I am a fan of the BBC, but I also feel there is a large amount of laziness amongst journalists which is endemic within the BBC. Locally the BBC news team in East Anglia, and I am sure in other regions too, miss real political news stories and instead only print what is sent to them in press releases by the councils. This means we get a half baked version of the news, and this is true beyond the politics arena too. Too many journalists wait for a press release rather than finding a story themselves. So what does a BBC journalist do when sent to a Lib Dem conference if they want to be seen as a "go getter" or "investigative" ?
They revert to one of two stories that have been used over and over again. Either they report about what delegates are saying "off record" about the party leader or they ask people who the Lib Dems should work with in a coalition government. Interestingly they never ask the second question to Tories or Labour members at their conferences ?
So why should I be surprised that BBC journalist Brian Wheeler went for the coalition question this year ? The party are united behind Nick Clegg, so there is no party leader story to make up this year, so Mr Wheeler went for the other option.
It's just another example of very lazy journalism from the BBC. How about something original ? How about some proper in depth political analysis ? I won't hold my breath.
5 comments:
At least they still cover the conference of what is still regarded by many journalists as the third party in British politics.
Half the problem in newsrooms these days is staff are becoming thin on the ground. In Norfolk there were 50-odd job cuts announced by the group which runs the EDP, Evening News, North Norfolk News etc on Friday.
I don't see what the problem is in this case. It is now more likely than any time in recent history that the Lib Dems will play some part in a coalition government. That makes it a legitimate area of interest.
Lazy journalism perhaps, but whether the Lib Dems deserved any press coverage for the conference in the first place is still a matter for debate.
Is the BBC report that the Lib Dems favour faith schools true?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7930628.stm
Thanks for informing me that the LibDem conference had actually taken place. I was aware that it was to be in Harrogate, but did not make a note of the date. I suspect that a lot of people will also not have noticed the event. I see from the comments on Ian Dale's Diary that the highlight was that Clegg had changed his hairstyle.
However, I do agree that investigative journalism is dead. And that it is easier to feed non stories than look for real stories. I am frustrated that the MSM is ignoring the Prisoners Votes Case, especially as it relates to the European election and that 80,000+ EU citizens will be denied their human right to vote for MEPs. Given that the taxpayers will have to pay damages in between £15M and £30M to those prisoners for their loss, and double that amount if they don't get the vote by the next General Election, I would say that this is news worth reporting.
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