Stop bias against Brexit or face fine, BBC warned

The BBC will face sanctions and fines from its new regulator unless it ends its Brexit bias, a former Culture Secretary and architect of the Royal Charter has warned.
John Whittingdale, a Conservative MP, said that he is concerned that the corporation is "constantly looking for negatives and highlighting the challenges" of Brexit.
He warned that if the corporation's negative coverage persists MPs could "escalate" their complaints to Ofcom, which takes over regulation of the BBC in a fortnight.
The regulator has the power to impose sanctions including broadcasting corrections, banning repeats of coverage and imposing a £250,000 fine.
It comes after more than 70 MPs wrote to the corporation warning that its "perverse and skewed" coverage risks undermining Brexit.
Mr Whittingdale, who drew up the new Royal Charter which enshrines the corporation's duty to be impartial, said: "My own impression is that the BBC is constantly looking for negatives and highlighting the challenges that arise from Brexit.
"That is born out by both the analysis of the proportion of coverage given to people talking about difficulties and risks compared to those presenting a more positive picture.

"There is a very strong feeling in Parliament, I cannot think of a precedent of 70 members of Parliament expressing concerns.
"This is quite a big test for a new governance structure that has only been in place since the beginning of the year."
Lord Hall, the director general of the BBC, yesterday hit back at the MPs as he insisted that the corporation must remain "independent of political pressure".
In a letter to a Tory MP he said: "Impartiality has always been the cornerstone of BBC News. It remains so today.

"We do not take it for granted and we go to great lengths to ensure that we balance our coverage and address all issues from a wide range of different perspectives.
"It is one of the reasons why the public trusts the BBC more than any other source of news.
"I agree with you that these are consequential times. For that reason, it is more important than ever that the BBC's journalism is independent of political pressure."
Nick Robinson, a former BBC Political Editor and Today presenter, said on Twitter: "Do not adjust your set. Normal service from the BBC means you will hear people you disagree with say things you don't like. (That's our job)"
The MPs, who included 60 from the Conservative Party, accused the corporation of portraying the UK as a "xenophobic" nation that regrets the vote to leave the EU.
They say that the corporation has failed to "break out of pre-referendum pessimism" and accept the "economic good news" the UK has enjoyed since the referendum.
The letter comes after months of mounting anger in the Conservative Party about the corporation's coverage of Brexit in the wake of the EU referendum.

Bron: The Telegraph, Steven Winford, 22nd of March 2017, 12:15AM, Stop bias against Brexit or face fine, BBC warned

Mening:
De media is duidelijk een macht om rekening met te houden als we kijken naar de politieke druk die er uitgeoefend wordt op de BBC omdat ze een bepaalde coverage maken over de Brexit. Ik voeg mij hier bij de general director: de BBC staat voor een vorm van impartiality, van neutraliteit, wat tot op heden vaak lukt. Als we de vergelijking leggen met The Independent, is die krant niet zo neutraal, aangezien ze elk negatief aspect van de Brexit, naar mijn mening, opblazen of uitvergroten. De BBC probeert dat zo veel mogelijk te vermijden. De vraag is echter wanneer de grens tussen eerlijke coverage en schandaalnieuws overschreden wordt.
Wat Lord Hall zegt en wat Nick Robinson zegt, sluit aan bij wat ik denk. Politieke druk op de media vanuit het parlement, geeft een slecht voorbeeld. Wat als het beeld dat zogezegd door de BBC geschetst wordt, namelijk het beeld van een xenofobisch Verenigd Koninkrijk, waar is? Dan zou dat op zich een beperking van de vrijheid van meningsuiting en vrijheid van media betekenen. Het is echter niet het geval dat ze dat beeld willen schetsen, het is eerder een weerspiegeling van de feiten.

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BBC letter.docx (15.5 KB, 1x gelezen)