BBC - reply to complaint

[EverydayImJuggling]

Did anyone else finally receive a response if they complained to the BBC about the Puberty Blockers article on their website a few weeks back?

This is the reply I received:

Thank you for getting in touch about our article 'Puberty blockers: Parents' warning as ruling challenged' (www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55369784) and please accept our apologies for the long delay in our response.

You may since have become aware that the article was amended shortly after publication.

These changes are summarised in a note at the end of piece, including that the opening line has been amended to make clear that the NHS gender identity service has not appealed against the High Court ruling but is seeking leave to do so. A paragraph was also added to provide further background information on GenderGP and links to the BBC Action Line have been included.

The article sought to highlight a potential issue among some young people, including first-hand testimony from them and their parents, following the recent High Court ruling regarding the use of puberty blockers.

The justification and rationale behind the judgement in the Bell v Tavistock case was clearly represented near the top of report through a quote from the ruling by one of the three judges, Dame Victoria Sharp.

This was not, however, an article that examined the finding in the detail, nor the differing opinions surrounding it, rather it was to report on the views of those who say they have been affected by it, and their path to appeal.

We have of course reported in detail on the finding in our direct coverage of the case, including extensive interviews with those who backed the ruling, including Keira Bell who has appeared on a number of our broadcast outlets.

We recognise that this is a contentious area, with contrasting viewpoints on our coverage, and we are committed to reflecting a wide range of perspectives across our output as a whole and over an appropriate timeframe, so that no significant strand of thought is under-represented or omitted. We will, of course, continue to do this in regards to this issue.

Thanks again for contacting us.

Kind regards,

BBC Complaints Team
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

Is there a thread anywhere where we are compiling evidence of the BBC’s biased reporting and general treatment on this issue? If not, maybe we should pull one together...

The BBC has this on their home page. Nothing biased here

I'm so thoroughly sick of drag being on the front page of the BBC every damn day. Not even anything to do with the ins and outs of feminism, I'm just tired of the schtick.

amended shortly after publication

It wasn't amended "shortly" after publication, it was amended about 6 hours after publication (as I predicted on the original thread) because (as I also pointed out on the original thread) the BBC will be entirely aware that about 95% of the reads of an article happen within the first hour or so.

The BBC is all too aware of Churchill's adage "A lie can get half way round the world before the truth has got its pants on" - except that rather than seeing this as a cautionary admonition, the BBC see this as useful guidance in how to conduct themselves.

And yes, I'm fucking sick of drag. It's blackface. It's men - the class with the political and economic power - taking the piss out of women - the class they use that political and economic power to oppress.

We have this to look forward to from the BBC

twitter.com/OkBiology/status/1349689353828769793

@CaraDuneRedux

And yes, I'm fucking sick of drag. It's blackface. It's men - the class with the political and economic power - taking the piss out of women - the class they use that political and economic power to oppress.

This

I've given up on the BBC, their complaints responses are just versions of Am I Bovvered. They should have their licence removed, those who want to watch their output can fund them.

The childishness of that drag race tagline sums it up really. A number of assumptions being made there. That I could be remotely interested in anything that some random individual in a yellow suit wants to dictate about my thoughts being one of them. Bizarre.

This is typical of the BBC. Typical moving of the goalposts. They choose a message to put out, even if it's propaganda, and if there's pushback they can fiddle around with the form of the message and use that as the pretext to step around the complaints. The message gets out, and the complaints miss the goal and disappear into the long grass.

This particular propagandising made me think of this (only the start is visible but the message is clear):

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/11/tim-davie-urges-bbc-reporters-avoid-sizzle-partiality/

Is that the article that (once again) sensationalised suicide in young people? Did they have anything to say about breaking their own (and the Samaritan's) guidelines to do that?

I got the exact reply I think. I complained quite late and by the time I did they had already made some changes. I complained on the grounds of product placement which is a breach of their charter. (Covers services) they didn’t acknowledge that in their response.

Did you notice in the version now on the website at www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55369784
GenderGP is a private company founded by Helen Webberley, who was suspended by the General Medical Council for running an unlicensed transgender clinic. She is challenging the decision

Is the second half true?

@MichelleofzeResistance

Love your phrase re B.B.C. Complaints Dept; or, as you so appropriately rename it: "Am I Bovvered?"

The Telegraph article

^The BBC must avoid the "sizzle of partiality" and stick to honestly reporting the facts, its director-general has said.

Tim Davie said BBC reporters must be "activists for impartiality" but stressed that they should not take that to mean they should give up on compelling storytelling and produce dull reports.

In polarised times, and with a proliferation of alternative news sources springing up online, the BBC "can no longer take for granted that people still understand our intent", he said.

Speaking to the Reuters Next summit, Mr Davie said: "Do you need the sizzle of partiality to cut through in this space? I think it's really important to say that impartiality isn't dull.

"It's not the dry bit of reporting, it is absolutely a real appetite for evidence, for truth, for testimony. It can be really good, flavoursome reporting and I think we mustn't give up… we've had some amazing investigative journalism, very compelling reporting for some of these situations around the world and we want to keep making it interesting.

"And I really think it's very important that those of us fighting for impartial media, for truth-telling, should not give way to: 'We have to do this in a way that gets the maximum clicks immediately', but also doesn't give up on the theatre of it, the emotion of it, all the things we want to bring."

Mr Davie reasserted the importance of BBC guidelines which state that presenters and reporters must not voice controversial opinions or indulge in "virtue signalling" on Twitter, but he said that did not mean stars must adopt a bland presence on social media, saying: "I've always been a fan of big personalities, so I like my editors and people to have personality. I like them to be out there on social media.

