New Bills Reveal Ugly Priorities of Tories
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Media Northwww.medianorth.org.uk CAMPAIGN FOR PRESS AND BROADCASTING FREEDOM (NORTH) l Issue 10, June 2021 l £1 EDITORIAL Recent appointments threaten BBC impartiality ECENT BBC behaviour is reminiscent of Smike in Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby. Smike was so R brutalised by the assaults of Wackford Squeers, the awful Head of Dotheboys Hall, he How The Guardian reported the news of the government’s new ID plan ducked instinctively when Squeers approached. The BBC seems to have been doing a lot of ducking recntly. It seems to have New bills reveal ugly made a strategic decision to appease its enemies in the Conservative Party. These are people who hate the very priorities of Tories concept of publicly-funded public service broadcasting oris Johnson has sur- introducing legislation that and who are ultimately Granville Williams rounded himself with would allow people blocked unappeasable. No matter politicians and advisers on the impact of the from speaking at events to sue how many concessions the on the far right of the Conservative Party’s universities and student un- broadcaster makes, they will Tory Party. His electoral shift to the far right ions. This would undermine still hate it. B pitch to the angry, disappoint- universities’ independence and ed, nostalgic and fearful has ID. A new ID law would make it may force them to platform an- Extreme Brexit given him an 80+ majority after much harder for them to vote. yone invited by student groups, The latest worrying the Hartlepool by-election. But that’s the whole point: to no matter how dangerous their example is the appointment The consequences of this disenfranchise the young, the ideas. of Sir Robbie Gibb to were revealed in the policies poor, and people of colour. Not A Judicial Review Bill is also the BBC Board. Gibb which grabbed the headlines in only are they less likely to hold being introduced, supposedly is an extreme Brexit- the Queen’s Speech. a passport or driving licence – to ‘protect the judiciary from supporting member of the The plan for mandatory they are also less likely to vote being drawn into political ques- Conservative Party. photo ID at elections is part for the Tories. It is a blatant tions and preserve the integrity Gibb is no friend of the of wider government plans to form of voter suppression. of judicial review for its intend- BBC’s journalism. Last reform the electoral system, Add to that the Police, ed purpose’. In reality, this is an August, he wrote in The including new curbs on postal Crime, Sentencing and Courts attack on the power of citizens Telegraph that ‘the BBC has and proxy voting, and repeal- Bill. Already the focus of signif- to challenge a government that been culturally captured by ing the act which sets elections icant opposition, this Bill repre- acts unlawfully, following a the woke-dominated group- at five-year intervals. sents the biggest threat to the number of defeats for the gov- think of some of its own The photo ID proposal has right to protest in a generation. ernment over recent years. staff. There is a default left- triggered anger. How could this It threatens to criminalise pro- Boris Johnson and his allies leaning attitude from a met- policy get priority while the testers who are noisy, disrup- in the Tory press will thrive on ropolitan workforce mostly burning issue of social care was tive or even ‘annoying’, while the anger and protests these drawn from a similar social dismissed in a single line? effectively outlawing Gypsy, proposals will rightly provoke. and economic background’. In 2015, the Electoral Com- Roma and Traveller communi- Make no mistake, we have This has all the signs of mission found that 3.5 million ties’ way of life. an ugly, authoritarian govern- an overtly party-political people didn’t have any photo The government is also ment. l Continued on Page 2 SPECIAL REPORT ON NORTHERN CULTURE – SEE PAGES 8-11 2 | MediaNorth | JUNE 2021 www.medianorth.org.uk Recent BBC Assault on media disrupts appointments coverage of Gaza suffering threaten Granville Williams on the reporting of Israel attacks on Gaza impartiality N Saturday 15 May similar strikes on the previous subtle narrative on Palestine an Israeli air strike Tuesday and Wednesday when supports a pro-Israeli perspec- l From Page 1 destroyed a 12-storey Israeli warplanes bombed and tive. Spotlight provided a good appointment by the Depart- apartment building destroyed high-rise residential analysis of how this happens ment for Digital, Culture, used by local and buildings housing more than a by taking a specific Sky News Media and Sport (see Page O international media compa- dozen international and local story and analysing the narra- 12). A pattern can be de- nies, including