A Tsunami Runs Through It

[D'Artagnan 173]

Its been a busy week for The Samaritans in Glasgow. Thankfully they have been doing what they do best - counselling, instead of being detracted from their normal duty by having to tell BBC Scotland their montage of Ally McCoist falling to his death was repugnant. But if it wasn't bad enough the Advertising Standards Authority ruling that Rangers were indeed the most successful club in Scotland, more woe was to follow for a certain section of Scottish society.

 

For the Samaritans phones have been buzzing with the news the Republican Guard has taken a helluva beating. No not Saddam's â?? the other one â?? BBC Scotland. For a couple of very persistent and determined Bears of the Vanguard variety have struck a critical blow in the armour of this Rangers bashing, publicly funded, broadcasting organisation. I'm sure most of you have read the comments of the BBC' s own Editorial Standards Committee, (if like me more than once) which criticises BBC Scotland's inaccurate use of language with regard to the description of our club.

 

It was of course a long drawn out affair of nearly 14 months and required numerous escalations of the complaint. The 2 authors of that complaint displayed both considerable and exemplary perseverance in their quest. The Editorial Standards Committee are in fact the final arbiters in complaints to the BBC Trust. But of course not only the ruling but the process must cast serious questions about the integrity and judgement of those involved at BBC Scotland with regard to how they view our club. That this complaint progressed through the various bureaucratic levels of management at Pacific Quay without any of those managers having either the sense or objectivity to uphold this complaint should be of concern to us all.

 

On a personal note I find not just the ruling, but the considerable failings it highlights at BBC Scotland as something of a vindication of an article I wrote nearly two years ago for Vanguard Bears â?? A River Runs Through It.

 

http://vanguardbears.co.uk/article.php?i=1&a=a-river-runs-through-it

 

In view of what has transpired since that article was written, perhaps it would be appropriate to replace the river with a Tsunami.

 

However I took the time to research some of the previous complaints which the Editorial Standards Committee had adjudicated on with regard to our club and discovered the following complaints had been presented before them :-

 

Tampering with an interview with the Rangers manager

 

Regular snide comments from news and sports reporters on BBC Scotland

 

Biased and inaccurate comments from BBC Radio Scotland presenters

 

Repeated factual inaccuracies

 

A failure to consider or in any way investigate other institutions

 

A lack of regard, consideration or empathy for the traumatic content of the Rangers saga to employees, shareholders and fans throughout the past year or more

 

Now call me old fashioned but shouldn't alarm bells be ringing within the BBC at the frequency of complaints they are receiving in respect of our club, particularly where in this most recent instance some of those complaints are being upheld ? It seems clear that despite the horrific failings of this organisation in view of the Savile revelations, that they have learned very little with regard to early warning systems.

 

Furthermore their recent false and erroneous reporting in respect of the Help For Heroes Charity, demonstrates that the issue of â??inappropriate editingâ? is not confined solely to our manager.

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/politics/4929455/BBC-apology-for-smearing-Help-for-Heroes.html

 

It would be fair to say that this is an organisation which fails to learn from it's mistakes and calls into question the editorial control at all levels.

 

Of course BBC Scotland will be bound by the terms of the Editorial Standards Committee ruling in respect of their description our club. But in the absence of a follow up enquiry by the BBC themselves this will not really address the source of the problem â?? the clear absence of neutrality and objectivity at BBC Scotland with regard to our club. In fact I noticed a certain Mark Daly making an appearance on twitter last night attempting to stir things up in respect of some of the Charlotte Fakes content. I of course had to respond to him via social network.

 

In view of the clear and consistent failings within the BBC to tackle the problems within Pacific Quay it leaves little scope for a Rangers support wishing to defend our club from the numerous and spurious attacks.

 

Perhaps it's time for us to join forces with an existing tsunami which is gathering momentum â?? the huge tidal wave of public opinion calling for the abolition of the TV licence.

[andy steel 0]

I think the loss of a publicly funded broadcaster would be a real blow to my idea of Britishness, and put another dunt in what's left of our society. Even considering the actions of Celtic's broadcasting wing over the last few years, that would to be far a step for me.

