British Expatriate Network

I read the news on the BBC website before I read it CNN every morning. In general I find it to be one of the best news sources around. But some days I find myself blindsided by what I feel is a blatant bias.

I hate the whole "anti-American" thing. If you label every critique of American policy and culture as anti-American and dismiss it, you're avoiding the issue and essentially slandering the critic. There's been far too much of that for the past three years. I could happily go the rest of my life without hearing someone spout off about the anti-American sentiment in this article/book/movie/country/packet of crisps. I could probably write pages about how I feel about this, but I think you get the gist.

Having said all that, I do sometimes feel that the Beeb or some of the writers in it like to portray America and Americans in a certain unflattering light.

Today I was reading an article about a video game, made by a Scottish firm, that recreates the assassination of JFK. The BBC article is here.

What I find irritating is that the article doesn't once mention that in this recreation you are the one holding the gun, and you get points for how well you shoot Kennedy. The only quote from the American side is that it's despicable. Given the tone of rest of the article and the numerous quotes from the game creator, the American perspective seem irrational and reactionary. Why this game is practically a documentary. Silly yanks. They're not very bright.

I liked the CNN article more, and felt it was markedly more informative.

It seems to me that information like this:

is integral to the story. And leaving it out, to my mind, hurts the story.

I'm not exactly seething over this. I've seen a lot worse bias on the London nightly news. But it does make me pause to consider defending the Beeb when one of my anti-American spouting countrymen has a go at it.

I think bias is in the eye of the beholder. I read the same article, it seems level headed and dispassionate - it is not for the BBC to say the game is good, bad or anything else - merely to report - which is what they did.

I've said this before. The BBC is a public organization - at the foot of each web page is a 'feedback' sheet - use it if you like.

Alternatively, for really bad cases - use the complaints procedure or even Judicial Review (the anti-choice brigade and assorted god bothers do this periodically and generally can't back up their case with any evidence).

Some of what the BBC and other organizations do is poorly informed, and when they write about something that you have better knowledge of that stands out - but this isn't bias, just mediocre journalism. Its no worse than some of the nonsense you sometime read over here about Britain and Europe, some of which ends up on this site (Fox News 'engalnd & Whales' clanger for example).

All journalism has some bias - usually towards what they think will attract listeners, viewers or readers. It is also, inevitably culturally biased - some things are more acceptable than others in different places - again this is probably why Fox News does so dismally in Britain and why Murdoch never went down that road with Sky.

Which brings me to my final point, I get my information from a variety of sources - some with known biases (Guardian & Telegraph) - If you compare the BBC with Sky you'll find that they largely treat stories the same. Comparing with CNN is like comparing apples and oranges.

Well if they can make this game and not think it despicable, let's try the Birmingham pub bombings, where was the bomb? Or the Lockerbie bombing, who sat nearest it? Or where was the bomb on Mountbattens yacht? Or where was the bomb at the Horseguards parade?
I think it's sick, twisted and very nasty and i hope they get sued for the emotional devastion they cause to the remaining family to the point they never have a shirt for their own backs, their childrens, or grandchildrens backs.
evil

Excellent, You are right on Target Annie.

Or maybe they'll make it into a family series. The next installment could feature a drunken idiot driving off a bridge. The challenge is to avoid calling the police for long enough so that your passenger dies.

All journalism is biased.

My dad buys 4 Sunday newspapers just so that he'll get a balanced view.

Like the liberal bias thats not really liberal bias at all? Honestly, the Repubs are good because they spew out their lies and when they're called on it, they blame the 'liberal bias' in the media for discrediting them. :o

Not that you're biased or anything

:D

:lol:

The guy who markets this 'game' was just on the World Service. It was put to him that it was dispicable (Ted Kennedy's words). His response was that it is not a game but an interactive documentary and thus no more distasteful than any number of books and films on the subject.

This would be wholly more convincing in the 'documentary' didn't award points for good shots and offer a $100,000 prize to the winner. roll

Of course the Beeb could have just made it all up... like Fox do wink

For those who are convinced that the BBC is the Bolshevik Broadcasting Corp. here is a link to their feedback page

http//news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/notes_and_corrections/default.stm

Anyone know if ANY American Broadcaster has anything similar?

I wouldn't go as far as calling them Bolsheviks, but I'd step up to partisan.

And while I recognize that every news organization is biased in some fashion, I hold the BBC to a higher standard because they aren't supposed to be selling anything. The article that prompted my original post, omitted the fact that you are the assassin, and should have mentioned that there's a cash prize for making the best shot. Hardly the historical recreation touted. Poor reporting or bias?

As for the feedback, most news agencies have some contact information, and an avenue for feedback.
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/feedback/f...form.shtml
http://www.boston.com/help/feedback/

I can't say I've seen a US broadcaster that has a page dedicated to news about the news, but here's an American one.

-? First the game part. There are hundreds of games out there that having you killing people and things, grand theft auto springs to mind. There has been hundreds of books and films made about JFK. If people have such a problem with this game and to be consistant are they against all of the above then? I grant you it may be abit sick, but so are many games out there, just don't buy the bloody thing. Thats what a free market economy is all about. YOU CAN PICK. You don't like whats on TV turn it off or turn it over.

As the BBC thing. They report news from all over the world. The US media generally reports only what happens locally within the states. With only a ten second flash on whats happenimg around the globe, if you are lucky. So I look at it like this Fox will do something about a local town and tells folks what some bad Officer done or person in power etc thats ok in their eyes.

Now take it on an international scale. the BBC reports on something that involves say America, either free trade talks or whatever. Now the BBC is anti american. It is total rubbish. There is no difference between what Fox done in a small town and the BBC done. If people watched the BBC they would understand spends time slagging off the UK government and other countries to. Its like the whole sh*t about supporting the troops, not the war and all of a sudden you are a traitor. Or you are to the left on some issue and all of a sudden you are a Communist. People here tend to be led by fear, jumping from one end of the spectrum to the other, with out thinking about it. If they did you would be somewhere in the middle.

Its a maturity issue really lol

Thats my rant for this topic, Sorry lol

Here are just a few newspapers and journals that are political without being partisan.

LabourStart's News Headlines
An Phoblacht
Challenge
Journal of the Young Communist League,
Chartist
Co-operative Party
The Economic and Philosophic Science Review
Fabian Review
Connolly Association,
Jewish Socialist
Labour Left Briefing
Labour Research Department
Lobster
The Morning Star
New Internationalist
New Left Review
Peace News.
Positive News
Progressive magazine.
Proletarian
Prospect
Red Pepper
Scottish Left Review
Scottish Socialist Voice
Searchlight
Socialist Appeal.
Labour left
Socialist Labour Party,
Socialist Workers' Party
Socialist Standard
The Socialist Party of Great Britain’s Journal
Socialist Workers' Party.