Who can we complain to about unbalanced reporting?

[wanderings]

It's been discussed on many threads: underselling the vaccine so people don't fight over it or start hugging vaccinated granny, influencing public behaviour by spreading doom and gloom, blatant scaremongering, interspersing a vague "there is hope" with "but not until February", "March", "April" ad infinitum, endless coverage of nurses crying in hospital; but NO coverage of the adverse effects of lockdown on our children, and the future legacy of this. The reporting is all very one-sided. Spin, spin, spin, of what the government wants us to hear, to keep us in our place. I'm sure the mixed messages are deliberate, so that the public remains confused and docile, and fighting with each other.

We need to show we are AWARE they are doing this, that it's an insult to the public's intelligence, and likely to make the public less compliant, more disbelieving, and less likely to trust any future government, ever. (For me, that ship sailed with Tony Blair's weapons of mass destruction.)

My first thought would be writing to MPs, since I'm certain the government has a lot of influence in this, undoubtedly with a whole spin department dedicated to lying to the public, but the government is not going to admit to that. I have mentioned these tactics in several letters to my MP; he's not commented on this. Would writing to the BBC and newspapers be any good?

I myself would have a lot more respect for the government, and even lockdown, if they played it straight: admitted when they didn't know things, instead of this constant chaotic game of constantly moving the goalposts, firmly saying one thing, e.g. "schools are safe", and then saying the opposite, with equal certainty. It's doesn't make the government look as if they are in control: it just makes them look even more stupid and desperate every time they do it, and even makes them look as if they're playing with our heads for shits and giggles.

I write to my MP a lot. And Gavin Williamson. Doesn’t help though, the replies are just generic ‘you know nothing, you pleb’ type things.

To be honest OP, this just sounds like the usual "lets shield the vulnerable while the rest of us crack on" stupidity put in a more verbose way.

You need to complain to the specific channel you think has become unbalanced.

Do remember that only publicly funded broadcasters have a duty to be unbiased - and in the case if the BBC must be doing something right, as both wings of the party each think it favours the other! - and anyhow is unlikely to be the one you are thinking of, as Gav has just been talking about schools at some length on BBC Breakfast, and there have been plenty of other reports on schools. The other one that receives some public money is Channel 4, but I haven't watched their news recently.

The more specific your complaint the better, so it mustn't be a general letter to each outlet but rather something that shows why their coverage is so skewed it should be changed.

Do bear in mind that your view in schools might be the outlier - I dint think anyone is welcoming the move to online school. But know we have to go with it because the alternative is even worse.

@Rosehip10

To be honest OP, this just sounds like the usual "lets shield the vulnerable while the rest of us crack on" stupidity put in a more verbose way.

How does it? The OP is complaining about the government lying and constantly shifting goalposts, while treating the general public like idiots. Not sure anyone can deny that’s the case. Everyone would be far more compliant if they were honest. Now I know they don’t have all the answers and they can’t give definite timeframes, but the u-turns that are leaking in the press long before they happen, the gas lighting (telling us it’s the fault of people not complying with the rules, when the vast majority are), the refusal to acknowledge what is still a massive problem of care home and hospital transmission does not inspire people to follow the rules.

The OP is complaining about the government lying and constantly shifting goalposts, while treating the general public like idiots

??

The thread title is about unbalanced reporting, which could mean accurate reporting of one viewpoint only.

But what the government publishes, or ministers say, isn't anything tomdo with the balance of reporting. Unless it is reported inaccurately or nothing of the government position is reported.

If you think the government should change what it is says in the first place, that neeeds quite a different approach to deals no with the media about balance.

The desire for apparent balance leads to the Great Barrington bunch and Us For Them getting far too much airtime, so the coverage gets unbalanced in a different way. A bit less of the dangerous fringe would be great.

Ofcom. If you feel that media is unbalanced and needs investigating their the organisation to do it.

@wanderings

Not this again...

I myself would have a lot more respect for the government, and even lockdown, if they played it straight

They are doing what they can. I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy being in their shoes at the moment

Please stop obsessing over the government. It just stirs up further division and unrest.

I do avoid BBC news. I think it's very patronising and treats its audience as having a low level of intelligence. It doesn't seem to go into any depth on any subject and often seems directed by the government. There's definitely a strong hint of propaganda to it these days.

I like to read my news from a variety of sources, from The Canary to Fox News and all the more reputable sites inbetween.

I have seen plenty about the detrimental effects on everyone.

@AmoElCafe

The OP is complaining about the government lying and constantly shifting goalposts

The goalposts change because it's a virus - no government can control it. It's chaotic in other countries too

Clear and easy to understand data showing what groups/occupations are getting infected is missing. I hate the new ad I heard on the radio 'Exercise not socialised'. It goes on about how dog walkers in the park are very likely to be transmitting the virus. I would rather hear the truth about public transport, hospitals, schools, workplaces and care homes where infections are taking place.