the Associated media outlets, including the tive that underpins it. tected here. Press (AP) news agency and Al Al-Jawhara and Al-Shorouk It’s partly the choice of The Board’s chairman Jazeera. offices. words used, partly the implica- Richard Sharp has donated The prominent building in tion that Palestinians (even hundreds of thousands of Gaza City offered a vantage Disrupting independent media children) are equally matched pounds to the Conserva- point for the world on Gaza. AP The second attack came a day with heavily armed and trained tive Party, while the BBC’s had cameras positioned on the after the Israeli Army misled Israelis, partly the total ab- Director-General Tim Davie roof terrace. the media, saying that ground sence of context. (who has an ex-officio place “The world will know less troops had entered Gaza. Its There is plenty of document- on the board) once stood for about what is happening in strategy is clearly to disrupt ed evidence and a video record election as a Conservative Gaza because of what tran- independent reporting on the of Israeli police brutalising Pal- councillor. spired today,” AP’s president, conflict and coverage of the estinian worshipers outside Al- We won’t know what BBC Gary Pruitt, said in a statement human suffering there. Aqsa Mosque throughout the journalists make of all this. following the Israeli attack. There is a broader issue month of Ramadan. One of the new DG’s actions, The action got international about the reporting of the Is- But for the journalist it is under the guise of the BBC’s coverage and condemnation raeli/Palestinian conflict. The ‘unclear’ who started the vio- impartiality, was to warn from across the world. Unlike UK mainstream media’s often lence. We simply get a repeat them about expressing their of the Israeli evidence-free nar- views publicly. rative that Palestinian ‘extrem- The BBC’s media editor ists’ had been plotting ‘well in Amol Rajan, writing on the advance’ to ‘riot’. BBC’s website, said that Sir For those that want to un- Robbie’s ‘appointment clear- derstand why there is this pro- ly strengthens the BBC’s Israeli perspective Bad News links not just with Westmin- From Israel by Greg Philo and ster, but with the Conserva- Mike Berry published by Pluto tive Party specifically’. in 2004 remains essential read- The question is how ing. those closer links to the Read the Spotlight piece Conservative Party are here: supposed to deliver greater https://spotlight-newspaper. impartiality? The BBC’s co.uk/world-news/05/12/ independence absolutely insidious-british-media- depends on it not being too narrative-on-palestine- close to the Conservative explained government. M e d i a North This issue was published on 24 May 2021 Editor: Granville Williams Design and Production: Tony Sutton If you would like to receive future copies of the online version of MediaNorth contact us at [email protected]. MediaNorth is published quarterly, and we welcome comments or suggestions for articles. Become a friend on Facebook at: Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom North. Twitter: @campaign_and n Website: www.medianorth.org.uk www.medianorth.org.uk JUNE 2021 | MediaNorth 3 Holding power to account in Salford The Salford Star has closed. Judith Suckling wrote this appreciation in the Manchester-based The Meteor HE Salford Star has been year domain name so people shining a light on events can still read the articles and in the city for 15 years. It the British Library has also covered a diverse range agreed to archive the back cat- of stories that occurred alogue of the magazine. More Tin the microclimate of Salford than 6,000 online articles and during that time. From the eight full print issues will be fracking protests at Barton held on their central system. Moss, riots in Salford Precinct, The Salford Star’s aim floods in Lower Broughton, to was to hold power to account, local politicians involved in the particularly the local political expenses scandal. authority, Front pages from Co-founder Steven Speed and as the print edition of supporters of the magazine that and editor of the Star Stephen the Star the Salford Star have kept them publishing pub- Kingston announced in April documented lic interest news in Salford into the online magazine would these first ent. But as they 2021: “We wouldn’t have been close after the local elections drafts of started writing able to do it without them. They in May. history, they articles and ask- are the ones that have come “We are closing this maga- also proved ing questions forward and given us the sto- zine with a smile. We are cel- prescient in about why things ries they wanted us to print… ebrating all of the hard work predicting were happening, The magazine thrived from the that our team and we have put future out- the more closed energy of its readers.” into it.