US media outlets cover for BBC after executives resign over Trump speech edits
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The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the most overrated broadcast network on earth. So many leftists profess it as the highest standard of journalism. But on many issues, it is horrendously slanted, and that became obvious in the last week when two BBC executives resigned over an obnoxious Franken-edit of President Donald Trump’s speech to supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.
Maliciously stitching together passages that were 50 minutes apart, the BBC program “Panorama” made it look like it was uninterrupted: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.” Shortly after the first part, Trump proclaimed: “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” That was left out.
The BBC preposterously claimed this edit was unintentional, for a documentary that aired right before the 2024 election. “We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.”
The BBC on Thursday admitted this kind of edit also aired on its “Newsnight” program in 2022. It was slightly longer, but had the same effect. The comment admitted this clip was followed by a voiceover from presenter Kirsty Wark saying “and fight they did” over footage from the Capitol riot. On this show, former Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney called out the dishonest splice shortly after it was broadcast.
At first, American broadcast networks ignored this news as BBC executives resigned. But the “public” media couldn’t leave it alone, since PBS and NPR are the most fervent members of the BBC fan club. “PBS NewsHour” turned to CNN media analyst Brian Stelter, who had already foolishly claimed the BBC “exists in an incredibly politically charged environment, even as it tries to be apolitical and impartial.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie stepped down after criticism that documentary spliced two comments together from President Donald Trump’s speeches. (AP)
Leftist media outlets perennially create a politically charged environment with relentless propaganda, so it’s silly to talk around their wretched journalistic mistakes by lamenting they’ve suddenly become controversial. “Public” networks abuse the citizens paying for their “news” product by knocking the conservatives into a wall on a regular basis.
PBS anchor Geoff Bennett began by asserting this “Panorama” documentary series is “the crown jewel of the BBC’s reporting operation.” This is like saying “60 Minutes” was a glistening jewel after Dan Rather smeared George W. Bush in 2004. Stelter argued like a defense lawyer that it was “a really thoughtful, nuanced film with just one big mistake….There is no indication that it was malicious.” The edit was clearly done with malice.
Stelter told PBS that Trump’s threat of a lawsuit would test the BBC’s mettle: “Every media company, when challenged by Trump, has to ask, do we fight or do we fold? Do we fight in court or do we give in to his demands?” The BBC shouldn’t fold, he said: “when media companies do appease, when they appear to capitulate, there is severe consumer backlash. Just ask Disney with Jimmy Kimmel.”
BBC ROCKED BY JAN. 6 EDIT SCANDAL AS BRITISH JOURNALIST CALLS OUT NETWORK’S ‘REMARKABLY BRAZEN’ MOVE
But then there is the broader question of everyday bias. Bennett worried out loud about conservative critics tarnishing their golden BBC: “Conservative critics in the U.K. are alleging a systemic left-wing bias at the BBC. What does all of this mean for the BBC’s international reporting, and its reputation?” Stelter agreed there was “this concerted political campaign, mostly from conservatives in the U.K., to undermine the BBC.” Much like CNN, the BBC “news” staff engages routinely in a concerted political campaign to undermine the right-wingers.
This is, once again, a glaring example of how PBS and NPR wouldn’t dream of granting a conservative media critic an opportunity to debate someone like Stelter, someone who could more broadly indict the BBC’s flagrant bias on Gaza and climate change and “gender-affirming care.” This is why the BBC should be privatized, just as PBS and NPR are currently defunded. Because there is no debate and no democracy allowed on these stations, especially when “public” broadcasting is being challenged.
National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” turned to London, where their producer Fatima Al-Kassab started warning about threats to “freedom of the press.” That’s how they disparage criticism of leftist misinformation. She cited Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, Britain’s third largest party: “he said that people on the right in British politics were following in the footsteps of Trump’s America and endangering free press.”
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On “All Things Considered,” NPR media reporter David Folkenflik also did a story warning about the “far right” ruining everything. Trump is “attempting to discredit news organizations by doing this. In the meantime, he’s helping this ally of his — a far-right figure who’s become in some ways prominent in the multiparty system in the U.K. — and that’s Nigel Farage.”
Farage recently restated the obvious: “The BBC has been institutionally biased for decades.” He said Trump told him after this misinformation: “Is this how you treat your best ally?” But “public” broadcasters see their die-hard alliances as sharing a crusade with their left-wing comrades, portraying Trump as a global menace.
Much like CNN, the BBC “news” staff engages routinely in a concerted political campaign to undermine the right-wingers.
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The Stelters and the Folkenfliks will disparage the conservative media with great ardor, and they wouldn’t countenance the notion that they’re seeking to undermine “freedom of the press.” Likewise, holding the BBC accountable when they fail isn’t a press-freedom issue. It’s about press quality.
You wouldn’t accuse someone of seeking to undermine the restaurant industry after you complain that you’ve contracted food poisoning at a fancy restaurant. It’s on the chefs to fix the problem, and the critics should be free to complain about who’s been ill-served.
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