[foggy dewhurst 0]

there are plenty of things the bbc do in a first class manner its just this republican and very bitter faction that is running an agenda aggainst rangers and anything they see as a threat to themselves whats needed at the bbc is a broadcasting enemma to scour the shit out .

[aweebluesoandso 290]

Pacific Quay is infested with the West of Scotland Republican mindset and needs a complete cull, until we get that there will be no parity in reporting between us and them.

[D'Artagnan 173]

I think the loss of a publicly funded broadcaster would be a real blow to my idea of Britishness, and put another dunt in what's left of our society. Even considering the actions of Celtic's broadcasting wing over the last few years, that would to be far a step for me.

 

I find very little of the British characteristic Andy, in the way this organisation has been conducting itself in recent times. It seems totally aloof from British public opinion, and the conduct of some of their employees post Savile merely confirms that - the playing of the Jim'll Fix It theme tune at a BBC office party, to much cheering, was repugnant.

 

But if we are not going to go down the route of joining the ant-licence lobby how would you suggest we tackle the obvious bias at work here ? And I ask that of you knowing you have sent letters of complaint to this organisation.

[andy steel 0]

With great difficulty!

 

British public opinion is the same body that rushed to facebook with mock ups of Stuart Hall captioned 'It's a Cock Out' when he was convicted, so we ought to be careful of assuming 'Britain' shares the kind of values you or I might.

 

I suppose the best - probably only - way to deal with it is to expose it, continually and relentlessly. Given the track record of the body involved this does not take much doing, but bringing it to higher exposure than Rangers forums is the tricky bit.

 

Perhaps a modification of your anti-fee plan might work, which would be to use like minded media bodies to highlight the crass waste of tax payers money Pacific Quay is fast becoming a synonym for. The Daily Mail would probably be one such body, Sky might be another and so on. I'd not keen on such moves because I think over the piece the BBC as a whole is superb and needs protecting, not kicking - but that's why the idiots in Glasgow are so dangerous, because with every doctored report, every inaccurate statement, and every programme which disnae bother with boring old facts and just belts out whatever they feel like, they make the BBC as a whole easier to target for those who despise it.

 

It's a body which is based on a public service ethos, an ethos which a certain recently deceased person ground into the dirt in Britain. Since that revolution, it has tried to find a way to reconcile free market production methods with that ethos; as yet, it hasn't managed it, and appears bizarrely schizo at times. But again, that's Britain in 2013 - these market forces mean Wonga are still allowed to use said convicted rapist & child molester Stuart Hall to voice over their extortionate loan business. At the pictures last Saturday night, one advert had the tag line 'Straight talking money - without the hanky panky!'

 

Without wishing to be offended every time I leave the house I did wonder how one of his victims, who had just gone to see Superman or something, would have felt if they heard that. But it seems they don't matter.

 

For all its faults, on any week you can turn on the BBC and see Iain Stewart teach you geology; Dallas Cambell (yes, really) do astronomy; Andrew Graham-Dixon on art; Dan Cruikshank on architecture; crap social drama/soaps if you like that sort of thing; Ray Mears teach bushcraft and self sufficiency; mostly Oxbridge but still some funny comedies; and that's to say nothing of the radio output.

 

I just fear throwing out the baby with the bathwater, no matter how hard Pacific Quay are making it to be sane on this subject!

[Thinker 862]

But again, that's Britain in 2013 - these market forces mean Wonga are still allowed to use said convicted rapist & child molester Stuart Hall to voice over their extortionate loan business.!

 

It's Nicholas Parsons that does the voiceovers for Wonga.com - I think even they would have pulled it had it been Stuart Hall.

[Jim1955 12]

Is there such an organisation as a TV licence payers association?

[D'Artagnan 173]

I think BBC Scotland's decision today to defend their position on its own Editorial Standards Ruling merely emphasises what we are up against.

 

Advertising Standards Authority, UEFA, SFA, European Clubs Association, Lord NImmo Smith, BBC Trust Editorial Standards Committee - ALL WRONG

 

BBC Scotland - right.