Blogging the Beeb

Blogs on White Paper

The bloggers are out in force in advance of the BBC White Paper publication.

Here's Stephen Pollard.

And Mediawatchwatch.

And Laban at Biased-BBC.

OFCOMwatch had this interview with Select Committee Chair John Whittingdale last week.

UK Theme update

The Radio 4 UK theme came up in Prime Minister's Questions yesterday and is now the subject of Commons Early Day Motions. The Independent gives a musical analysis of the tunes.

Radio 4 Theme Campaign

A campaign about the Radio 4 theme has been set up.

Radio Four

The BBC decision to axe the Radio Four medley of UK folk tunes has provoked a row about the corporation's Britishness.

Here's Gillian Reynolds in the Telegraph. Here's the Telegraph leader.

Jeremy Paxman doesn't like it either.

The BBC timing couldn't be worse of course. The next Prime Minister is extolling the virtues of Britishness, and talking about the importance of symbols, and a few days later the BBC dumps one of them. Still, no-one can accuse them of seeking to curry favour with the government over this!

Gerry Anderson

Gerry Anderson has made it into the UK Broadcast Hall of Fame. That won't please some Radio 4 listeners who campaigned to get him removed from the station in the 1990s.

Praising the English

The new Archbishop of York says the English are:

embarrassed about being English.

There's more here.

BBC doesn't get devolution again

Here we go again.

Earlier, nowhere did this story refer to England, or indicate that Beverly Hughes's responsibilities as Children's Minister in DfES are principally -not wholly - limited to England. (Mind you, the DfES site is not much better, though at least its press release last week on the Childcare Bill made clear that it referred to England: has the BBC not seen this?).

Nowhere on Breakfast News this morning was this made clear. The story has now been changed, like this one was, to mention England

English schools (updated)

BBC News still doesn't get devolution. Most of the reporting I have heard and seen over the weekend, including yesterday's World This Weekend on Radio Four, reported the Government's schools proposals as though they applied to the whole UK rather than just to England. This BBC News online story has now been changed however to reflect the fact that it is England only. It certainly didn't say that earlier!

Trafalgar Day

Speaking of Trafalgar, the Sunday Telegraph tells the BBC to be proud to be British, complaining it is treating the events as a commemoration, not a celebration:

This was the battle that kept the flame of freedom burning in Europe and established our maritime nation as a world power. It laid the foundations for our empire, for our multicultural society and eventually for the good old BBC. Come along, Auntie. Lighten up, be proud to be British - and rejoice!

In fact, the BBC's Trafalgar web pages clearly refer to 'celebrations':

Thousands of people throughout the UK are expected to be involved in this month's Battle of Trafalgar bicentenary celebrations over the anniversary weekend.

Midweek Punch-up

The broadsheets are having a field day over yesterday's encounter between Darcus Howe and Joan Rivers on Radio 4's Midweek - without getting into any of the arguments and their merits themselves of course. Here is the transcript in question:

Darcus Howe: I have been persecuted by everyone. I have to educate my wife about black people.

Joan Rivers: I’m so bored with race.

DH What are you talking about?

JR Race doesn’t mean a damn thing. It’s about people.

DH There are thousands of . . . let’s say “Caribbean” children since “black” offends Joan . . .

JR Just stop right now. Black does not offend me. How dare you? How dare you say that? Black offends me? You know nothing about me, you just sat down here, how dare you?

DH The use of the term black offends you.

JR The use of the term black offends me? Where the hell are you coming from? You’ve got such a chip on your shoulder. I don’t give a damn if you’re black or white.

DH I do.

JR I couldn’t care less, it’s what the person is. Don’t you dare call me a racist. I want an apology.

Libby Purves I don’t think he meant it personally.

JR I think it was.

DH (to Rivers) You have a language problem.

JR No I don’t. You had a child, you left them. Your wife said you weren’t there. You deserted them. Now your son comes back, you got problems. Where were you when he was growing up?

DH May I continue?

JR Don’t you dare call me a racist. How dare you?

LP I have great sympathy with both sides but I’m starting to feel like Oprah.

JR Both sides?! I abhor racists. Don’t you dare call me that . . . son of a bitch. (Pause)

LP Right, Darcus . . .

JR Yes, please continue with this wonderful father who left his children.

LP Darcus, can we just say that you don’t think Joan is a racist?

DH I don’t know whether she is a racist or not. I don’t care. Normally I wouldn’t ever meet you in my life.

JR No, normally I wouldn’t choose to meet you.

DH No, she’s not a racist.

JR Now we can talk about his stupid film.

DH I don’t think you brought me here to be insulted.

JR Nor did I come here to be insulted by someone, to be called a racist.

LP Andrea, shall we talk about plant photography?

Andrea Jones Please.

Here's Libby Purves' own account. Here's the Telegraph leader. This is The Times report. This is the Guardian's. This is the Telegraph's, and their review.

You can listen to the whole show here. Or just the clip, via the Guardian, here.

Later - now BBC News has got in on the act.