Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Radio 5live pro-coalition bias?


Radio 5live Breakfast interview a coalition minister :

"So Deputy Prime minister it's been a tough year for you hasn't it"
"So, Mr Lansley, what would you say to people who are worried about you policy"
"So Mr Cameron are you doing a brilliant job or a very brilliant job"
"Tell me about your kids"

They get a Labour MP on it's :

"Doesn't this alledged in-fighting and back-biting prove you aren't fit for goverment"
"Did Gordon Brown's temp get in the way of goverment"
"This new book proves you were all at it doesn't it"
"Was Ed Balls constantly plotting against his colleagues"
"Scandal, scandal, scandal"

I have always listened to 5live and, let's face it as a sports addict, I always will. I remember getting a call of a radio listeners survey and having a choice of "Up to an hour", "One to two hours" "Over two hours" and worked out I listened to about 6 hours of radio a day. I do like the current crop of presenters but I think they need to have a look at themselves in how they treat the respective parties.

This morning is a case in point...their presenter just gave endless open forums for Nick Clegg to rattle off the party line (eg "When we came into government we had a deficit bigger than Ireland, bigger than Italy", then went on to chat about his kids...Once the interview was over Rachel and John Pienaar got together to wax lyrical about how brave Clegg is and generally saluted his indefatigablility. Earlier Tim Farron had been asked about Vince Cable attack on the Tories as "ideological descendants of those who sent children up chimneys" and was allowed get away with saying that he was actually talking about "Red tape". Compare that to recent grillings Andy Burnham and Ed Balls were subjected to in the wake of Alistair Darling's book.

I switched over to the Today Show on Radio4 and Clegg tried the same "When we came into government we had a deficit bigger than Ireland, bigger than Italy" line and was immediately taken apart. Our economy is much bigger than those countries and Italy is currently getting downgraded because of lack of growth not it's structural deficit.

I wouldn't say this is an institutional problem throughout the BBC (although I'm sure some of you will put me right) but there is a real pro-Coalition bias at 5live and it needs sorting out.

2 comments:

Andrew Clarke said...

At any given moment Ed Balls is wheeled on and allowed to spout his diatribe without rebuke.

Stuey said...

I'm sorry Andrew but that's nonsense...every time any ministor from the Brown/Blair era is allowed on they spend the entire interview fielding questions about conspiracies and plots. It's 5live's pet topic.