The BBC was last night plunged into a damaging general election row after it admitted equipping three hecklers with microphones and sending them into a campaign meeting addressed by Michael Howard, the Conservative leader.Can you imagine? According to the BBC, the hecklers were part of a team creating a program about the 'history and art of political heckling', but this has got to be the strangest thing I've ever heard. Why not send their hecklers to any other political event?
The Tories have made an official protest after the hecklers, who were given the microphones by producers, were caught at a party event in the North West last week. Guy Black, the party's head of communications, wrote in a letter to Helen Boaden, the BBC's director of news, that the hecklers began shouting slogans that were "distracting and clearly hostile to the Conservative Party".
These included "Michael Howard is a liar", "You can't trust the Tories" and "You can only trust Tony Blair".
And of course the BBC should have to disclose which other events this team attended. Let's just say I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't attended any Labour events.
This attempt at manufacturing news by the BBC is pathetic and as far as I'm concerned should be considered criminal.
3 comments:
That’s odd?? The CBC hasn’t mentioned this story. Typically they are very interested in what the BBC does.
nomdenet
I caught a bit of Rex Murphy on CBC radio this evening. You don’t suppose the call-ins are really Liberal plants do you? Several of them went on and on about how courageous Martin was for doing the right thing by putting Gomery on the case – it’s as if Sheila Fraser’s findings had nothing to do with it. Over and over callers were saying – this is not a national crisis, it’s a Liberal crisis; ergo, it’s only something for Liberals to worry about – it’s as if Liberals were in the opposition and not in power running the county – so why should we care if Liberals are having a crisis? Well, I won’t care when they are defeated but right now it matters!
Do people actually believe what they are saying? Or as I said – are they Liberal plants. Many of the commentators stated they are “not a Liberal”. They would invariably say this just as I’ve become convinced that they indeed are Liberal. But they must be trying to create the illusion that they are unbiased. It must be a well-trained group of callers with an agenda to shape the call-in show.
Sort of a - vast left wing conspiracy. I know that sounds nutty but that’s what it sounded like to me.
For his part Rex, who is probably the least left-winger at the CBC, doesn’t nail anybody with their stupidity- he just thanks them so much for their thoughts. My tax money pays for this nonsense. We have to win and close down the CBC – might as well campaign on it too – the CBC will treat us like “scary” back ally people anyway.
nomdenet
Sounds like the Kool-aide drinking, typically self-congratulatory callers that chime-in to our NPR - voluntary Newspeakers in a dither to reassure themselves that all is ok with the Big Party.
The indoctrination's so deeply planted and successfully well-ingrained, they don't even need to script it. Thanks a lot Geoirge Orwell, sheesh.
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