James Kirkup on BBC reporting on trans prisoners

[Polynerd]

New piece from the wonderful James Kirkup in the Spectator on the BBC's reporting on trans prisoners. As an ex-journalist, I am utterly incensed by this. The 'Reality Check' team found a startling story in official data - that nearly half of trans prisoners are sex offenders - and buried it with obfuscation.
blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/08/is-the-bbc-scared-of-the-transgender-debate/
Please remember to respect James by not pasting in the full text - we need the Spectator to keep printing this stuff and they can't if they go bankrupt!

Me too, BoreOfWhabylon. The bit you've highlighted in brackets really stood out for me too. I can't believe the government have no idea brickbats are heading their way and they will surely have to kick these ludicrous proposed amendments into the long grass very soon, build some prisons or units within existing prisons for transwomen prisoners and then we can all get back to a normal life.

Lovely James K, if you are reading this, I have taken out a digital and paper subscription today because of your coverage of this issue.

Hammer, nail, head, again James.

I have always been a great supporter of the BBC and, as a former journalist myself, I know how difficult it is to ensure that you are utterly impartial. In general, an organisation that gets criticised from left and right is probably as near impartial as you can get.

However, it is becoming clear that there appears to be an over representation of what I would call "left liberal luvvy elites" among those in the BBC on the creative side, whose toffee nosed approach to those they look down on as the great regressive unwashed of middle England results in disproportionate kowtowing to vocal and aggressive minorities: and yes, probably over representation by these "elites" among their ranks.

Gender self ID is an accident waiting to happen and the BBC could find itself caught up in the backlash. Jimmy Savile anyone?

Great article - what are the chances of it being discussed on R4 "Feedback" programme? Err ...none

MyVisionsComeFromSoup

Tara Hudson of 7 inch surprise fame is taking legal action against the MoJ.

I suspect someone, somewhere in the BBC is having a conversation about the Cliff Richard case being used by Carter Ruck/Jess Bradley.

Bit tricky this situation.

Actually scrap that, I suspect folk are studiously NOT talking about it....because by their not talking about it makes it go away, no?

Thank you James, excellent work as ever.
BBC, you really are hammering the nails into your own coffin.

Thanks James - that is excellent. I read the original article and was agog by its implicit bias

I suspect someone, somewhere in the BBC is having a conversation about the Cliff Richard case being used by Carter Ruck/Jess Bradley.

Is this what James referenced? It could be 7 inch surprise also.

Me too heresy! (Re the "absolute c*s")

Thank you James and your editors at the Spectator.

That's a good article that has put into words my increasing uneasy with BBC reporting on this issue.

Some of my friends at the BBC say the BBC is institutionally scared of criticism by vocal and eloquent trans-rights groups

There is growth in number of people not having any TV (or other services) and an increasingly high number of household paying for SKY or net flicks, amazon etc.

I'm not vocal but I look to the BBC for good news coverage decent documentaries and high quality children programs. I increasingly find the latter two with services we already pay extra for – and I’m noticing a massive bias in news reporting on this issues and it leaves me wondering what I’m not noticing.

I’m suddenly starting to wonder how valid a concept the TV licence is TBH (and yes BBC role in Jimmy Savile is at back of my mind as well)

Twitter isn’t the voting population and not everyone on twitter gets caught up in twitter storms though I think some politicians and some parts of media haven’t grasped that yet.

Applause for JK (again)

If it were possible to re-subscribe to show my appreciation for his writing, I would

I do wonder why the BBC are so timid when reporting non possitive news regarding trans individuals and as a group.

There is the suggestion in the piece that journalist don't want to come under fire from vocal tra groups, but surely they must be used to that? Lots of individuals and groups will be very vocal if the BBC report negative news, why are the BBC protecting tra so much?

Excellent article.

Isn’t there another point about the BBC analysis?

Their argument/evasion relies on the fact that it is not known how many of the 60 transgender imprisoned sex offenders are female to male transgender.

But for the answer to this question to be of any statistical significance, the proportion of sex offenders among the female to male transgender prison population would have to be wildly in excess of the proportion of female prisoners as a whole who are sex offenders. This seems (as James Kirkup points out) very unlikely. There is nothing to suggest this is the case. But let’s say it were so- that the BBC’s assumption is correct. This would demonstrate female to male transgender people to be far more likely than non-transgender women to commit sex offences. Thereby suggesting an urgent new line of enquiry - what on earth might cause this worrying propensity for female to male transgender people to commit sex offences at rates completely unknown in the female population at large? Their male brains? Artificial hormones? Or something else?

What I’m trying to say - badly- is that the BBC analysis rests on an assumption which is unlikely; but if this assumption is indeed correct, it points to something so worrying that it is worthy of research in itself.

really appreciated how many times the article managed to incorporate the fact that Cllr Murray called women "absolute c*s".

James has been obliged to correct this:

twitter.com/jameskirkup/status/1029780359389618176

Oh, that tweet is just gorgeous, Kesstrel

Thank you James for all the hard work you are doing on this issue (I feel like I now say this on here on a more or less weekly basis).

Thank you so much James. I hope I get the chance to buy you a drink some day

Superb. Maybe newswatch will do it.

Isn’t there another point about the BBC analysis?

There are so many questions that need addressing as a result of the BBC foi request and so many possible reasons why almost half of the trans prison population are sex offenders. But the BBC didn't ask for the information to analyse it, they ask for it to prove fpfw wrong.

Makes me wonder what else they are hiding that doesn't fit their agenda.

The BBC helped to create All About Trans which then helped to re-educate the BBC about what to report and how.

Also not on reality check twitter feed?

At least this sheds some light on the mindset of those in charge of the BBC that enabled Savile to carry on with his terrible behaviour for so long.

Vive la resistance

Disappointed the comments are so mean but I'm often surprised by the low standard of Spectator comments. The same people seem to post inane drivel on everything.
Some complain it's an issue no-one is interested in yet his articles are usually in the "most popular" list.
If I'm not interested in something I don't read it and I definitely don't then waste time commenting on how I don't read articles on this issue as they don't interest me!

Perhaps James Kirkup can compare the ignorant and idiotic comments seemingly mostly by men under his Spectator article and the noticeably more intelligent and relevant comments (including many by women) under his tweet introducing the article.