"The issue was to reaffirm our vows around social media being just one outlet for our impartial journalism."

Mr Davie also said social media can be a toxic place for BBC journalists, particularly women, adding: "In social media we're seeing significant abuse, unacceptable abuse, of journalists.

"I have to say that this is particularly prevalent among women reporters – over 50 per cent in a recent survey said they were facing abuse online – so I think we've got to be active in this and forthright and also supportive of journalists wherever they are around the world."^

[quote yourhairiswinterfire]We have this to look forward to from the BBC

twitter.com/OkBiology/status/1349689353828769793[/quote]
I started to watch this and only made it half way through before my blood pressure was already too high.

Absolute indoctrination of children, pure and simple. So, so wrong.

And so very, very far from impartial and unbiased.

TIm Davie has got his work cut out if he really wants to make a difference in the culture at the BBC.

[quote yourhairiswinterfire]We have this to look forward to from the BBC

twitter.com/OkBiology/status/1349689353828769793[/quote]

That's dreadful, surely a programme encouraging children to take illegal and dangerous drugs with lifelong implications for their health cannot be broadcast on the BBC, aimed at young people!

What next? Teens go in search of their next heroin fix - we discuss why they want heroin, how to get hold of it, and how we can help them get more of it quick?

Or maybe teens could discuss how much they want to self-harm or be anorexic, and how we can help them do this.

Are there no grown-ups working at the BBC? Can no-one there see a problem with this??

I started to watch this and only made it half way through before my blood pressure was already too high.

How did you manage to watch it? It says it's not available until the 26th.

Thread about this programme:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4136073-BBC-3-DIY-Trans-Teens

Link to programme here:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p093wyx7

@OneEpisode

I got the exact reply I think. I complained quite late and by the time I did they had already made some changes. I complained on the grounds of product placement which is a breach of their charter. (Covers services) they didn’t acknowledge that in their response.

Did you notice in the version now on the website at www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55369784
GenderGP is a private company founded by Helen Webberley, who was suspended by the General Medical Council for running an unlicensed transgender clinic. She is challenging the decision

Is the second half true?

The second half may well be true. She probably is challenging it. She seems to be absolutely convinced she's in the right.

It's the first sentence which is inaccurate. She was first suspended in 2017, which was more than a year before the criminal prosecution for running the illegal clinic. There were many other concerns before that which led to her suspension.

This is the tribunal decision stating why she was suspended.

phl.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk/Documents/FTT%20Decision%2022%20October%202018%20-%20[2018]%203251.PHL.pdf

More in this thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3598778-Dr-Helen-and-Dr-Mike-Webberley-matters-of-public-record

Same reply here. Better than I was expecting which says very little.

I complain because I want the BBC to add my complaint to their running total and become aware people are watching.

The big problem for the BBC is that instead of being somewhere in the centre it has taken it upon itself to 'lead opinion' this change has led to the conflicts we're now seeing. The BBC needs to be a bit less 'we know best' and a bit more aunty.

As for drag, can't stand it. They were advertising it massively but that seems to have dropped off. Lots of viewers to start with, I should think, but it is the sort of stuff that might get boring very quickly. I guess, in the end, viewing figures will be the judge, no fudging that one really.

I like Drag Race and have watched it from its first season getting a bit sick of it now like. But I was surprised a UK version was picked up by the BBC as the US version is so dependent on sponsors, tie-in promos and cash prizes, and social media ‘moments’. My guess is way the BBC are promoting this is certainly with an international audience in mind, as a money maker. And that’s why it’s so OTT and prevalent. If people are going to insist on cuts, this is what it’s going to have to do to get by.

[quote OldCrone]I started to watch this and only made it half way through before my blood pressure was already too high.

How did you manage to watch it? It says it's not available until the 26th.

Thread about this programme:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4136073-BBC-3-DIY-Trans-Teens

Link to programme here:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p093wyx7[/quote]
Sorry, OldCrone, I was obviously over tired last night!

The clip I watched and was referring to was the following one which I somehow found and confused myself (and everyone!) as to what I was commenting on. Not sure if someone else linked to it or if I just followed a link from a link, iyswim.

Anyway. It’s outrageous.

www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/rse-ks2-identity-understanding-sexual-and-gender-identities/zfqrhbk

@CaraDuneRedux

And yes, I'm fucking sick of drag. It's blackface. It's men - the class with the political and economic power - taking the piss out of women - the class they use that political and economic power to oppress.

Yes. Agree 100%

This is typical of the BBC. Typical moving of the goalposts. They choose a message to put out, even if it's propaganda, and if there's pushback they can fiddle around with the form of the message and use that as the pretext to step around the complaints.

Yes. I can accept that journalists sometimes get things wrong and questionable content occasionally slips through the net as so little is produced in-house these days, but the consistently obtuse attitude to complaints is unforgivable.

I got a similar response.

And drag everywhere on the BBC. One of them on the front page yesterday was called A'Whora FFS.

The one on Master Chef drove me batty. Wear whatever you want, great. Present however you want, great. Do you, ignore the stereotypes.

But expect people to actually call you Bagga Chips and whoffle about giggling over how girly and flappy and silly you are and I really cannot be bothered with you or your ridiculous, insulting ideas on women that you're play acting. Grow up ffs. Women don't tolerate other women behaving like girly prats, stop expecting women to make exceptions for males doing it.