Brexit brands and the BBC

[longfingernails]

www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/top-10-brands-favoured-remainers-brexiters/1403991#

I'm not surprised by the difference in brand choices between the metropolitan hipsters and the patriotic working class. However, whilst the likes of Instagram and LinkedIn are free to target themselves at whosoever they feel best advances their business objectives, it is disgusting but not surprising that the BBC finds itself at the helm of the Remainder brand choices (twice) whilst not even being mentioned in the top 10 for leavers.

If we are forced to continue paying the TV tax, then the BBC should produce more output whose editorial tone is in line with the values of the Brexiteer majority. Of course, it won't do so unless compelled.

In general, I am solidly against quotas in hiring policy - but, in view of the fact that BBC is so poisonous to our political discourse with its ultra-PC claptrap, AIBU to suggest that they be forced to hire e.g. more UKIP supporters from the provincial towns and shires until they make up around 15% of its workforce, in line with the population?

[VanillaSugar]

Multiculturalism has ruined good old British food. RUINED it, I say! And it's all the BBC's fault with that James Martin on Saturday Kitchen cooking Shit Kebabs.

[crossroads3]

Bit late for that, UKIP got us out of the EU so have shaped our future.

We are not out of the EU yet.

It's all to play for.

[Noonesfool]

You're so right Vanilla.


Bloody JM

[VanillaSugar]

Yes noone disappointed because JM is a nice Yorkshire boy and he should be cooking Haslet and faggots with his overly boiled sprouts.

Off out back in a tick.

[Hulababy]

If you don't like the BBC then don't pay for it and don't watch it. You don't have to. It's still a choice. If you don't pay for it then you just don't get to watch/listen to it live or otherwise (TV, iPlayer etc)

There are alternatives. Several people already make that choice and don't watch/listen therefore don't pay.

[Fruu]

I have heaps of remainer friends who don't pay the TV licence because we all subscribe to Netflix or other internet on-demand services or just don't watch TV in general.

If you don't like what's on TV, you don't have to pay for a licence! Nobody's forcing you.

[MatildaOfTuscany]

I think the Brexit brand thing is indicative of a failing in the BBC, but not the one the OP thinks it is indicative of. It's illustrative of a replacement of serious news content with "infotainment", partly driven by their having sacked a lot of their journalists in funding cutbacks.

Today's news is a good illustration. Trump (as reported in both the Telegraph and Guardian, just to span the political spectrum) has made yet another outrageous claim - saying that one might as well view Obama as "founder of ISIS". The BBC is still not yet reporting this. Ditto the Turkish coup attempt a few weeks back - the BBC was way behind the curve reporting this one compared to the Telegraph and Guardian's live feeds. They are simply not spending enough money on journalism and filling their "news" site and broadcasts with pap like this survey (excellent take down of the methodology, quasibex).

[BakewellSliceAgain]

Mathilda nail on head as far as I am concerned.

I accept I need to look at the inbuilt biases of my news provider, I get annoyed when I can't decipher what the news is!

[OTheHugeManatee]

Let me break it to you gently: All media is biased in its own way. By virtue of having been written by someone, for a purpose. It comes from a perspective. And the consumer also views that media with bias.

Don't think anyone is disputing that. What would be good though would be if the BBC were sufficiently self-aware to carry programming with a good range of biases, such as to reflect more accurately the political diversity of the country.

A slightly flippant example but it is difficult to imagine the BBC making a documentary where Daniel Hannan goes round Cambridge, Liverpool and Notting Hill asking people why they voted Remain; even though it could potentially be very interesting and revealing. Yet there has been lots of media output anthropologising Leave voters. Again, all media are biased but we can choose to buy the Telegraph or Mirror; we have much less choice with the BBC. So if we can't get away from bias the BBC does at least need to facilitate a range of biases. At the moment its record on that front is weak.

[Kaija]

Amazing. So the BBC was biased against Leave because they gave too much airtime to Leave supporters and not enough to Remain.

That's some sophisticated thinking.

[HumphreyCobblers]

All coverage is not equal Kaija - it takes wilful misunderstanding to fail to understand that, surely.

[JassyRadlett]

How is ITV allowed to get away with only appealing to the part of the population that voted Leave and utterly rejecting and neglecting the needs and values of the nearly 50% of voters? It's disgusting, they are allowed to operate in a populist bubble that totally ignores the population, they should be stripped of their licence.

^^ similar logic

[BakewellSliceAgain]

Taking your post at face value Jassy:

Paid for by advertising!

[HairsprayBabe]

OP if the BBC makes you so pointlessly angry I would suggest you stop going on their website to avoid finding things to be offended by.

[VanillaSugar]

In the words of the Great Austin Powers:

It's the BBC!
It's the BBC!
BBC 1
BBC 2
BBC 3
BBC 4
BBC 5
BBC 6
BBC 7
BBC HEAVEN! !!!!

[augustwashout]

I don't think you have to share the OP's politics to think the BBC does a poor job of reflecting the political diversity of the U.K.



^

This the BBC is an embarrassment of course its lost its way and is biased.

[Kaija]

Humphrey, the BBC bent over backwards to be "balanced" in its referendum coverage. If 95% experts in any given field were for remain and 5% to leave (and they generally were) again and again the BBC would give equal airtime to representatives from both.

In all the vox pops I saw no challenge at all to the views of the leavers from interviewers, even in instances where those views were openly racist.

I would have loved to have seen Daniel Hannon go to Cambridge, Liverpool etc and interview remainers in the same way. I'm absolutely certain it would have done nothing for Leave's case.

[GladAllOver]

Brexit brands and the BBC

Why is this goady claptrap in AIBU instead of Politics where it belongs?

[lljkk]

.

[TheNaze73]

The license fee is an outdated stealth tax that should be abolished. 90% of the BBC's output is utter cack & it should be funded by subscription or advertising.
It's scandalous

[HumphreyCobblers]

equal air time does NOT equal balanced coverage

that fallacy was exploded years ago

it is obvious if you think about it - five minutes of a tory politician giving an impressive speech versus five minutes of a labour politician eating a bacon roll and making a fool of himself.

[facepalming]

"in view of the fact that BBC is so poisonous to our political discourse with its ultra-PC claptrap"

I'm totally with you OP..

All the efforts they made to give equal time to both sides can only have contributed to the brexit votes...

As pps have said they gave equal time to experts speaking from both sides despite there being quite a lack of experts favouring brexit.

Can't believe my patriotic working class self now has to give up brown sauce since I voted Remain...:(

[Kaija]

Sure, Humphrey, but I'm talking about air time where the participants are there to talk, and on every news/current affairs programme I heard or saw during the ref, the BBC gave equal voice to both sides, regardless of the fact that for every Patrick Minford, say, there were 10 experts in the field who opposed his views.

[squoosh]

So last month you were droning on about the Guardian, now you're droning on about the BBC.

What's next on your boring little hit list?

[JassyRadlett]

Taking your post at face value Jassy:

Paid for by advertising!

And I am sick to death of the price of the products and services I buy benign artificially inflated because of ITV's extortionate advertising rates, which they use to fund their hopelessly biased and inadequate output. It's not as simple as saying 'don't buy from companies that advertise on ITV' - I need and/or enjoy some of that stuff!

ITV should be opt in and paid for only by people who want to watch its content, not subsidised by the rest of us.