Phew! Lucky our own media are always impartial, eh.

"The sudden resignations this week of BBC director-general Tim Davie and CEO of news Deborah Turness has focussed minds on the role of the media. It has been startling – and grimly predictable – to watch senior figures at the BBC scrambling to defend their failures by muttering darkly about ‘right-wing conspiracies’ and ‘inside jobs’. Few, if any, have paused to consider whether the real problem might be their own cowardice.

"The same rot runs through mainstream media across the world. In Ireland, I’ve met too many well-paid figures at RTÉ, the 'Irish Times' and the 'Irish Independent' who seem serenely proud of their refusal to touch anything remotely controversial. ... [appearing] particularly self-satisfied, even self-righteous, about [their] ability to avoid difficult issues. ...

    

"I’ve thought a lot about how these individuals can so confidently defend their inaction. Most, when pressed, admit they knew everything all along and that, when it mattered most, their courage failed them. It raises the question of how long high-status professionals should serve a system they know is doing harm. How long before they find the courage to break ranks and refuse to comply?"

~ Stella O'Malley from her post 'The trans reckoning has arrived'

"Readers will be aware that the BBC’s current travails over impartiality stem from the leak of a 19-page memorandum by the journalist Michael Prescott who was for three years an advisor on editorial standards to the Corporation. Prescott’s dossier includes the revelation that President Trump’s remarks were falsified in a BBC documentary before the 2024 presidential election ... The memorandum, brought to light and published by the 'Daily Telegraph,' can be read here:

"In a full discussion of many of the BBC’s distortions, one page of the nineteen is devoted to [our] History Reclaimed [website]. In 2022 Alex Gray compiled our own dossier of the Corporation’s historical mistakes and prejudices, based on four programmes and two news bulletins over the preceding two years which covered subjects including slavery and the slave trade, the restitution of the Benin Bronzes, the Irish Famine of the late 1840s, the Bengal Famine of 1943-4 and the imputed racism of Winston Churchill. History Reclaimed called for accuracy and impartiality, the presentation of the full range of historical interpretations, the use of experts rather than ‘presenters,’ and the establishment of a panel of qualified historians to advise and assist the BBC. You can find our report here:

"We did not receive a direct reply, but the BBC put out a dismissive response accusing us of ‘cherry-picking a handful of examples.’ We now discover that Mr Prescott thought our points ‘fascinating and compelling’ and also ‘reasonable,’ and that he encouraged a meeting with us, but this was ‘judged inappropriate’ by the BBC.

"History Reclaimed notes that like so many other organisations and people in British life, we too have been ignored by the BBC when making accurate criticisms of their content and modest proposals for its improvement. We take heart from Mr Prescott’s endorsement of our points. We will watch with interest to see if the presentation of history on BBC radio and television improves. Given that we were brushed aside then and that the BBC is trying to deny its systemic failings now, we are not optimistic. Perhaps President Trump will have better luck."

~ from the History Reclaimed blog post 'BBC Scandal Confirms History Reclaimed’s Warnings'