On this Marr/Banks thing. No-one expects the BBC to be perfect. Everyone makes mistakes - God knows I make plenty. The issue comes when there’s a pattern to the mistakes, when the mistakes generally point in the same direction. (Short thread)
Marr made a mess with the @carolecadwalla /Oakeshott thing. A mistake. #Newsnight made a mistake by using Yaxley-Lennon’s own propaganda shot (the duct-tape gag thing) for their feature.
Marr made another dodgy decision over Marine Le Pen. The BBC made yet another questionable choice over Bannon and the festival in Scotland.
Then we have @BBCMonitoring’s tweet about Bolsonaro - which they recognised as a mistake at least in some way by deleting the tweet.
And that’s not even to mention the remarkable regularity of Farage’s appearances.
Each of these mistakes/errors of judgment/dodgy calls is distinctly questionable - but when they are seen together, they make a picture that’s much more concerning. It looks like a pattern.
And the reaction of the BBC is perhaps even more disturbing. Not ‘OK, perhaps we should look at this again’, but ‘You’re wrong, how dare you question us,’ or words to that effect.
It’s not a good look - and it matters. The BBC matters - it has a unique role and a unique history and has a degree of respect that is pretty much unparalleled in media, not just in the UK but around the world.
That history, that position, that respect, needs to be defended - but not by being *defensive*, but by working hard to understand why there are comments and complaints, and by making changes where they’re needed. And here, they really are needed. /ends
