Wise words from Michael Russell in The National today. Wise and brave. As I have oft times discovered, one does not make oneself popular with the general public in Scotland by praising or defending the BBC. Not that I ever find much to praise. But I have constantly defended the BBC in very much the … Continue reading Save the best bits
Oversight of broadcasting is a signifier of the nationhood that the British are determined to deny to Scotland.
We are entitled to ask why powers over broadcasting are being withheld from Scotland's democratically elected parliament. The only parliament with democratic legitimacy in Scotland. The only parliament that truly speaks for the people of Scotland. The reason cannot be that having powers over broadcasting held by a parliament furth of Scotland and not elected by the people of Scotland and unqualified to speak for Scotland results in a better service for Scotland. Not only is this jarringly counter-intuitive it is most definitely not borne out by the evidence.
When will people realise that the BBC is a British institution and that it can only behave accordingly. The BBC is the British state broadcasting to Scotland. It doesn't matter where its operations are located, it can never be Scottish. It can only be British and therefore it can only treat Scotland with disdain and … Continue reading Your masters’ voice
The BBC no longer merely promotes the Union, as its charter commands. The BBC has now adopted - or allowed to develop - an editorial stance which actively opposes a lawful democratic campaign for constitutional reform which is supported or condoned by the majority of Scotland's people.
That was all going swimmingly... until the final paragraph. Lesley Riddoch's analysis of the BBC's "problem of properly representing Scotland" is, as we would expect, accurate and insightful. Although I would suggest that, given the corporation's remit to preserve the integrity of the UK, the question is, not so much whether senior BBC managers can … Continue reading The SNP needs a jolt of Yes energy
I entirely agree with Richard Walker. We have to beware the inertia born of despair. We have to resist the urge to be dismissive of the possibility of incremental change. We must not succumb to a tendency to resist change simply because it is deemed to be inadequate. So long as the steps we take … Continue reading Seize the ‘Scottish Six’!
Spot the deliberate "mistakes"The ongoing furore over the BBC's now all but explicit anti-SNP bias reached something of a crescendo in the aftermath of the Scottish local elections. The editorial decision to manipulate the figures so as to allow Labour holds to be represented as gains was met with howls of understandably indignant protest. More … Continue reading Beeb, baby, bathwater
Peter A Bell 