When you tune into the BBC be sure you are headed for an Orwellian nightmare of sorts, the pedagogy of censure is sure to stir you from even the fondest reverie. The claims of the BBC to supply objective reporting to the viewer are actually unrealistic if one analyses the news and current affairs programmes on the channel, which as expected, hog the limelight in the inventory of BBC world service programming.
The news is an hourly feature with news clips surreptitiously edited to provide a myopic view of the world, in which the West is the fountainhead of wisdom (let me add that the West as seen by the BBC is the United States and its arch confidant, the United Kingdom) where all political discord is treated with as much aversion as the sputum of a patient with Tuberculosis. BBC News coverage is filled with Bushisms and other spoonerisms by Tony Blair et al, aimed at providing some degree of amusement to the otherwise bored viewer.
Amid clips of Panda’s being rescued in China are trenchant doses of propaganda, quite a mouthful I might add, given the short period of time the BBC uses to deliver senseless diatribe to the unsuspecting news addict masked in sugarcoated pills the like of those described in the beginning of this sentence.
Voices of reason like Noam Chomsky are rebuffed without excuse and a single polarised viewpoint makes itself felt as the undercurrent of all current affairs reporting. Whether it is Iran, Iraq, Communist China, Communist North Korea or Communist Cuba their entire system of self governance is questioned as if they are imbeciles without the capacity to govern their own nations. While it cannot be denied that everyone is entitled to hold their own independent viewpoint, the BBC fails to recognise that while this applies to the BBC, this same doctrine must be applied to those governments that the BBC categorizes as ’’failed states’’ but form a part of an existing body politic.
The BBC’s skewed way of thinking is more vocally heard in programmes like ’’Hard Talk’’ where people like Tim Sebastian verbally grill their opponents in something akin to a modern day Spanish Inquisition. The poor hapless interviewee is left gasping for breath as Tim exposes him to a barrage of accusations, often with an intention of making the interviewee feel guilty for being a non-conformist with the BBC political mantra. Surely this does not amount to unbiased political reporting.
On the flip side it must be admitted that the BBC has a much better record in non - political programming, possibly because here polarisation of views does not occur and cannot be entertained. Take for example the vastly popular programme Click which profiles the latest technology changes and takes you for a pleasant ride on the geeks roller-coaster, what with the latest gadgets and gizmos on display, you are left asking for more. The section called WebScape is an eye opener to all that is there for asking on the Web.
All in all the BBC is at best a spoilt child, at worst an annoying monster, the likes of which one may encounter through sagas of channels surfing. Whether you choose to love it or loathe it is your choice. All I can say is beware of it’s hidden perils and you will face the storm. That’s all I got to say. And.......Welcome to the World Service of the BBC.....