I absolutely agree OP. BBC actually was warned ( I think) about it a while ago. Piers Morgan was told to take a few months holiday of GMTV because of what he was doing also. You do control the public by what they see on the news and read in the rags - they have always done this.

The Government have no idea what they are doing.

Deaths are high today but infection rates are dropping but what we are seeing now is the lag between the two. The government dont trust us to continue to keep up with the restrictions so they allow the news to scare people to death.

I haven’t noticed that, the news I’ve been watching and reading has covered loss of business, mental health affects of lockdowns etc.

However, if you have had a different experience Ofcom is who you’re looking for

I don't really understand what you think is unbalanced. Can you give us an example of something that has been reported, that you think hasn't been presented fairly?

Piers Morgan was told to take time off?

Not all bad then.

@Reallybadidea

I don't really understand what you think is unbalanced. Can you give us an example of something that has been reported, that you think hasn't been presented fairly?

I’ll give you one.

The daily reporting of the high deaths. Yes the deaths are staggering but this should also be balanced out with the fact cases are dropping and what we are seeing is the lag.

I’ve never been happy with the reporting of covid deaths. Many many people die every day because of other fatal illnesses - if they have covid around that period which wasn’t the actual cause of death - it still gets counted as a covid death.

A man catches covid on day one - dies in a motor bike accident on day 28 = covid death

A woman fighting a long battle with breast cancer and is dying but contracts covid in hospital just before she dies = covid death.

We’ve never had biased reporting this whole time.

I agree with you OP. I wrote to my local council after they sent a really patronising letter to parents saying that their children were completely safe in school (this was before Christmas). The whole tone of the letter was entirely influenced by central government messaging - no nuance, no acknowledging uncertainty. They seem to think they are communicating to small children who can only cope with one idea at a time. At the moment they are thumping the DANGER message with ICU films and sobbing medics, because they need to get the numbers down. In a few weeks the message wil change again, and we won't see any of that, because they will want us back at work and school.

@PuppyMonkey

Piers Morgan was told to take time off?

Not all bad then.

I agree!

@Seasaltyhair

The government dont trust us to continue to keep up with the restrictions so they allow the news to scare people to death

Of course they can't trust us. And the news should be even scarier. Think of house parties, etc

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/17/uk-police-crack-down-covid-rule-breakers

@lurker101

I haven’t noticed that, the news I’ve been watching and reading has covered loss of business, mental health affects of lockdowns etc.

However, if you have had a different experience Ofcom is who you’re looking for

This. I have seen lots of reports on the economic effects, concerns over education and mental health. I think for a long time there was very little reporting from inside hospitals, which led to a social media flurry of people doubting the amount and nature of hospitalisation, and they are trying to redress that, to emphasise why we are having to lockdown.

OP the journalists weren't allowed to show inside hospitals as much as they wanted in 2020 as the government banned them from hospitals.

NHS Trust CEOs and staff were also not allowed to let them in to report about covid either even though they wanted the journalists in, as they were threatened with being disciplined and sacked. (Notice how most of the people who worked in hospitals talking to the media before this year were union reps?)

Now due to covidiots protesting outside A&E departments and filming outpatients departments the government has relented as they think too many of us think the virus isn't real causing the high infection then high death rates. This is why we are now getting an overdrive of hospital pictures of sobbing nurses, doctors and other staff plus hearing from distressed patients and their families including those who have died.

In short you are wasting your time complaining as this government has no integrity. They are spinning to try to hide the fact they are useless and acted to late causing high infection and death rates.

Noticing the BBC is guilty of over egging certain reports. One report which has been shown several times is of a crowded train station with a split screen showing same crowd but reversed on one side. The public do need reminders of what is happening but the continual harping on is likely to ensure that many of us will turn off the news as the relentless misery is too much.

I disagree with you.

Most importantly, the vaccine hasn't been downplayed. At all. The science has been accurately reported. Including the efficacy and the fact that we don't know if it will stop transmission yet. I don't really get your point. Are you suggesting the media should lie about this instead?

The main stream news is not "scaremongering". We're in a bloody mess with the highest death rate per capita in the world. The NHS is getting close to overwhelmed.

I do agree that the government need to hold their hands up and admit they have got things wrong. But I don't see what that has to do with your complaint about the media?

Agree OP The coverage last night was insulting to our intelligence.
Yet another nurse crying and the camera on her for ages. I turned it off, I've got no time for any more of it.
The very brief reporting of the inquest into the Manchester Arena attack however, has had me and DH in tears. The father speaking about the now seemingly needless death of his young daughter, was heart wrenching.
I honestly have no time for nurses, paid to do a job they chose to do, crying all the time when the bbc are filming them.