BBC impartiality is under threat from all sides | Letters

The corporation is in danger of commercial censorship, writes Dr Kevin Bannon, Elizabeth Budd believes BBC TV news is increasingly cautious, while Nick Nuttgens thinks journalists are asking the wrong questions

George Monbiot hits the nail on the head (The biggest threat to the BBC’s independence is the corporation itself, 7 October). However, if “impartial” means to represent the values of a notional political centre then the BBC is hardly likely to secure itself there, as this centre has been racing to the right for more than 40 years in the UK and globally. Thus, as Monbiot recognises, political power lies more firmly than ever in the grip of the hard right via its monopolies in high finance and the commercial media. These are poised to “liberate” what remains of the already well-commercialised BBC (the result of outsourcing) so that its newsrooms and its other departments will join the commercial monopolists in extolling the virtues of the free market, amounting to totalitarianism by commercial censorship.

Even the proscriptive controls associated with tyrannies make clear what may not be broadcast, whereas commercial control is invisible, insidious and pervasive; imagine its effect on the nation’s discourse, political or otherwise. The BBC should be entirely protected from vested interests; it might then represent at least a token of opposition to the market behemoth and its narrow value for money ethos.
Dr Kevin Bannon
London

• I may be biased – having worked as a reporter at ITN in the late 1950s – but I find BBC TV news increasingly cautious and constipated in its domestic coverage, compared to Radio 4, Channel 4 News and ITV News at Ten. I don’t quite understand why the Tories seem to be hellbent on offending so many of their traditional elderly supporters who watch and listen to the BBC. Maybe they think they can afford to ignore this slice of their electorate, many of whom read the Murdoch press without spotting its hidden agenda.
Elizabeth Budd
Cambridge

• George Monbiot makes the claim that BBC journalists may believe in their own impartiality but in fact they belong to a “culture, immersed in wealth and power, looking out from the centre”. Unfortunately, the same can be said of many print journalists. Truly impartial journalists should routinely ask: “What is the Overton window here? What am I not supposed to ask or write about and why?” Aristotle raised the issue some time ago: what are the unspoken assumptions here?
Nick Nuttgens
Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Letters

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Press freedom under political pressure | Letter
Letter: During the election it became clear that relationships with those sections of the media which Boris Johnson and his aides deem too critical would be difficult, writes MediaNorth editor Granville Williams

Letters

21, Jan, 2020 @6:30 PM

Article image
Pitfalls of the BBC using independent production companies | Letter
Letters: The corporation already works with independents and is highly innovative, but is hampered by government policies, writes Steve Elliot

Letters

25, Sep, 2020 @3:44 PM

Article image
Death of RP not a cause for celebration | Brief letters
Brief letters: Received pronunciation | Tories | Great women interviewees | Bus etiquette | Politeness

Letters

27, May, 2018 @3:41 PM

Article image
It’s the media that keeps promoting Boris Johnson’s family | Letter
Letter: On election night in 2019, you couldn’t turn on the TV without coming across a member of the Johnson family, says Teresa Rodrigues

07, Mar, 2023 @5:44 PM

Article image
Sir David Nicholas obituary
One of the great innovators of British television news who used the latest technology to cover election nights and live events

Anthony Hayward

06, Jun, 2022 @3:40 PM

Article image
The BBC is a precious national asset that we must protect | Letters
Letters: Readers and campaigners respond to the news that the government is considering decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee

Letters

07, Feb, 2020 @5:35 PM

Article image
The political interview is not dead – but it is on life support
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn favour soundbites on mass-reach social media

Jim Waterson in Edinburgh

23, Aug, 2019 @5:07 PM

Article image
Crisis management for when there is too much bad news | Letter
Letters: Coffee and a copy of the Guardian help Geoff Reid keep a sense of perspective

Letters

25, Mar, 2022 @5:44 PM

Article image
Channel 4 could thrive as a social enterprise | Letters
Letters: Peter Holbrook suggests an alternative to privatisation, while Peter Grimsdale points out that if the Tories sold off the broadcaster they would be trashing a bit of their own heritage

Letters

24, Jun, 2021 @4:50 PM

Article image
Don’t let tech giants bury public service TV | Letters
Letters: Public service television shows must remain easy for audiences to find, say the heads of ITV, the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, STV and S4C

Letters

15, Oct, 2018 @5:00 AM