Millennium3

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Seems a balanced report. Good to get some national publicity.

StGeorge

Millennium3

Thanks - the version I found was a disjointed affair!

Britannist

As I've just said in another thread on this subject (in the UKIP leadership section) the report was also shown in full on the BBC 1 Television 7.30 pm evening news bulletin (conveniently, for the europhile BBC, at the same as millions are still on holiday and much of the rest are watching Coronation Street which was going out at the same time).

Sorry to disagree, but the report was not balanced and fair (in my view).
Reporter Robin Brand presented too many people who talked as if UKIP was not relevant and one woman who kept saying no when asked about UKIP (an obvious supporter of the pro-EU Liberal Dims).

Then Brand referred to the usual stereotype of UKIP being nearly all-white and middle-aged male. In fact, a non-white person has got higher in UKIP than on any of the ruling committees of most - if not all - other political parties in the UK.

Brand could have put a more positive light on UKIP - he could have said it's on its way up having increased its vote in two General Elections in a row and in the last three EU Elections. His team could have done some proper research (but did not) in which it would have found that UKIP pushed Labour into fourth place at Bromley (in the June By-Election) and that it - only last week - beat the europhile Liberal Dims in a local By-Election at Uttoxeter (Burton/East Staffordshire District Council).

At no point in the report did the BBC mention once what it is about the EU that UKIP dislikes - it could have mentioned the Batten report (published only last week) which shows how we are all being ripped off by the EU. The report was covered in detail in the Telegraph, Mail and other 'papers but the BBC have deliberately ignored it.

I am not happy about this report. The BBC remains biased - pro-EU and anti-UKIP.

Millennium3

Unless we are realistic and recognise how the majority view UKIP there is very little chance that we will make the necessary changes to address this conception.

My 'balanced' comment was that it was not judging - simply reporting the facts in an acceptable way to the majority - which is the BBC's job.

kernow

I agree with Britannist's posting, I knew I was white and I now know, thanks to the BBC what class I am! :shock:

Independent UKIP

Moderators - please could you merge the two posts on the BBC report together, preferably without big deletions, thanks very much.

Britannist Said: Yes, I had overlooked that offensive remark when I posted elsewhere on this here. That struck me at the time as being very wrong. I half expected Delroy Young to appear or be mentioned straight away but quite possibly the BBC reporter has never even heard of Delroy Young and Rustie Lee was on ITV not BBC if I recall correctly.

Millennium3

I accept that the item did sterotype UKIP. However, the BBC is not our publicity office - we are a very small party which is not worth an in depth analysis to the BBC.

If they are showing us in the way the majority see us - how do we change this perception.

Britannist

The BBC don't mention the racial composition of the other UK parties represented in the EU 'Parliament' - I don't see why they should do so with UKIP. Someone up at the top of UKIP should complain.

The only thing I'll say in favour of the report (on the BBC 1 Television 7.30 pm news yesterday) is that it was long. I was surprised at how much time the subject of UKIP got in a main BBC Television news bulletin - although it's about time they give this kind of coverage to UKIP considering the party does have 10 MEP's covering all parts of England except the north-east.

At the time of the evening that the report on UKIP was shown on BBC 1 Television yesterday, I expect that about 4 - 5 million people were watching. It's about time that one of BBC Television's main new broadcasts gave UKIP more than 30 seconds of coverage - and yesterday evening's report about UKIP on BBC 1 Television was probably the longest one they've done on UKIP (on BBC 1) since the EU Elections of 2004. Pity the reporter had to mention Kilroy though. It would have been better if he had not done so. Let sleeping dogs lie (as they say) :shock: .

Britannist

I just thought I would add the point that in the report on UKIP on BBC 1 Television at 7.40 pm yesterday evening, the reporter (Robin Brand) said that the membership of UKIP had fallen (since the EU Election). While I accept that the report was about UKIP and not about other political parties - he (Brand) should have said "The membership of UKIP has fallen - like that of many of the other parties."

The impression was given that UKIP's membership was down and that this was unique in the political arena. It's not - Blair's Lie-bour Party has slumped from 406, 000 to 198, 000 since 1997 :twisted: and the europhile Liberal Dims are down from 90, 000 to 76, 000 (if not less) according to the latest figures :twisted: .

The gigantic collapse in the Labour Party membership - surely a record in British politics - has hardly been mentioned by the BBC (or, unless I've missed it, by ITV news) :shock: .

Blair's pro-EU Lie-bour Party has been losing (since returning to power in 1997) twice as many members per year as the estimated total membership of UKIP :twisted: . The mystery is why this record-breaking 'achievement' by the europhile Blair has not been the subject of substantial media attention. Part of the reason may that too many Labourites are working on news desks and in editorial offices.