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From the Press Gazette ... A think tank report has questioned the BBC’s impartiality, criticising it for “pro-immigration”. The study, by Catholic Herald deputy editor Ed West, criticises several instances where it is felt that the corporation has not given equal weight to pro- and anti-immigration coverage. The report, which relies on material from 1997 to present, criticises a number of flagship BBC offerings, including the Today programme and Newsnight. The study “Groupthink: can we trust the BBC on immigration?” was published by right-wing think tank The New Culture Forum. Former BBC business editor Jeff Randall is quoted in it as saying that when he was at the BBC, before moving to Sky News in 2007, multiculturalism was “supported” by the BBC. He said: “Don’t take my word for it because, when I complained to the BBC about our coverage of asylum-seekers, this is what I got back from the very senior BBC news executive: ‘Jeff, the BBC internally is not neutral about multiculturalism. It believes in it, and it promotes diversity. Let’s face up to that.’ “Now, does that sound like impartiality to you?” The report also criticises “bias” at BBC Online. It describes one online feature, from June 2002, as pro-immigration “propaganda”. It said of the special feature, “Migrant myths”: “The views of the unanimously pro-migration interviewees blend seamlessly with the editorial, so that it is hard to see where the advocacy ends and the journalism begins. The arguments made for more immigration appear to be simply the voice of the BBC.” The website is criticised on multiple occasions in the 74-page report, along with some of the corporation's flagship programmes. The Today programme was censured for a report this year on “white flight” (where families were moving from East London) in which presenter James Naughtie described it as “a story of aspiration” and “success”. The report also criticised Newsnight for underplaying the significance of migration patterns shown in the 2011 Census. West’s report concludes: “In its coverage of the topic of immigration, the BBC has given overwhelmingly greater weight to pro-migration voices, even though they represent a minority – even elitist – viewpoint.And in its coverage of the economic arguments for and against immigration, it has devoted somewhat more space to pro-migration voices. In terms of the social costs, the BBC has almost totally ignored certain areas.” The GOS says: Nice to hear someone else saying what we've been banging on about for years. If only they could widen their remit to take in other areas of prejudice. I have made five formal complaints in the last four years about the BBC's biased reporting of the climate change issue. It is still firmly behind the now largely-discredited man-made global warming myth, and refuses to admit that the “consensus” among scientists was always questionable and is now virtually non-existent. Frankly, its reporting on this subject is nothing short of propaganda. And we all know why: the BBC has actually invested in global warming. As we wrote recently, “The BBC Pension Trust is worth about £8 billion ... invested in the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) alongside another 50 plus member funds. The total assets of this consortium is around 4 trillion (Euros), that in turn are invested in a larger consortium known as ‘UNEP FI’ worth about $15 trillion (US). UNEP FI is fast becoming seriously embarrassed with its strong ties to the now discredited Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that lurches from one climate data fraud scandal to another. Nonetheless, the UNEP FI puts on a smug face and gleefully describes itself as, “a global partnership between UNEP and the financial sector. Over 180 institutions, including banks, insurers and fund managers, work with UNEP to understand the impacts of environmental and social considerations on financial performance.” The chairman of IIGCC and BBC head of pensions investment Peter Dunscombe said: “The credibility of emissions trading schemes would be greatly improved with a robust price signal as well as clear and frequent communication from the regulator on trading data and improved transparency over direct government participation in schemes.” Yes, you did read that correctly: “IIGCC chairman and BBC head of pensions investment Peter Dunscombe…” The BBC is in the chair of this carbon trading driven investment scheme. Now you know why the BBC’s thought police have been censoring climate skeptics shamelessly for years.” either on this site or on the World Wide Web. Copyright © 2013 The GOS |
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