BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting

Subject: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 11:28 AM

I found this link to a transcript of a speech given by John Willis, a BBC director, where he discusses his observations of American TV news while living in Boston and working for WGBH in the year leading up to the Iraq war, at Michael Moore's website. I thought some people here might be interested in reading it.

Text of John Willis' speech to Royal Television Society in London, June 17, 2003

The American media received much criticism from American viewers who turned to non-American news sources for critical (in the journalistic sense, where journalists are supposed look critically at all parties, at the evidence, at the sequence of events, etc) reporting of the news.

Yesterday, I posted a link to another article at the Editor and Publisher website:

Media Coverage of Government Is Declining

As an avid news junkie, I do regularly check US news sources, but usually only to check to see what the spin is. For fact checking, I use a variety of high quality US newspapers rather than American TV networks, or go to non-US news sources like the BBC, and newspaper sources from other countries like India, France, Al Jazeera, and others.

The most striking thing I've noticed, as a news junkie, about those Americans who are best informed, is that few of them are getting all their news from American sources exclusively anymore. They just don't trust the integrity of news sources in the post-Reagan era.

I guess what I find most ironic is the lame excuses the American media is coming up with for it's pathetic coverage of news, current events, and editorial and opinion writing: that Americans want feel-good coverage that always portrays the US in the most positive light. So that is what the networks especially, feel they must deliver. Since when is that the standard used for reporting--whether or not it makes us look good and/or feel good?

Subject: RE: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: GUEST,Brit
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 11:14 AM

I am a Brit living in Europe and my Satellite company have just dropped their contract with the BBC and I now have an American News Channel instead .

What a difference ! The American channel is smoother and more visually pleasing perhaps, but it lacks in depth of coverage.

I am always a little wary of the BBC coverage of things, having lived through the Tahatcher era and BBC coverage of the "troubles" in Northern Ireland. I do, however, feel that us Brits have a lot to be grateful for; they have been setting standards for decades, and have raised public awareness on things from food higiene to Israel's weapons of mass destruction.

I would like to see MANY things changed within the BEEB , but I am proud of it.

Subject: RE: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 02:42 PM

You've got this link GUEST Brit, I assume - BBC America

Subject: RE: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: harvey andrews
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 03:10 PM

And A LABOUR govt threatens the BBC charter over claims about spin on the Iraq war. I think if they tried to take our Beeb away they wouldn't know what hit them!

Subject: RE: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 07:34 PM

Opinion polls indicate that far more people trust the BBC than the Government. Any Government.

Subject: RE: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: diesel
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 10:37 PM

About 13 years ago, Iwas in a job where news form 'outside' was via shortwave radio - predominately the BBC world service. (and an excellent service it is).

One morning tuning in - a news report came across, ' Terrorists form the IRA have fired a RPG rocket at 10 Downing street which landed 100 metres AWAY from.....etc '

quickly I tuned around, happened to find Radio Moscow broadcasting the same message in English ' Freedom fighters from the IRA have fired a RPG rocket at 10 Downing street which landed 100 metres CLOSE to .....etc '

Same message different spin.

I Always think about that in any news I listen to now.

rgds

Diesel

Subject: RE: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: Billy the Bus
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 02:05 AM

I don't run to a TV set, so rely on the steam-driven wireless and Internet for my news. We used to have the BBC News (complete with Big Ben) for the 9pm News in New Zealand, and the majority of news-feeds and commentaries on the radio are still from there. I particularly enjoy Alistai Cooke's Letter From America - what a man!

On the Net, I use Ananova for 'breaking news' (especially the 'Quirkies'). If I want more in-depth comment, and there is no link to the original source on Ananova, I go to Google News (NZ) and look for a link that seems appropriate - usually a newspaper.

I visit BBC News at least daily (low graphics, as I have a slow connection) - the above explains my preference. I guess I'm still a "Colonial" at heart.

For NZ news I go to the Otago Daily Times, which has searchable archives back to 1997 or our almost local Southland Times - not that anyone will be interested in those links.

Having absorbed what I can from various sources, I think, "Well, we'll find the 'truth' of the matter in a decade's time" - I don't really trust any of 'em ***VBG***

Cheers - Sam

Subject: RE: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: The Walrus
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 05:21 AM

That Great Austral^H^H^H^H^H^H Americ^H^H^H^H^H^H (Whaterver he is)
Rupert ('The Dirty Digger') Murdoch would like to see the BBC disbanded - That's got to be something in its favour.

Walrus

Subject: RE: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: mack/misophist
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 09:49 AM

American newspapers have been in decline for decades. Except, sometimes, on the local level, TV news is usually a joke. Is any one surprised that we're so easily manipulated?

Subject: RE: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 11:01 AM

I think people mostly only believe lies they read when they are the lies they want to believe. In which case it's not so much that they get manipulated by the press, they use the press to bolter their preconceptions.

That's actually more worrying.

Subject: RE: BS: Article: BBC vs American news reporting
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 12:23 PM

While I do use the internet for access to non-local newspapers and alternative news media for information much more than television news, I'm not absolutely convinced that standards in newspaper journalism have declined.

But then, I was never convinced that their standards were all that high to begin with--the phrase "yellow journalism" was coined to describe newspaper journalism, after all.