Post by Teddy Bear on Mar 11, 2014 17:07:16 GMT
Now and again, somebody in the BBC says something that reveals a lot about the mindset prevalent there, as well as the arrogance contained within.
In this case it's John Humphrys, let's read first what he said.
Now I don't doubt that Humphrys is being frank and expressing his honest opinion, though I don't think he's understood what he's revealed, especially with this sentence: 'BBC staff are more likely to be liberal rather than conservative because they are the ‘best and the brightest’ and tend to be university educated.'
His biggest mistake is thinking that a university education in itself conveys 'best and bright'.
As the saying goes - Those that can - do; Those that can't - teach; Those that can't teach - administrate; Those that can't administrate write about what everybody else is doing.
So if a journalists has self honesty, he/she's actually quite a way down in the pecking order. What they have is a belief that without experience of anything their mind is clever enough to know what should be done.
Humphrys has displayed the inherent arrogance of his peers.
In this case it's John Humphrys, let's read first what he said.
BBC is grotesquely over-managed and has always had liberal bias, says Humphrys
By Alasdair Glennie
The BBC is ‘grotesquely over managed’ and has always had a ‘broadly liberal’ bias, one of its leading journalists has admitted.
John Humphrys said the corporation’s reporting on issues such as immigration and the European Union has not been sufficiently sceptical.
But while the Today presenter’s comments merely confirm what many of the BBC’s critics have known for years, his analysis of the reasons for its Left-wing bias is more contentious.
The 70-year-old said that BBC staff are more likely to be liberal rather than conservative because they are the ‘best and the brightest’ and tend to be university educated.
‘The BBC has tended over the years to be broadly liberal as opposed to broadly conservative for all sorts of perfectly understandable reasons,’ he told the Radio Times.
‘The sort of people we’ve recruited – the best and the brightest – tended to come from universities and backgrounds where they’re more likely to hold broadly liberal views than conservative.’
On the BBC’s reporting, he said: ‘We weren’t sufficiently sceptical – that’s the most accurate phrase – of the pro-European case. We bought into the European ideal.
‘We weren’t sufficiently sceptical about the pro-immigration argument. We didn’t look at the potential negatives with sufficient rigour.’
Humphrys claimed the BBC is no longer so biased towards the EU, saying: ‘I think we’re out of that now. I think we have changed.’
But he broadened his criticisms of his employer by saying it has too many managers and needs to be slimmed down.
He said: ‘There are too many of them. I think they think that. I think [director general] Tony Hall thinks that – I don’t know, I haven’t asked him, but I think he thinks that.
‘Over the years we’ve been grotesquely over-managed, there’s no question. They’re now getting a grip on it. A lot have gone. I think more need to go.’
This is not the first time Humphrys has publicly attacked the BBC. In January, he said the corporation is too big and is obsessed by ‘box-ticking’.
In the Radio Times interview Humphrys also dismissed reports that he and his fellow Today programme presenter Mishal Husain do not get on.
In 2009, it was reported that she felt humiliated by him on an episode of Celebrity Mastermind, which he hosts, when he asked her whether she had her job only because she is good looking.
But Humphrys said there is no ill-feeling and the remarks were taken out of context. He said: ‘I was making the point that it helps in the newsreading business – and this isn’t controversial, you only have to switch on the telly – to be young and beautiful and highly trained. She’s a proper journalist.’
Writing in the same edition of Radio Times, Humphrys’ Radio 4 colleague Eddie Mair, who presents PM, also criticised the BBC’s management culture.
He wrote: ‘At PM, we tried to start a new project, and to get approval we had to spend three weeks in meetings with different bits of the BBC. We dutifully dealt with all their queries and eventually got the go-ahead. Hooray!
‘Two days after starting the project, another part of the corporation showed up and told us to stop. We were bewildered.’
He added: ‘There is always time for dissing other parts of the corporation and whining about how things used to be better.
‘But I’ve been told to stop all that, it’s unprofessional.’
