BBC to launch review into allegations of bias in its science coverage
n0 b o
BBC:
http://news.google.com/news/more?um=1&cf=all&ned=ca&cf=all&ncl=dELNXlSKYx6milMmqz0-DQwzUGXpM
Why doesn't Canada ever review the CBC's bias, which is even worse than
BBC's?
UK during the ice age: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8447023.stm
The BBC Trust is to launch an investigation into allegations of bias in its
coverage of science.
By Urmee Khan, Digital and Media Correspondent
Published: 3:18PM GMT 06 Jan 2010
The BBC has been criticised for its reporting of science stories in recent
months and it has been
accused of failing to cover the climate change debate objectively.
The Trust will carry out the review in the spring to assess the "accuracy
and impartiality" of the
corporation's coverage of science.
The corporation's governing body said the review follows "heated debates"
around topics like GM
crops, MMR and global warming.
The BBC came under fire in November, after a broadcaster admitted he knew
about controversial
emails in which scientists discussed "spinning" climate data long before it
reported on them.
Paul Hudson, a BBC weather presenter and climate change expert, said he was
sent the leaked emails
from the University of East Anglia, indicating that researchers massaged
figures to mask the fact
that world temperatures have been declining in recent years, a month before
the story broke.
It raised questions about why the BBC did not report on the matter sooner,
and it reignited the
debate over whether the corporation is biased on the issue of climate
change.
Peter Sissons, the veteran newsreader, claimed last year that it was now
"effectively BBC policy"
to stifle critics of the consensus view on global warming.
The review, which will be published in 2011, will assess science output
relating to public policy
and "matters of political controversy".
The "science" label will include technology, medicine and environment
coverage that "entails
scientific statements, research findings or other claims made by
scientists". The review is
expected to consult scientists and experts in the field.
Richard Tait, a BBC trustee and chair of the Trust's editorial standards
committee (ESC), said:
"Science is an area of great importance to licence fee payers, which
provokes strong reaction and
covers some of the most sensitive editorial issues the BBC faces.
"Heated debate in recent years around topics like climate change, GM crops
and the MMR vaccine
reflects this, and BBC reporting has to steer a course through these
controversial issues while
remaining impartial.
"The BBC has a well-earned reputation for the quality of its science
reporting, but it is also
important that we look at it afresh to ensure that it is adhering to the
very high standards that
licence fee payers expect."
However, some critics have said the BBC Trust is not in a position to
conduct the review as it is
regarded as being to close to the corporation.
Godfrey Bloom MEP said: "I would like to see a completely independent
judicial review, the BBC
cannot be objective as it has consistently shown. It has blocked sceptics of
a scientific view
point of climate change for years. No debate is allowed. It is biased in its
reporting which is a
disgrace and nothing less than a fully independent review is good enough."
A BBC Trust spokeswoman said: "As set out in the BBC's Charter and
Agreement, the Trust is the body
charged with ensuring that the BBC's coverage of any issue is duly
impartial. This review, which
will be carried out independently on behalf of the Trust, will take an
in-depth look at the BBC's
coverage of science, taking into account the views of relevant stakeholders,
to make sure that the
coverage adheres to the high standards that audiences expect."