The Leveson Debate, Transcript
18 January 2013

The Leveson Debate, hosted by Soho Skeptics and Conway Hall on 17 January, asked, 'What are we to make of the Leveson Report? Is the Leveson Report a threat to public interest journalism?' Chair: Helen Lewis, deputy editor of the New Statesman. Panellists: Journalist Nick Cohen (The Observer, The Spectator), journalist and columnist...

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The Guardian Lacks Transparency As Writer's Conflict of Interest is Undisclosed
28 September 2012

On 27 September The Guardian published a Comment is Free article by Venezuelan writer Francisco Toro. Entitled 'The Hugo Chavez cult is over', the comment piece rails against the 'mismanagement' and 'corruption' of the Venezuelan government, while praising the 'long-suffering opposition movement' and commending the opposition leader, Henrique Capriles, an 'energetic...

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Israel's Attack Memo: Email Exchange with the BBC's Jonathan Marcus
24 August 2012

Last week Jonathan Marcus, the BBC's Diplomatic Correspondent, wrote an analysis piece entitled "'Leaked Israel memo': propaganda or Iran war plan?". The article ran in parallel with a story entitled "Israel 'prepared for 30-day war with Iran'". Both articles were about the prospect of a serious violation of international law, however...

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Media Obsession with Olympic Gold: Is China Alone?
4 August 2012

On Thursday 2nd August BBC News published a video report, which featured on the homepage of the BBC News website, entitled 'A look into China's obsession with Olympic Gold'. The report - in general terms a decent piece of journalism, highlighting China's 'notorious medals factories known for their uncompromising, sometimes violent,...

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Olympic Protest Imagery Doesn't Last Long on BBC News
3 July 2012

Images of protest related to the London Olympics don't seem to remain newsworthy for long on the BBC News website. On 30 June 2012, a protest against the MoD's plans to site surface-to-air of missiles in East London during the olympics took place. The BBC reported on the event, initially with an...

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13 Years of BBC Reporting on Venezuela's Hugo Chavez
14 February 2012

The headline "Chavez 'would accept' Venezuela election defeat" ran on the BBC website on 14 January 2012, for a story which reported that Hugo Chavez would 'relinquish power if he loses elections due in October.' When a news organisation deems it news-worthy that a country's president would step down if not...

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Correspondence with BBC Regarding Misleading Headlines
22 December 2011

A number of our 'Eye on the News' entries highlight misleading news headlines which inaccurately represent the content of corresponding news reports. Accuracy and impartiality within headlines is crucial; the perception of the nature of a story is often shaped by its headline. Many of the headlines on the BBC News website...

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Journalists must take responsibility for their reporting on Iran
8 November 2011

As the US, UK and Israel increasingly voice threats to attack Iran, mainstream journalists are doing little more than repeating the concerns, desires and messages from Whitehall and Washington. Despite many mentions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) evidence set to report that Iran is not producing nuclear warheads, the...

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Wikileaks: US embassy discusses use of Andrew Marr show for 'maximum impact'
8 September 2011

A Wikileaks cable from the US Embassy in London to Hilary Clinton shows the extent of understanding between the BBC and politicians that ‘maximum impact’ will be offered for their time. The cable straightforwardly points out that an appearance on the Andrew Marr show may help to ‘set the political agenda...

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Notes from "Who runs Britain?" public meeting in London
21 July 2011

A public meeting was held in the Marchmont Centre in Central London on the 20th July entitled “Who Runs Britain? Media, Power and Democracy”. Speakers at the event (organised by the activist group Counterfire) were media commentator, author and reader at Goldsmiths Des Freedman, journalist and blogger Laurie Penny, and economist...

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BBC response to question of selective reporting of London demonstrations
1 June 2011

We contacted the BBC via the complaints section of their website to enquire as to why they had covered the Rally Against Debt on May 14th 2011, but not the nearby rally for Palestine. The Rally Against Debt was given front-page coverage on the BBC website, and snippets from the speeches...

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