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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think the BBC news website is too US-centric?

14 replies

queueueue · 27/08/2020 20:50

Disclaimer: Of course international news is important and ties between the UK and the US are strong so it's going to get more coverage than many other foreign countries, etc. I absolutely am not saying the BBC shouldn't report on US news.

But the BBC website TOP stories are almost always about the US. Each day I check the BBC, Reuters, Independent and sometimes Guardian websites. None of the other three put US stuff as the top story (ies) as much as the BBC does. If you check right now, only the BBC has. And that is the case almost every day. I get that the Republican convention may be of interest to some people, but does it need the top 3 articles on the BBC homepage as it was yesterday? It's so over the top. It's annoying cos I really like the BBC website but I inevitably have to scroll through a load of US stuff to hunt for what I want to read, or I just close it and read another news source instead if I want UK news.

OP posts:
Palavah · 27/08/2020 21:04

Only a couple of US stories on the front page today. It's easy to toggle to 'UK' or 'world' if you want different headlines.

NiceGerbil · 27/08/2020 21:07

Agree.

It's just Corona and USA politics on the TV news.

So much is still happening around the world, and our news at least on the TV has got so narrow.

Try watching Al Jazeera for well reported global news. It's very good.

sashagabadon · 27/08/2020 21:10

Totally agree. I know more than i care to know about the US and very little about most countries in europe.
Bbc radio the same. US stories lead almost every bulletin.
I have never been to the US. Little interest in going and would much rather hear about the UK and Europe

NiceGerbil · 27/08/2020 21:16

+++

What's going on in Syria
How are things after the explosion in the Lebanon
Etc etc

sashagabadon · 28/08/2020 06:19

Listening to radio 4 right now. Trump/ Us chat for last 10 mins.
Switched over to times radio. Trump on there too

blingblangbling · 28/08/2020 07:41

I suspect the BBC's (mutant) algorithm looks at what readers pick to decide what stories go top. When you look in the morning, there have probably been a lot of US readers overnight looking at the BBC news, as they value the independence (contrary to what a lot of people think, compared to the US news sites it is).

Westfacing · 28/08/2020 07:47

It's been a bugbear of mine for years now - drives me mad!

Not just the website but TV & radio news - they were leading with the latest hurricane when only six people died.

And then there are long discussions on US gun law - fine as a documentary or a later item but not the first item on the news. And don't get me started on four years of their general elections, starting with the primaries and all the obscure senators etc!

Pelleas · 28/08/2020 07:52

It's too rubbish-centric.

This morning we have:

How EastEnders is 'cheating' with kissing scenes
The band whose DIY videos make fatbergs dance
The Archers return to studio after criticism
Did Messi really send his transfer request by fax?
Notorious B.I.G. crown up for auction at $200,000

That's not news, that's gossip.

blingblangbling · 28/08/2020 07:53

As the BBC is making cuts to its news teams around the world, this will get worse as they will be more reliant on other organisations for news and a lot of those will be American I would think.

Lasttraintolondon · 28/08/2020 07:57

Agreed, it's relentless. Almost all of the main stories are US-based. I'd love to know more about other countries, both in Europe and further afield. I'd even take some UK local news, which the bbc does quite well but never promotes.

claireyjs · 28/08/2020 12:07

It happens every time there is a US Presidential election... once it's over things will return to normal

NiceGerbil · 29/08/2020 01:27

Agree re sleb stuff being news and the quoting of Twitter really annoys me. Person dies. They lift some comments from Twitter.

Useless.

For all those pissed off I strongly recommend Al Jazeera

queueueue · 29/08/2020 01:37

It happens every time there is a US Presidential election... once it's over things will return to normal

I feel like that used to be the case, but it's not anymore. Two days ago the top story was a hurricane in the US. Yesterday it was the US election, yes. Today, the top 6 stories on the bbc homepage (that's how many get images alongside their headline at the top of the page) are:

Floyd family urge protesters to 'be his legacy' (US)
Paralysed Jacob Blake 'released from handcuffs' (US)
France sees 'exponential' rise in virus infections (France)
Should Wisconsin police have used different tactics? (US)
TikTok stars charged over partying during pandemic (US)
Could voters agree as they watched Trump? (US)

I mean... wtf? One or two of them, fine, I'm not saying none of them are important. But altogether, it's annoying. And it's not just occasionally. It's not just elections. It's every single day.

OP posts:
RichPetunia · 29/08/2020 01:49

It’s also happening with sports. I was listening to 5 live recently and they were giving the results of basketball / baseball games from the US (not sure which because I don’t recognise the names). I did think why on earth are they reporting those here? Nobody is interested.
As someone else said Al Jazeera is good.

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