Al-Beeb imagines itself informative, lavishes eggcups on itself

Nick Cohen being his usual bright, witty, kick-ass self points out some of the things that makes the BBC public affairs programming little more than a over-grown version of the Gerry Springer Show except for the fact that it’s completely unaware of itself. From his column in the Evening Standard:

«I turned on the Today programme yesterday morning and thought I’d got a feeble comedy show instead of the news.

A sub-Michael Moore clown was doing a turn the gist of which was that George W. Bush was the stooge of the Haliburton Corporation. John Humphrys was the next act. He shouted at Lord Falconer for so long and with such assurance in the righteousness of his beliefs, the Lord Chancellor was barely able to get three words out in reply.

I may be surprised, but I don’t expect tomorrow’s programme will feature a comedian mocking Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein. Nor do I expect to hear its presenters tearing into Charles Kennedy about the Liberal Democrats shameful failure to support the beleaguered liberals and democrats of Iraq.

If they do, it will be a first. I haven’t heard one opponent of the war given a hard time on Today in three years. Not even George Galloway.

The BBC’s managers must recognise that if they recruit arts graduates and put them in West London, they will inevitably have to deal with a middle-class liberal bias.»

hm. Haliburton. Stooge. Bush. Novel and innovative programming indeed. Someone please send Nich Cohen a box of steaks. Even if he’s a vegetarian.