Politics Today

[IndoMike]

If we are not careful the tough but balanced interviewers could become a thing of the past if the top political leaders are allowed to pick and choose their interviewers without any public consequences. In his short interview yesterday when pressed on agreeing an interview with Andrew Neil, Boris obviously stalled, but said negotiation was ongoing but it was not his decision. Hopefully all that is being negotiated is a time and place rather than anything that I suspect Andrew Neil wouldn't stand for, like prior knowledge of the questions and no go areas etc.

If it goes the way of the good ol' USA, how often has Trump been interviewed by anyone other than a friendly (usually Fox) questioner outside of a general press call where he abuses anyone that asks him a difficult question.

The threat that came out from the Conservatives about reviewing Channel 4's broadcasting output seems to be the first slide down the road of authoritarianism. Hopefully it will get withdrawn and they will let Ofcom deal with it with no pressure.

I fear the threat to withdraw Channel 4's license is classic Trump, Johnson's idol. It reveals Johnson's true colours, as many of us expected

 

[tavyred]

Broadcast journalism in the US is openly partial and as far as I can remember always has been. The issue over here is that TV news is supposed to be impartial and the accusation against C4 News is that it isn't. C4 does seem to have form, the incoming new head of C4 news Dorothy Byrne famously announced in a speech in the summer that the Tories had just installed a "known liar" as our PM. That IMO crosses the line between reporting the days news impartially and an observation on BJ that betrays a personal bias. The empty chairing of BJ and Farage with melting ice blocks again was not consistent with its responsibility to be impartial. By all means reference their non-attendance, but to make a clearly partial point by replacing them with melting ice blocks in a climate change debate, again crosses the line.
C4 News clearly have a leftist problem and political intervention may be appropriate.

 

[DB9]

Broadcast journalism in the US is openly partial and as far as I can remember always has been. The issue over here is that TV news is supposed to be impartial and the accusation against C4 News is that it isn't. C4 does seem to have form, the incoming new head of C4 news Dorothy Byrne famously announced in a speech in the summer that the Tories had just installed a "known liar" as our PM. That IMO crosses the line between reporting the days news impartially and an observation on BJ that betrays a personal bias. The empty chairing of BJ and Farage with melting ice blocks again was not consistent with its responsibility to be impartial. By all means reference their non-attendance, but to make a clearly partial point by replacing them with melting ice blocks in a climate change debate, again crosses the line.
C4 News clearly have a leftist problem and political intervention may be appropriate.

True about impartiality but tbf she is right, He is a liar and been caught out for it and they are moving from London to Leeds,far enough away from those leftie luvvies

 

[Legohead]

What is the point in these TV debates. Does anyone out there actually believe that any of the leaders will deliver what they promise to? I find it scary if this is the case. They are just saying stuff to get your votes! Even a 5 year old can comprehend this.

A complete waste of everyone's time. When i get in power i'm going to build a new town so that homeless people can live in the new houses. When i get in power i'm going to make sure that if you're grandad goes into hospital he's not left for 12 hours without being checked by a nurse because i'm recruiting 700 million nurses. When i get in power i'm going to scrap all cars and provide everyone with a free new electric car. When i get in power i'm going to tell all the world leaders who are corrupt and ensuring poverty, famine and war continues to eff off and i'm going to save the planet too.

Jeez. People believe this sh*t.

They are all lying about everything all the time. It's part of their human make up. Their DNA. The trick is to vote for the one who we think is telling the fewest porkies which is pretty tricky i grant you. The most important thing to remember is that whoever you vote for will not make a slightest bit of difference to anything.

 

[Spoonz Red E]

Perhaps we need a dictatorship.

The only dictator I want to see is the one in amongst those rude vegetables Esther Rantzen used to show on 'That's Life'

 

[Legohead]

What's the difference between a dictatorship and what we have now? We have no chance to change anything in either circumstance.

 

[Rosencrantz]

Broadcast journalism in the US is openly partial and as far as I can remember always has been. The issue over here is that TV news is supposed to be impartial and the accusation against C4 News is that it isn't. C4 does seem to have form, the incoming new head of C4 news Dorothy Byrne famously announced in a speech in the summer that the Tories had just installed a "known liar" as our PM. That IMO crosses the line between reporting the days news impartially and an observation on BJ that betrays a personal bias. The empty chairing of BJ and Farage with melting ice blocks again was not consistent with its responsibility to be impartial. By all means reference their non-attendance, but to make a clearly partial point by replacing them with melting ice blocks in a climate change debate, again crosses the line.
C4 News clearly have a leftist problem and political intervention may be appropriate.

They didn't threaten or avoid Sky News when Kay Burley empty chaired Cleverly, just complained. News channels have to show neutrality, but they do also have to report facts even handedly even if that upsets those in power. Just because Channel 4 questions them vigorously (as they do the others) should not have them being threatened politically.

US news is set up for divisiveness as it is as politically divisive as our newspapers which has mainly stopped reporting news but instead spreading comment.

 

[Spoonz Red E]

What's the difference between a dictatorship and what we have now? We have no chance to change anything in either circumstance.

History teaches us that if we had a dictatorship we would be tending away from dictatorship.
As it is we are tending towards it

 

[Legohead]

We are all hoodwinked into thinking we do have a choice and an influence in how the country is run but that's not the case. Its a kind of pseudo dictatorship then.

 

[Jason H]

They didn't threaten or avoid Sky News when Kay Burley empty chaired Cleverly, just complained. News channels have to show neutrality, but they do also have to report facts even handedly even if that upsets those in power. Just because Channel 4 questions them vigorously (as they do the others) should not have them being threatened politically.

US news is set up for divisiveness as it is as politically divisive as our newspapers which has mainly stopped reporting news but instead spreading comment.

One key difference between Channel 4 and Sky News is, of course, the public service remit. Theoretically Sky News can be biased one way or another as it is commercially owned, Channel 4 is supposed to be balanced.

EDIT: Although Sky is also bound by the UK's broadcasting regulations, which nullifies this somewhat. But then Burley's tantrum wasn't necessarily partisan.