UK Media Complicit In NHS Privatisation

Whilst the title of this blog may make most accuse me of being a conspiracy theorist, I have also to remind myself that most of the people I talk to also believe that the NHS is not in danger! Sadly, my Face Book friends are too busy with comments on the latest Shite Factor wannabes or the latest brain dead happening on Celebs Biggest Bollocks to respond to anything that is of any consequence to the country.

So despite this reality hitting me in the face and realising I am ranting to empty space, I decided to make my views known about the appalling lack of responsibility to tell the truth to the British people via the old fashioned and now outdated method of news coverage, being perpetrated by the news media outlets on British TV.

Complaining to the BBC News on 30th August via their website I wrote:

Using coverage of Libya to minimise reporting of domestic issues

I am appalled that the BBC is showing complete and total bias
toward government policy by using blanket coverage of the Libyan
conflict as an excuse not to cover domestic issues. 

A perfect example today is the non-reporting of the pressure Group 38 Degrees
independent legal advice on the ramifications for the NHS

If the Government gets it's way and the Health Care Bill due for its 3rd
reading on 6th & 7th September is passed as it currently stands
and sent to the Lords, in essence the whole concept of the NHS will
vanish overnight, with the Health Sec abdicating any responsibility
for providing health care, as the Bill removes this responsibility of
the government. 

This is MASSIVE and the BBC News channels, both
on-line and on TV has totally ignored it! 

This is major disservice to licence payers and once again shows the BBC unwilling to report
anything which does not hold the government in good light. 

Further, when you do cover gov policy issues, your reporters always quote
the government line and when interviewing opponents, again the
reporter pushes the government line. 

I wonder why?

My complaint was given a reference number of CAS-964673-WXZZMR and a response was received on 2nd September:

Dear christopher

Reference CAS-964673-WXZZMR

Thanks for contacting us regarding BBC News.

I understand that you're unhappy as you feel that there has been too much coverage of Libya and not enough of domestic issues. I note that you feel that this is pro-Government bias.

Choosing the stories to include in our bulletins; the order in which they appear and the length of time devoted to them is a subjective matter and one which we know not every viewer will feel we get right every time.

Factors such as whether it is news that has just come in and needs immediate coverage, how unusual the story is and how much national interest there is in the subject matter will all play a part in deciding the level of coverage and where it falls within a bulletin.

BBC journalists are well aware of our commitment to impartial reporting. They are expected to put their own political views to one side when carrying out their work for the BBC. They seek to provide the information which will enable viewers and listeners to make up their own minds; to show the political reality and provide the forum for debate, giving full opportunity for all viewpoints to be heard. Senior editorial staff, the Executive Committee and the BBC Trust keep a close watch on programmes to ensure that standards of impartiality are maintained.

It is not always possible or practical to reflect all the different opinions on a subject within individual programmes. Editors are charged to ensure that over a reasonable period they reflect the range of significant views, opinions and trends in their subject area. The BBC does not seek to denigrate any view, nor to promote any view. It seeks rather to identify all significant views, and to test them rigorously and fairly on behalf of the audience. Among other evidence, audience research indicates widespread confidence in the impartiality of the BBC's reporting.

Nevertheless, we’re guided by the feedback we receive and I can assure you I've registered your complaint on our audience log. This is a daily report of audience feedback that's made available to all BBC staff, including members of the BBC Executive Board, channel controllers and other senior managers.

The audience logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions about future programming and content.

Thanks for taking the time to contact us.

Kind Regards
Gareth Brennan
BBC Complaints

 I did not expect any real and serious attempt at responding to my complaint or even acknowledging its validity. A bland 'standard -ignore the issues in any complaint' was clearly adopted.

This is an indictment of the BBC News' ability to actually provide independent news reporting of major issues, and made worse by the BBC's own words in their response to my complaint:

" Factors such as whether it is news that has just come in and needs immediate coverage, how unusual the story is and how much national interest there is in the subject matter will all play a part in deciding the level of coverage and where it falls within a bulletin."

I would have thought that the discovery that legal advice condemned the Health Care Bill as creating a total mess of the NHS at best, and total abdication of responsibility by the Government and handing it over lock stock and barrel to private health care companies in Europe and the USA, at worst, is in fact an issue falling into the BBC's category of 'needs immediate coverage'

Then again, who am I but a poor grumpy old git and editor of a health & safety website and ex-editor of a trade union magazine with over 38,000 circulation. So I wouldn't know anything about news reporting, would I?

Irrespective of that fact, I am one of 60 million people in this country who will be affected by the outcome of the Health Care Bill  - that fact alone makes the issue one which should be covered in full by the country's main news agency which we all, as licence payers, bankroll!