Yes, why isn't the BBC news ever given from a patriotic viewpoint? Here, Will Wright shares a letter he sent to the BBC putting them on the line.
Dear BBC
I feel that the BBC, as our national broadcaster, should present a pro-British, patriotic look at the news – both national and international. I don’t suggest that you should suppress inconvenient stories or say something patriotic if it is untrue. But, I would hope that the tone would be upbeat and encouraging when discussing our national interests.
Words such as ‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘us’ would be good when discussing our country. Objectivity, when reporting a conflict of interest between the UK and another country seems to me plain wrong. The BBC should be on our side.
When the BBC should be objective and fair, it often isn’t. There seems to be a left-wing bias. People could point to a number of prominent BBC personnel and remark on their left-wing background. Are there any corresponding right-wingers? If there are, then it seems to me that they are much less prominent.
Equally, there seems to be a pro-EU bias even though the people have chosen to leave the EU – right from the moment that David Dimbleby announced the result of the referendum with a peevish look of disgust on his face. In a programme entitled ‘Brexit: what’s next?’, a year on from the vote, Katya Adler and Kamal Ahmed presented a very biased, pro-EU, view of events. Adler could still report on European affairs without being slavishly pro-EU. If she finds this impossible then she should resign – or be moved to a different BBC job. If Ahmed is on top of his brief, as Economics Editor, then he should have read books by pro-Leave economists such as Roger Bootle, Liam Halligan and Gerard Lyons.
Why does the BBC insist on repeatedly showing a handful of Remoaners with EU flags outside Parliament? Is it to create the impression that there is a lot of opposition to us leaving the EU? Outbursts by un-elected EU commissioners are treated as the voice of authority, rather than the anti-British statements that they are. Any difficulties of the British government are seized upon with glee.
Parliament voted by a very large majority to hold an In-Out referendum. It voted by a very large majority to trigger the sending of the Article 50 letter to the EU. The Leaving the EU Bill has now become law. Isn’t it time for the BBC to get behind Brexit and report events from a pro-British perspective, rather than a pro-EU one?
Barack Obama was a very anti-British US president. Yet the BBC seemed to think he was great. Was this because he was the first black president? Or was it because he was left-wing? Or both? I was nearly sick watching the sycophantic Huw Edwards interview him in 2016, after Obama had interfered in our referendum.
By contrast, Donald Trump, came to power sounding like one of the most pro-British presidents for some considerable time. This may have been just talk, after all he came to power talking of “America Firstâ€. But why has the BBC’s America reporter, Jon Sopel been so hostile to someone who is supposed to be an ally? Have Sopel’s own left-wing politics influenced his take on Trump?
Maybe Jon Sopel and Katya Adler could swap jobs? Would the BBC allow this? Then Sopel could employ his critical faculties again Junker, Tusk, Barnier et al and Adler could convert her enthusiasm for everything about the EU to an enthusiasm for a friendship with the Trump presidency.
But most of all, I would like the BBC to have an enthusiasm for Britain’s best interests.