BBC reporting betrays their prejudices
How the BBC reports a story often betrays the prejudices and preconceptions of those who work for it. No where is this more so than when reporting from overseas.
Yesterday's BBC evening news included two seemingly unrelated stories - one about Arizona, US, the other Catalonia, Spain. In both cases, a local tier of government has taken a new initiative that has proved controversial across the rest of the country.
In Spain, the Catalan parliament has voted to ban bull fighting. In America, Arizona has introduced tough measures to deal with illegal immigrants. Yet compare the way the BBC covered each one.
Reporting on the Catalan initiative, the BBC news talked approvingly about the prospects of extending the bull fighting ban across Spain. Somehow the lion's share of coverage seemed to focus on the concerns of those who favoured the new measure.
Reporting on the Arizona initiative, the BBC gave most coverage to those opposed. The presumption seemed to be not that this measure might be adopted elsewhere, but that it should be reversed.
I've little interest in the politics of either Catalonia or Arizona, and even less in bull fighting. But I do wish our state broadcaster would report objectively, rather than on the basis of whether they happen to approve.