I feel as if I have a media mistress (or two). I’ve been a bit lax posting the last few days not just because of life and family (tonight was the middle school’s open house, where guys like me look at the algebra text and, for once, feel glad to be old) and consulting (read: income) but also because I was writing a Guardian column. I feel like a shameless blogging hussy. But I’ll be back.
3 responses to “Whereabouts”
-
What’s it like working with the Guardian?
I have a very bad impression of those guys (though slightly better than my impression of the BBC). This feeling culminated when they were exposed recently for having that pro-jihad guy working for them – as a reporter. They gave him up after they were forced to. I don’t know about you, but this leaves a pretty bad inpression!
-
The BBC is well known as being continuously pro-Israeli (which isn’t a bad thing, to me) e.g. the nationwide petition attacking it from the Muslim Council of Great Britain, and the study findings of the Glasgow University Media Studies Dept; but I think Ken is attacking the Guardian unjustly.
They took him on as a journalist student on a temporary bursary to give him work experience as they do with young people every year. He then wrote an incendiary think piece and people found out his extremist background, which he hadn’t put on his CV. The Guardian then fired him within a week of the item. So far as I can see no-one “forced” them to do anything, but they did the right thing.
-
Glyn,
Regarding the BBC, I wouldn’t use either of your sources as in any way objective. Quoting the MCGB in an Israel context is so predictable as to show no light on this issue. And the U Glasgow reference just goes to show that, no matter how far left you want to go, there’s always someone willing to go further. Shame on UG;shame on the BBC.
Your other point has some validity: the Guardian almost certainly did not know of his affiliations when they hired him. Granted. However, his articles were only challenged after people from outside the Guardian began to draw attention to them. His (watered down for the artilce) jihadist views sat quite comfortably with the Guardian worldview. This is what worries me about the modern day left.
