What does the BBC stand for? [View all]

[MichaelMcGuire]

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The media is essential for the functioning of a democracy. It bridges the gulf which separates the political caste from the people: informing and educating, ensuring that the government is held accountable to the electorate, and providing a platform for public debate and scrutiny of the government. Yet whilst the media functions as the guardian of public interest, it is also an exceptional means of influencing and manipulating public opinion. Shamelessly biased reporting, sensationalisation at the expense of accuracy, and scarily rich and powerful media tycoons are accepted with unnerving ease as part and parcel of our democratic age.


The raison d'être of the publicly funded body of the BBC, as conditioned by Royal Charter, is to objectively inform and educate the people with news free from bias and manipulation. ‘‘Trust is the foundation of the BBC: We are independent, impartial and honest.” Yet in the context of the Scottish independence campaign, the world renowned BBC, which has played a cherished and central role in British society for almost a century, is flagrantly flouting its duty to those who finance its existence, as it overtly works in tandem with the UK government to smear the SNP and ridicule the campaign for Scottish independence. In doing so, the BBC is not only defying its own founding principle of objectivity, it is also seriously threatening one of the founding principles of democracy - the freedom of the press from government influence - as it increasingly echoes a system of state-controlled media. In such a system, content deemed unfavourable to the interests of the government is censored. Journalists must demonstrate affiliation with the regime. The press is an instrument of propaganda: a mouthpiece championing the ideology of the regime, promoting the regime in a favourable light, vilifying and slandering any opposition to the regime, and broadcasting manipulated and distorted coverage of any opposition to the regime.


For anyone who follows the Scottish independence campaign, the BBC have highlighted a concerning lack of balance and seriously undermined the credibility of the BBC’s flagship political forum. The unmistakable contempt from the ‘objective’ BBC interviewer, apparent disdain, intolerant body language and condescension seem to underline a continuing blatant anti-independence agenda of the directors and producers who sanction such behaviour within their programming schedule. Either ill-informed or poorly researched, the interviews progress through inappropriate questions posed in a disrespectful and patronising manner, to which a Head of State is not provided the time to fully answer whilst being consistently interrupted. One interview, for example, plummeted to a serious low by suggesting that the SNP wish to establish a one party state, thereby comparing Scotland to Zimbabwe and Alex Salmond to Robert Mugabe (Newsnight 24 January 2012). The composure and integrity of the First Minister in dealing with the sham of a serious and objective interview requires our respect and admiration.

Read on: http://www.theregulus.co.uk/domestic-politics/the-bbc-freedom-of-the-press

Ignorance at its best.

Latest GERS Figures:

{In 2010-11, total expenditure for Scotland by the UK Government, Scottish Government and other tiers of the public sector, including a per capita share of debt interest payments, was £63.8 billion. This totals 9.3% of total UK public sector expenditure.

In 2010-11, total Scottish non-North Sea public sector revenue was estimated at £45.2 billion (8.3% of UK equivalent). When our geographical share of North Sea revenue is included, total Scottish revenue was £53.1 billion (9.6% of UK total public sector revenue).

In 2010-11, the estimated current budget balance for the public sector in Scotland, presuming a geographical share of oil revenues, was a deficit of £6.4 billion (4.4% of GDP).

For comparison, in 2010-11, the UK as a whole ran a budget deficit, including 100 per cent of North Sea revenue, of £97.8 billion (6.6% of GDP).
}
Summing up by:http://weeredsquirrel.com/2012/03/07/gers-and-the-scottish-subsidy-myth/

GERS for 2010/11: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/03/9525