Douglas Carswell's Blog

BBC riot reporting got it wrong

I'm pleased to hear David Cameron speak out about the way that our state-funded broadcaster reported the riots.  A couple of weeks ago, in an article for the Mail on Sunday I made much the same point. 

With the BBC in mind, I noted how “Many of those who two weeks ago were telling us that the looters were really ‘protesters’ are now implying that the wrong-doers are being treated unjustly.”

“The BBC’s Ten O’Clock News” I continued “dedicated an entire item to the supposedly harsh sentences, complete with sympathetic interviews with complaining relatives of the convicted and legal ‘experts’ telling us how the courts are being arbitrary and unfair. ...

“All week, the BBC informed us of a six-month jail term handed out to one particular looter for taking a £3.50 case of mineral water. Yet the implication of the reports – that punishment should simply match the monetary value of what was taken – is wrong.  A looter taking a £1,000 gold chain or a £1 Dunkin’ Donut is still a looter..."

Much of the BBC's news coverage - be it about looting, the financial crisis, overseas conflict or the Euro - tells us as much about the prejudices and outlook of those working for the corporation as they do about what is happening in the world.

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