Concocting Another Kuenssberg: BBC Struggle to Find a Replacement Stooge

* Update – a few days after this article was published the BBC confirmed Chris Mason as the new political editor. Check out our Matrix Database entry for Mason here to see which characteristics he has in common with his predecessors.

The BBC are apparently struggling to fill their flagship role of political editor. Laura Kuenssberg is leaving the position this month, after years of reading out text messages from Dominic Cummings – sorry, years of impartial reporting – and, according to the Guardian, BBC bigwigs have been “unhappy with the choice of candidates” put forward to replace her. They have “began inviting fresh applications for the job.”

What kind of characteristics are BBC executives looking for? Perhaps you’re wondering whether you have what it takes to “immediately become one of the most influential and scrutinised journalists in the country”?

With the help of our Matrix Database, which documents conflicts of interest among high-profile journalists, we take a look at the previous incumbents of the role to see what “attributes” they have in common…

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by Steven McCracken

The Complete Compendium of Ukraine War Hypocrisy

Nato bombing = Good, Russia bombing = Bad (Image courtesy of Alan MacLeod, Twitter @AlanRMacLeod)

When establishment politicians, the mainstream media and the cultural elite are all saying the same thing and won’t tolerate a sliver of dissent – hello Keir “don’t mention Nato” Starmer – we should always be suspicious.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is as barbaric and outrageous as liberal commentators claim, daily, with megaphones. However, we can all point the finger and condemn the evil deeds of others.

As Noam Chomsky reminds us, a foundational moral principle is that “we apply to ourselves the same standards we apply to others, if not more stringent ones”.

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by Steven McCracken

Believing in Lies: Andrew Neil Owns Himself With “Pro Kremlin” Corbyn Slur

Last week Andrew Neil accidentally offered a fascinating insight into what we might call the “mind of the corporate media”.

Neil, whose Twitter thread is usually full of acerbic put downs, staunch self-defence and the pseudo-intellectual posturing of The Spectator, got carried away and tweeted that Corbynistas were “pro-Kremlin” and a “busted flush”.

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by Steven McCracken

Matrix Database: The Top 20

The Matrix Database is an effort to document personal factors that undermine powerful journalists’ claims of objectivity and impartiality. We are on the lookout for significant conflicts of interest and likely causes of bias/imbalance along the most high-profile political and opinion journalists in the UK – and we’ve found plenty!

We have now completed the entries for the “top 20” UK journalists (ranked by Twitter following). Our results for the “top 20” are as follows:

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by The Free Press

Newsnight Editors Think Description of Jeremy Corbyn as “Hard Left” is Fair and Accurate!

Last autumn we wrote to the BBC to complain about Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis using the term “hard left” three times in one programme to refer to a sector of the Labour Party. On one occasion she explicitly identified Jeremy Corbyn as a member of the “hard left”.

Thousands of you supported our complaint on social media with shares and comments.

We have now received a response from the BBC and warn you in advance that it is likely to raise your blood pressure! According to the BBC, “‘hard left’ was used to simply indicate where it is generally perceived those opposed to the proposals (from Keir Starmer) are on the political spectrum”. This was, according to the BBC, “a fair reflection on the tensions within the Labour Party”.

The BBC insist that “your concerns have been seen by senior Newsnight editors”. Does this imply that Newsnight’s top editors believe that it is fair and accurate to describe Jeremy Corbyn as “hard left”!?

We disagree and decided to escalate our complaint to the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit…

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by The Free Press

Complaint Against Kuenssberg: The BBC Respond (at last!)

See the source image

We have pursued the BBC for the best part of a year now in search of a response to Laura Kuenssberg’s coverage of Keir Starmer’s decision to deny the parliamentary whip to Jeremy Corbyn.

Kuenssberg’s report on the issue was arguably the climax (nadir?) of the media’s long campaign, in conjunction with centrist Labour MPs and more or less the entire British establishment, to discredit and smear Corbyn.

Continue reading “Complaint Against Kuenssberg: The BBC Respond (at last!)”
by The Free Press