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Britain
Boris Johnson threatens BBC with two-pronged attack
2019-12-18
h/t Instapundit
[The Guardian] Downing Street is threatening the future of the BBC by insisting it is seriously considering decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee, while boycotting Radio 4’s Today programme over the broadcaster’s supposed anti-Tory bias.

No 10 pulled ministers from Saturday’s edition of the Today programme and sources said it intended to "withdraw engagement" from the show in future.

The row is seen as an ominous sign of Boris Johnson’s willingness to bypass independent scrutiny and follows criticism of the BBC’s election coverage from both left and right.

No 10 pointed to Andrew Neil’s on-air monologue in which he lambasted Johnson for his refusal to be interviewed, and the BBC’s "extensive coverage" of a four-year-old boy with suspected pneumonia forced to sleep on a hospital floor ‐ as supposed evidence of anti-Tory, pro-remain bias at the corporation.

Meanwhile, Labour backers have raised concerns about the BBC’s coverage, from the editing out of laughter aimed at Johnson in a news bulletin to leading reporters uncritically repeating Conservative sources, and the prime minister escaping scrutiny after dodging the one-on-one interview with Neil.

The BBC has firmly rejected such criticism. In an email on Friday, the director general, Tony Hall, wrote: "In a frenetic campaign where we’ve produced hundreds of hours of output, of course we’ve made the odd mistake and we’ve held up our hands to them. Editors are making tough calls every minute of the day. But I don’t accept the view of those critics who jump on a handful of examples to suggest we’re somehow biased one way or the other."
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Posted by:g(r)omgoru

#15  seriously considering decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee

(Sigh) Just do it. Or don't. (I realize that it's probably "a process". Fine, initiate the "process". Or don't.)

Spare the people the teasy shit.

Trump does a lot of this too, and both Bad Orange Men run the risk of demoralizing their supporters if they keep doing this. Or is that the plan?
Posted by: charger   2019-12-18 21:12  

#14  It's almost like the BBC thinks it's in Minneapolistan.
Posted by: Woodrow   2019-12-18 18:59  

#13  Not the only thing they have a strict Globalist GroupThink™ stance on...
Exclusive: BBC issues internal guidance on how to report climate change
Posted by: magpie   2019-12-18 13:39  

#12  Beeb was IIUC one of the attack dogs for the Remainers. Every BBC piece on the matter that I heard was unmistakably biased against Leave.

This is fitting payback. Sow, reap.
Posted by: Lex   2019-12-18 11:58  

#11  W1A is still one of the better British comedies.

Pokes fun at the surreal corporate nature of the Beeb.
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2019-12-18 09:29  

#10  Taking a cue from Trump, attacking the media?
Posted by: Bobby   2019-12-18 09:29  

#9  BBC ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, the Obamacare of the media.

I thought I could keep my TV?
Posted by: Skidmark   2019-12-18 08:51  

#8  Nah, not Pravda

If Boris sent a directive to the Beeb, they'd ignore it. Not something the operator and editors would do at Pravda.

It's more like an entrenched special interest bureaucracy left over from the predecessors.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2019-12-18 08:48  

#7  BBC has long past served its purpose. Eliminate the fee, charge it to use the airwaves and open it up to competition.
Posted by: DarthVader   2019-12-18 08:42  

#6  #3
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-12-18 08:15  

#5  ^No, it's Pravda.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-12-18 08:14  

#4  seriously considering decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee

Eliminate the fee and charge the BBC rent for using the government's air waves. Better yet, auction off that spectrum to the highest bidder.
Posted by: Elmereger Clavins7805   2019-12-18 08:14  

#3  BBC the Obamacare of the media.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2019-12-18 07:09  

#2  Extortion funded indoctrination is an abomination.

The BBC claims it's really good, but needs to force people to pay for it...

If it's as good as they say people will willingly pay for its goods.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2019-12-18 07:00  

#1  Very astute.
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-12-18 06:13  

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