Hutton Inquiry: BBC To Get Trashed?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Originally posted by Agathon


That's a dubious claim. The general consensus among journalists who attended the hearings was absolute shock and they heard the same evidence he did.

Yet despite this alleged fact (based on third-hand testimony that you never witnessed) there is absolutely no consensus across the papers, as I already detailed.

Again, a big own goal here. Blair would have been better served by a report that doled out a few reasonably severe, but not fatal, slaps to the govermnent along with the material on the BBC. As it stands though, it looks like a whitewash to the majority.

The report was not drafted to serve Blair, for better or worse.

[chequita guevara]

I hear this morning that 56% percent of Brits think the Report is a whitewash and support the BBC.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp


Yet despite this alleged fact (based on third-hand testimony that you never witnessed) there is absolutely no consensus across the papers, as I already detailed.

Um... no. All but the Sun have reservations. The lefty papers say it was a whitewash, the others that it was not even handed.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

ICM polled that 3 times as many people trust the BBC compared to Blair.

Then again, this morning I heard with my own earsGreg **** admitting that the BBC was wrong. So where's that going?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Originally posted by Agathon


Um... no. All but the Sun have reservations. The lefty papers say it was a whitewash, the others that it was not even handed.

The Independent had a headline reading "Whitewash?". Note the question mark.

The Guardian reported that the public still trusts the BBC more and some editorial pieces suggested a less than even-handed approach.

I haven't read the Mirror because I've grown out of comics.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp

The Independent had a headline reading "Whitewash?". Note the question mark.

The Guardian reported that the public still trusts the BBC more and some editorial pieces suggested a less than even-handed approach.

The Telegraph had a piece as well. There's links to the various papers at the Grauniad. Jon Snow wrote an article criticising it as well.

I haven't read the Mirror because I've grown out of comics.

[Ramo]

Fortunately, we have the inquiry transcripts to test against Lord Hutton's almost comically tendentious conclusions. We know, for example, that Blair's chief of staff Jonathan Powell asked the joint intelligence committee's John Scarlett to redraft that part of the September dossier which suggested Saddam Hussein might use chemical and biological weapons "if he believes his regime is under threat" - and Scarlett did so, by taking out the qualifications. We know that Campbell asked Scarlett to change a claim that the Iraqi military "may be able" to deploy chemical or biological weapons within 45 minutes to "are able". But Lord Hutton is of the view that this is not at all the "sexing up" that the BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan quoted Kelly as complaining about. We also know that Blair chaired the meeting at which the strategy for outing Kelly was adopted, even though the prime minister later denied having anything to do with it. But, in the Alice-in-Wonderland world of Lord Hutton, that was entirely consistent and honourable.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/kelly/comment/0,13747,1133918,00.html

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp
Then again, this morning I heard with my own earsGreg **** admitting that the BBC was wrong. So where's that going?

It's called falling on your sword. Kay is pushing the CIA on Bush's sword here in America.

[lord of the mark]

another great advocate of free, fair and balanced media has come out in defense of the BBC

The Russian Minister of Media


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3445689.stm

[CerberusIV]

If you don't actually watch the UK media closely it is easy to overlook the stance many outlets took when this first blew up, the speculation and subjective reporting of the evidence during the hearings (not everything significant in the final report made the news at the time) and the efforts the TV and newspapers made to portray the report as a potential disaster to Tonly Blair. Taking that into account they were never going to be happy with anything that cleared Blair, Hoon and Campbell.

Add in that a major media organisation came out of this very badly and the media here are somewhat uncertain. They can't bring themselves to accept the government is in the clear - many have never entirely got out of the habit of looking for excuses to have a go at the government that they acquired when John Major was PM and the current opposition are not newsworthy - will never admit that they whipped up speculation without anything much to support it and yet need to say something. Add to that the fact that whilst they don't like the BBC in a media versus government tussle the media will stick together for self preservation. Result - the media are trying to spin Hutton into being unfair and wrong. Ironic when the whole thing started out of allegations of government spin.

[Solly]

Great post Cerberus.

Ming, can you changed the thread title to Hutton Inquiry: BBC Gets Trashed please

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Park Avenue

I'm not saying the BBC should dissolve.

Could have fooled me...

Isn't your vision of Britain one in which the Blacks, Pakis, women, pinkos and queers have been put in their place and are choking to death in Dark Satanic Mills, whilst they are entertained by the Dirty Digger?

[Solly]

Isn't your vision of Britain one in which the Blacks, Pakis, women, pinkos and queers have been put in their place and are choking to death in Dark Satanic Mills, whilst they are entertained by the Dirty Digger?

My ideal vision is one of strong, cohesive communities. However, this becomes less and less possible the more differences there are between people. So it may be necessary to exclude some. But that's OK - they generally have their own space elsewhere to form communities of their own.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Park Avenue


My ideal vision is one of strong, cohesive communities. However, this becomes less and less possible the more differences there are between people. So it may be necessary to exclude some. But that's OK - they generally have their own space elsewhere to form communities of their own.

translation: I am a racist.

[Solly]