All Stories

The Newsnight Brexit panel - the BBC does not even pretend to be impartial any more

Tom Winnifrith
Tuesday 4 October 2016

When a broadcaster that we are forced to pay for abandons any pretence of impartiality with its news coverage, the great unwashed who earn a fraction of the salaries of the star presenters, and even B list camera candy, have every right to be angry. That is where we are at with the BBC right now. last night's Newsnight from the Tory conference marked a new low point. A panel was assembled to discuss Brexit.

Leading the pack was Guardian journalist Andrew Rawnsley, a lefty and a Remainer. Then there was Tory MP Heidi Allen who campaigned for Remain. Third up there was Tory peer, journalist and Cameron biographer Danny Finkelstein. He too was a remainer. Finally there was Jenni Russell a journalist who went from the BBC to C4 to the Guardian and New Statesman and is now at the Times and was described as a "key member of the new establishment". Jenni is left of centre and, of course, voted to Remain.

So the 48% of the country and 30% of Tory voters who wanted to Remain were well represented by four members of the political media establishment whose views on social issues would all be described as liberal and who all wanted to stay in the EU. And they were there to discuss Britain and the EU with presenter Evan Davis who, of course is another uber rich member of the liberal left and also a "Remainer."

The BBC could easily have found the odd Eurosceptic at the Tory conference but it is now not even pretending to be partial. This is the broadcaster that proceeds every single piece of good economic news, of which there has been an awful lot since June 23, with the words "Despite Brexit."

I could probably accept that the BBC is out of tune with the country on many issues with its left liberal bias. I would privatise it but could understand why others would not. But when Pravda stops to even pretend that it is impartial, it shows a contempt for those who pay for its output not through choice but because they are forced to. At that point we, the great unwashed, will show our contempt for the BBC.

After last night's effort can anyone explain the moral case for me to actually pay for my license any more?

If you enjoyed reading this article from Tom Winnifrith, why not help us cover our running costs with a donation?
About Tom Winnifrith
Bio
Tom Winnifrith is the editor of TomWinnifrith.com. When he is not harvesting olives in Greece, he is (planning to) raise goats in Wales.
Twitter
@TomWinnifrith
Email
[email protected]
Recently Featured on ShareProphets
Sign up for my weekly newsletter








Required Reading

Recent Comments


I also read