by Paul Holleran, former NUJ Scottish Organiser
A THRIVING, DIVERSE broadcasting and press media — not manipulated by the rich and powerful — is essential to democracy in any country. That is currently not the situation. It is accurate to say we are at a crossroads in the British Isles and across the world, with democracy under threat from the rise of the far right.
The importance of how the public agenda is influenced and shaped by the media has never been as crucial as it is now. Informing and educating citizens, holding power to account, enabling public debate, participation and transparency — all of this is essential to a functioning democratic society.
The BBC, albeit part of colonialist structures, has a significant role to play in that process.
Unfortunately, many people find that increasingly hard to believe. Disturbingly, those people span the entire political spectrum, from left to right. Trust has been a key issue for some time and has now been exacerbated as the political battleground takes on new shapes. It has also become an international focus as the debate on the future of the BBC takes on perverse and sinister directions.
As part of the fight against exploitation by people in power, we need journalism we can depend on for accuracy, truth and accountability. Ominously, there has been a dramatic downturn in the quality and quantity of journalism in this century. Owners and bosses have become obsessed with profits and/or political control and influence, and that has impacted our media. Swingeing cuts and a move towards clickbait-driven social media have had a disastrous effect.
If we look at the most recent issue that has triggered a backlash, it is symptomatic of the downward spiral in quality — including falling journalistic practices and standards. A lot of people, particularly journalists within the BBC, are asking how, why and who allowed such editing of Trump’s speech prior to the assault on Capitol Hill.
Staff and editors at Panorama and Newsnight are being looked at, but their actions can and should be viewed as part of a broader problem caused by falling standards. All that was required to prevent the controversy was a brief intervention highlighting the gap between sections of Trump’s speech. It never happened — and it has opened a Pandora’s box with serious implications for the future of public service broadcasting.
Using legal threats against media organisations is nothing new for Trump, who has launched court actions and issued public statements attacking journalists from ABC, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, and the BBC. We have witnessed corporate and political pressure to sack opponents such as Jimmy Kimmel. In respect to Trump’s actions and words leading up to the attack on Capitol Hill, there have been stark examples of his strategy to punish anyone speaking against him.
Already YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5m (£18.6m) to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump, following similar settlements with X/Twitter and Facebook. Support from the far right for this latest attack is tangible, but sadly too many progressive people are keen to see the demise of the BBC.
This is all too obvious in Scotland and can be linked to the independence referendum of 2014, when an overwhelming majority of independence campaigners accused the BBC of blatant bias. There had always been strong views of the BBC as English/unionist-centric, but the referendum aggravated that position. BBC staff were accused of existing to protect the status quo. Was it journalists, news editors, or senior management enabling that situation?
Meanwhile, so-called leaders and would-be political dictators rage against any dissent. We are not allowed to criticise decision-making — yet they continue using favoured pundits and influencers to drive their messages and agendas on finance, the environment and geopolitics.
Lobbying by organisations supporting the Israeli government’s genocidal actions and expansionism has led to a constant battle to get the truth out there. The ridiculous and unacceptable levels of labelling people as anti-Semitic are now widely recognised as a Zionist tool.
Rabid attacks on individuals and collective campaigners fighting for our planet have risen to outrageous levels. Lobbying and the buying of politicians and media by fossil fuel companies is another battleground for truth, with serious implications for our climate and environment. Cross-Atlantic co-operation between private medicine and pharmaceutical giants is targeting our National Health Service, with a creep of propaganda from Tories and Reform towards privatisation as a “solution” to chronic underspending by previous governments.
However, there now appears to be enough pressure building to challenge and change the way the BBC has been run. The blatant interference by Tory appointees — such as retiring heid bummer Tim Davie, who has said “BBC just does good work” — raises crucial questions: Who is it serving? Does balance exist? Fair reporting? Equal access?
Management’s use of the fear factor has been in operation for years, with journalists and news editors afraid of being bullied or losing their jobs. On a daily basis we can see politicians bullied by so-called political correspondents. The leaked BBC memo that instigated Trump’s attack on the broadcaster came from lobbyist Michael Prescott. He was reportedly appointed to a BBC advisory position under the influence of BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb — a co[1]founder and early fundraiser of the pro-Trump TV news station GB News, who also has top[1]level links with the Jewish Chronicle.
A sea change appeared this week as the BBC’s charter review confirmed it will examine political appointments to the broadcaster’s board. Responsible Minister Lisa Nandy has said: “There is a real concern, which I share, that political appointments to the board of the BBC damaged confidence and trust in the BBC’s impartiality.”
There used to be self-policing in newsrooms — reputations to protect. To report accurately, we must return to that position. We need a new system Alternatives like Channel 4 have shown it can be done — for example broadcasting programmes on Gaza previously dropped by the BBC. And people are turning to similar alternative news sources.
BECTU have called for the removal of Gibb, a former PR man for Theresa May. Former BBC Director-General Sir Tony Hall is also calling for an end to political appointments to the broadcaster’s board. Hall says political involvement must be removed from the process of appointing board members and its chair, expressing concern over undue influence.
Laura Davidson, the NUJ General Secretary and a former broadcast journalist, issued a statement: “The BBC board has a duty to resist political interference, and politicians hostile to public service broadcasting must not be allowed to further their agenda on the basis of these developments.”
We need a new system for public broadcasting. This must include a process for selecting independent members onto the board. The unions need to demand agreements that integrate journalist standards and the code of conduct into newsrooms, reversing the downward spiral.
This position also needs to be structured into journalist training and education as one step towards restoring trust and defending democracy.