Last year Lord Hall said the BBC could have responded to accusations of Left-wing bias sooner and needed to include a greater range of opinions on Europe.
- Broadcaster says BBC is not 'sceptical' enough about some issues
- But he says bias is down to broadcaster attracting 'best and brightest'
- He also says the BBC needs to be trimmed down in size
By Alasdair Glennie
The BBC is ‘grotesquely over managed’ and has always had a ‘broadly liberal’ bias, one of its leading journalists has admitted.
John Humphrys said the corporation’s reporting on issues such as immigration and the European Union has not been sufficiently sceptical.
But while the Today presenter’s comments merely confirm what many of the BBC’s critics have known for years, his analysis of the reasons for its Left-wing bias is more contentious.
The 70-year-old said that BBC staff are more likely to be liberal rather than conservative because they are the ‘best and the brightest’ and tend to be university educated.
‘The BBC has tended over the years to be broadly liberal as opposed to broadly conservative for all sorts of perfectly understandable reasons,’ he told the Radio Times.
‘The sort of people we’ve recruited – the best and the brightest – tended to come from universities and backgrounds where they’re more likely to hold broadly liberal views than conservative.’
On the BBC’s reporting, he said: ‘We weren’t sufficiently sceptical – that’s the most accurate phrase – of the pro-European case. We bought into the European ideal.
‘We weren’t sufficiently sceptical about the pro-immigration argument. We didn’t look at the potential negatives with sufficient rigour.’
Humphrys claimed the BBC is no longer so biased towards the EU, saying: ‘I think we’re out of that now. I think we have changed.’
But he broadened his criticisms of his employer by saying it has too many managers and needs to be slimmed down.
He said: ‘There are too many of them. I think they think that. I think [director general] Tony Hall thinks that – I don’t know, I haven’t asked him, but I think he thinks that.
‘Over the years we’ve been grotesquely over-managed, there’s no question. They’re now getting a grip on it. A lot have gone. I think more need to go.’
This is not the first time Humphrys has publicly attacked the BBC. In January, he said the corporation is too big and is obsessed by ‘box-ticking’.
In the Radio Times interview Humphrys also dismissed reports that he and his fellow Today programme presenter Mishal Husain do not get on.
In 2009, it was reported that she felt humiliated by him on an episode of Celebrity Mastermind, which he hosts, when he asked her whether she had her job only because she is good looking.
But Humphrys said there is no ill-feeling and the remarks were taken out of context. He said: ‘I was making the point that it helps in the newsreading business – and this isn’t controversial, you only have to switch on the telly – to be young and beautiful and highly trained. She’s a proper journalist.’
Writing in the same edition of Radio Times, Humphrys’ Radio 4 colleague Eddie Mair, who presents PM, also criticised the BBC’s management culture.
He wrote: ‘At PM, we tried to start a new project, and to get approval we had to spend three weeks in meetings with different bits of the BBC. We dutifully dealt with all their queries and eventually got the go-ahead. Hooray!
‘Two days after starting the project, another part of the corporation showed up and told us to stop. We were bewildered.’
He added: ‘There is always time for dissing other parts of the corporation and whining about how things used to be better.
‘But I’ve been told to stop all that, it’s unprofessional.’
Last year Lord Hall said the BBC could have responded to accusations of Left-wing bias sooner and needed to include a greater range of opinions on Europe.
Now I don't doubt that Humphrys is being frank and expressing his honest opinion, though I don't think he's understood what he's revealed, especially with this sentence: 'BBC staff are more likely to be liberal rather than conservative because they are the ‘best and the brightest’ and tend to be university educated.'
His biggest mistake is thinking that a university education in itself conveys 'best and bright'.
As the saying goes - Those that can - do; Those that can't - teach; Those that can't teach - administrate; Those that can't administrate write about what everybody else is doing.
So if a journalists has self honesty, he/she's actually quite a way down in the pecking order. What they have is a belief that without experience of anything their mind is clever enough to know what should be done.
Humphrys has displayed the inherent arrogance of his peers.