The results of a recent survey commissioned by the BBC World Service may not have produced the feedback they were hoped to elicit. Of just over 1,000 people polled on the accuracy of the BBC's reporting, only 29% volunteered a positive reaction. This seems like bad news especially as it put the venerable organisation behind its counterparts in countries such as Venezuela, Russia, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria.
The survey should be cause for concern but Mediabeak thinks we need more information on its context. Its angle was supposed to draw out views on press freedom and perceptions of the ability of publicly funded news organisations to deliver it. So to say only 29% think there is a free press at point of delivery in the UK is not the same as saying that which is delivered is inaccurate. Post the Hutton Enquiry and the BBC's subjection to political bullying and appointments its ability to stand up to incursions on press freedom in the UK has been compromised.
An organisation that prioritises paying Jonathan Ross a salary that could sustain 200 broadcast journalists has clearly got its priorities messed up so a public poll that thinks its accuracy is compromised is probably fair given that the corporations resources are being pumped into trying to upstage, fawn over or be buddies with people on a unimaginative chat-show format rather than frontline or investigative journalism that might actually tell stories that count and give a sense that we are willing to invest in a press that does its job and puts pressure on politicians rather than pimps celebrities.
See Mediabeak on Wossygate [1] [2] - his offending comment at the non-broadcast comedy awards.
The Independent offers an excellent comparison of what viewers' licence fee money can buy that exposes the shocking imbalance between show and substance - HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment