BBC Bias?

PeterDF · Posted: Sun May 30, 2004 12:11 pm Post subject: BBC Bias?

Hey guys

Try going to this website:
BBC website and click on the video button "faith and belief" in the upper left of the screen.

What does everyone think about Shimon Perez's assertion that a godless man is not a human being? Does that make atheists sub-human? or animals? Would he have been able to say that gentiles weren't human without comment or challenge?

BTW I have made a formal complaint to the BBC about this statement and the general tone of the programme, does anyone share my offence about his outburst?

Edited by: PeterDF at: 5/30/04 1:15 pm

Jeremy1952 · Posted: Sun May 30, 2004 3:59 pm Post subject: Re: BBC Bias?

I'm not finding the link, but such a comment is incredibly offensive. It is even more inappropriate for an Israeli than it would be for an American, because Israel was founded by atheists as a secular society. It would be equivalent to a Muslim here saying that Christians are not really human. I did find this, though:www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/index.shtml

If you make yourself really small, you can externalize virtually everything. Daniel Dennett, 1984

Kostya · Posted: Sun May 30, 2004 4:14 pm Post subject: Re: BBC Bias?

If believing in god is a requirement for membership in "human beings", then I say, “let them keep it”... I don't need that title... So perhaps it is time to find some other word for us nonbelievers...

How about "super-human"? Or maybe simply the "thinking man"... The HOMO SAPIENS.

Let them, incapable of though be the human BEINGS - blind, fearful creatures incapable of imagining the world that does not fit into their ancient stereotype...

Edited by: Kostya at: 5/30/04 5:16 pm

LanDroid · Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 4:28 pm Post subject: BBC Bias?

Couldn't find the link either, but what does a statement by Shimon Peres have to do with "bias" at BBC? Just because they reported it?

Medway53 · Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 6:39 pm Post subject: What BBC Bias?

The Beeb, uniquely among the major broadcasters [compare CNN and FOX, for example!] seems to bend over backwards to be fair and balanced, and I only wish they could be a bit more trenchant about some matters rather than sit on the fence!
Here, the comment by Peres is downright stupid , and is justly reported by the Beeb for all to hear.

PeterDF · Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 6:52 am Post subject: Re: What BBC Bias?

I can't speak for Fox or CNN, because we don't see much of them over here, but I agree that I think the BBC does have a deserved reputation for fairness.
Landroid

Quote:
what does a statement by Shimon Peres have to do with "bias" at BBC?

Fair point! The fact that they broadcast his view did not constitute bias, even if it was broadcast without challenge or comment. But I felt that the general tone of the whole TV programme (unfortunately not available online) was biased. The clear view of the presenter was that the fall in churchgoing in Britain was a bad thing. As I pointed out in my letter of complaint: the point that increased secularisation might be understood as enlightenment was not explored.

If a significant proportion of thoughtful, intelligent British people have found it difficult to buy into whatever religious dogma happens to be on offer, why should these people be implicitly condemned as being wrong?

Although there were atheists on the panel during the programme there, are important British thinkers like Dawkins or A. C. Grayling who weren't. Such people might have presented an balance to the consensus view.

To cap it all off, at the end of the programme, the presenter, Jeremy Vine, asked one of the atheists on the panel whether anything he had heard on the programme had changed his mind. Now that's bias.

CSflim · Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2004 5:15 pm Post subject: Re: What BBC Bias?

I saw this program and felt that atheism was seriously under-represented.

"They" had nuns and ministers and other religious leaders, who do "we" get? Some comedian who as it happens is not religious.
Choice quote from our atheist: (quoted from memory, so is undoubtedly quite mangled) "I don't know...next year I could wake up and decide to become a christian".
Yeah. Great. Thanks. Not only are we immoral heathens, we are fickle immoral heathens.

Many of the religious speakers needed a severe Dawkinsian kick in the pants if you ask me.

Check out this not-at-all-fallacious PROOF of the existence of the Islamic God:
There was this one woman and she got really sick. Doctors told her that she would probably not get better. She prayed. Then she got better. God exists. Fact! Get used to it.

The program was interesting and all, especially the results of the polls. But I did feel a bit under-represented!

I wonder why Richard Dawkins was not on the show: He would have been the obvious choice of guest speaker to represent atheism. I wonder was he asked and he refused, or did they just decide not to have him on the show, on the basis that he might be a bit overbearing?

I don't think that this was some systematic plan on the part of the bbc, just poor judgement, having a single non-believer, and not a very eloquent or convincing one at that.

_____________________
If it's not worth doing, it's not worth doing well.

ADO15 · Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2004 7:04 pm Post subject: Re: What BBC Bias?

There are plenty of intelligent & erudite atheists in this country.

I listen to,and watch the BBC quite a lot, and I can say that they do have a right-wing bias - more to support the establishment than any particular government.

Coverage of popular demonstrations is very poor (and generally negative - even for the anti-war demo that got a record millionon the streets), trade union news virtually non-existent, other than disputes, and business news almost every hour.

The BBC supported the Iraq war at the time and, with the honourable exception of Newsnight and the Today programme (to a certain extent), the only evidence of the mass of feeling against the war was on Question Time and Any Questions - public fora, although any peace speakers were cut short.

But, having seen what I have been told is a liberal-dominated(!?! :rolleyes

) US media, I am happy with the BBC - I know how to decode the news now.

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