'fascist'. Campbell introduced Paul Staines as a 'Right-wing political blogger' so Paul Staines countered with the comment that 'It's nice to be on the Left-wing BBC this morning'. Nicky Campbell decided that it was appropriate to respond 'It's nice to have a Fascist on, Good morning!' before he tried to calm the situation by adding 'just joking'. I believe that Nicky Campbell later apologised for his remarks but I think the original comment speaks volumes for his political leanings.

09:00–10:00 - 5 live Breakfast Phone-in - Nicky Campbell takes your calls on the day's big story. More of the very expensively privately educated Nicky Campbell.

10:00–12:00 - Victoria Derbyshire - Original stories from across the UK, news, sport, and exclusive interviews. The vile VD keeps a show to inflict her irritating "nnnh" noise and inept interviewing on the populace.

12:00–14:00
Gabby Logan - News from around the UK with Gabby Logan. Including sport, politics, and money news.I wonder if Gaby Logan will interview mainly left of centre figures on this show as she seemed to her on her weekend show.

14:00–16:00 - Richard Bacon - News, sport, entertainment, and big guests. Plus your emails, texts and tweets. Richard Bacon's bias is well documented on Biased-BBC, here's a few links that may be of interest - anti-Sarah Palin tweets, Obama fanboy and more Obama fan boy

16:00–19:00 - 5 live Drive - The latest news, sport and travel updates with Peter Allen and Anita Anand. More from the crusty Peter "We've always got time for Kevin Maguire" Allen


Here's an extract from another Biased-BBC article that seems pertinent:

"In a column from last November titled "BBC must end its smug comedy consensus" the Guardian's Martin Kelner said he was helping produce some pilots of a talkshow for Radio Five Live; he explained that he was keen to avoid the "cosy broadly leftwing" consensus found on shows such as Richard Bacon and Gabby Logan. I was reminded of this when, flicking through the stations this morning, I heard Mrs Logan chatting with her studio guests - Mark Steel, the old school leftie comedian, and Mark Thomas, the old school leftie comedian."

The description 'leftie' hardly does justice to the political leanings of Mark Steele, a man who I discussed over two years ago:

"Mark Steele is a regular BBC commentator on Radio 5 Live where his political affiliations have never been mentioned (so far as I am aware), despite his being invited to discuss politics on a semi-regular basis. Simone Clarke was denigrated by the media for being a supporter of the BNP a party whose views many would find no more repugnant than those of the SWP."

BBC 5Live limber up for the general election

BBC 5Live are soon to make some changes to their daytime lineup for this general election year and so on weekdays from a Monday in the near future we will be able to 'enjoy' as wsell as from 06:00–09:00 5 live Breakfast with the impeccable left of centre Nicky Campbell and sidekick Shelagh Fogarty. Followed by the same liberal lover Nicky Campbell as he "takes your calls on the day's big story", sure to be advantageous to Labour. This will be followed from 10:00–13:00 by the ever vile VD (Victoria Derbyshire) with "Original stories from across the UK, news, sport, and exclusive interviews" mostly from a left of centre standpoint. As if this line-up wasn't bad enough soon we will have to listen to Gaby 'only left-wing guests' Logan and Simon 'Labour luvvie' Mayo's replacement none other than Richard 'cocaine' Bacon who makes Simon Mayo seem like a balanced presenter.

More BBC bias

If you want some fantastic, unremitting BBC bias then take a listen to Gabby Logan's programme this morning via Listen Again.

Attacks on Israel, sneering at the Conservatives, sneering at David Davis. A feature on a poor Palestinian stuck in the Gaza Strip and so unable to take up his place at an English University was 99% anti-Israel. An interview with Dominic Grieve was followed by the sneering Labour supporting Kevin Maguire deriding Dominic Grieve's arguments. Then the programme decided that a Conservative voice was needed for balance and so had a lovey-dovey interview with Quentin Davies (the Conservative MP who moved to Gordon Brown's Labour party - possibly the first recorded example of a rat joining a sinking ship) who attacked David Cameron, oddly there was no "expert" available to ridicule Quentin Davies's views.

This programme was BBC bias in a microcosm.