Steven Barnett Profile picture
Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster, author, broadcaster, retired classicist, consummate dad dancer.
May 21, 2021 10 tweets 3 min read
A short(ish) thread about Bashir, #Panorama and the #DysonReport.

1. Bashir’s deception was shocking. There was no public interest in his forgery, it was a blatant breach of BBC guidelines and of basic journalistic ethics more generally. 2. Senior management’s response and subsequent cover up was even worse. It appears that BBC governors were not given details of the internal inquiry. See this excellent blog by @StewartPurvis for more detail on management failure: profpurvis.com
Jan 17, 2021 4 tweets 2 min read
If this is true - and there were similar rumours last year - it will do fundamental damage not just to British media but to British democracy.

Impartiality lies at heart of accuracy and trust in UK broadcast news. US has shown us what happens when impartiality is undermined. This piece by @juliakhorowitz is a first rate analysis of why impartiality matters - and why last week's mob invasion in Washington had its roots in Reagan's abolition of the US equivalent in 1987: edition.cnn.com/2021/01/16/med…