Once more, Sir John Curtice Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University, lets his Unionist preconceptions blind him to the truth.
Psephologists or bean-counters, like Prof Curtice, as they are often known can be a bit narrow in their thinking and he has missed the obvious here:
Scots think the FM, the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland have done a far better job of coping with the crisis than their UK/English equivalents because they just have, objectively, and because too many of them don’t believe the propaganda coming at them daily from, especially, BBC Scotland, the Herald and the Scotsman.
Here’s evidence that Scots don’t trust the BBC:
The Survation poll with data collected on 16-23 April, overall, suggested 51% of Brits trust the BBC ‘to provide you with information about covid-19.’ With trust for the Scottish Government at 70%, social media was alive with gleeful commentary on the gap but it’s far better than that, when you see the regional breakdown.
It’s better because we can reasonably link the responses to the dominant, big audience news broadcasts – Reporting Scotland and Good Morning Scotland – and because ‘Low Trust’ was at these levels:
- London 14.8%
- South 18.4%
- Midlands 21.8%
- North 21.5%
- Wales 15.2%
- N Ireland 11.5%
- Scotland 38%
Only 8 out 143 Scots asked ‘completely trusted’ BBC.
https://www.survation.com/survation-covid-19-public-attitude-tracker/
Here’s evidence the Scottish Government HAS actually done better:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
“Freedom of the press in Scotland”.
I believe I am correct to state that in the past, Scots read/bought more newspapers per capita, than anyone else in the world. An oddity, but a true one.
Given that fact, the media in Scotland have played a blinder in the last three decades or more.
They have used their “freedom” to alienate a substantial part of the population, including those with no firm political affiliation.
Very few people now trust the purveyors of hard news to tell us the unvarnished truth. Most people now appear to disregard what their daily paper (if they even still buy one), their TV or Radio station tell them.
Newspapers, once respected and thriving–Scotsman, Herald, Record are now heading for the dustbin because they have misjudged us, and treated us to blatant propaganda in place of news.
People now make their own minds up.
Long may it continue.
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Guess who else we don’t trust:–
“come oot, come oot wherever ye are, Jackie Carlot.
Yer gemmes a bogie”!
Hiding behind the sofa.
Two men previously led the Poodle Party, Big Bella and Ruthie Ruthless.
Now they are led by a wee lassie!
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The BBC News website tells us this about the article by Professor Curtis: “This analysis piece was commissioned by the BBC from an expert working for an outside organisation.” IMHO the article is better, more accurately described as an ‘opinion piece’.
Nowhere are we given an evidence-based analysis to support the contention that there exists a ‘halo effect’.
Nowhere in the article do we have any analysis to justify the contention that the results of the IPSOS Mori survey are reflecting the ‘partisan lens’ of respondents, and if so to what extent. The ‘analysis piece’ fails to explain whether or not the IPSOS Mori survey design and/or its statistical analysis and/or it full report took account of party affiliation or voting record or voting intention.
Being experienced in his field, the professor may well have evidence of a ‘halo effect’ and he may judge that the IPSOS Mori survey fails to take partisan bias into account.
But in an ‘analysis’ as distinct from an ‘opinion’ piece should we not have some indication of the evidence being used to justify these contentions? This is especially important where, as seems clear, the article commissioned from one ‘academic’ is seeking to downplay the significance of the findings of a credible, third party survey company.
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Hi John
Looks like the NY Times is now investigating HC 1 on our behalf.
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Thanks for the link – I suspect I and most of the population of Scotland would NEVER spot this article given its source.
The level of detail overall; the account of eye witnesses in the Skye home; negative comments on governments, yes; but unusually, detailed, scathing evidence on HC-One is all there.
The focus on HC-One and its business model is way beyond anything reported by corporate media outlets in either the UK or Scotland as far as I am aware. And critically, way beyond anything reported by our public service broadcaster, BBC Scotland. Not SNPbad enough?
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Whilst on the subject of HC-One, according to its website it wrote a letter to Local Authorities (probably in England though this is not certain) and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) on 29 April looking for financial support. The letter includes this:
1) Across its 328 homes with c.20,000 beds, deaths are currently running at the rate of 8 x admissions.
2) “As a consequence occupancy has decreased by 6% since 3 April and is currently 84%. HC- One has developed sophisticated statistical techniques to model possible future infections and deaths. Using this modelling and taking into consideration deaths to-date, suggests an occupancy level of 70% by July.”
3) “At these occupancy levels HC-One and other operators will not be generating cash.”
And then the ‘ask’:
4) “To support HC-One through this period we are requesting an income protection scheme ….. The request is for commissioners to guarantee income at the equivalent of 90% occupancy, HC-One’s occupancy ahead of the Covid-19 crisis.”
The letter: https://www.hc-one.co.uk/CMSPages/GetAzureFile.aspx?path=~\hc1_live\media\page-header-images\hc-one-letter-to-las-and-ccgs-290420.pdf&hash=c08ff87535ac618fbf8f37ecbed06f79e66a9886500acf3eb72465293014863c
On the commercial importance of occupancy levels to these companies, some may recall this from a TuSC btl contribution on 10 May:
It noted the risk register in the annual report (published April 2020) of the company Impact Healthcare REIT – a major commercial investor in care home properties across the UK.
It stated: “As the NHS prepares for a continuing and growing outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, our tenants have noticed AN INCREASE IN DEMAND FOR BEDS as the NHS seeks to relieve pressure on hospitals. This INCREASE IN DEMAND COULD HELP MITIGATE THE EFFECT ON REDUCED OCCUPANCY if an outbreak occurs in a care home.”
Given all this, it is unlikely for commercial reasons that care homes, including those experiencing deaths of residents due to Covid-19, were unwilling to accept new residents transferred to them from hospitals or elsewhere. If anything they may have been glad to receive them in order to boost occupancy levels and revenues.
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A link to HC-One’s corporate information that will work (I think)
https://www.hc-one.co.uk/Our-News/Corporate-News.aspx
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The Scot. Gov.’s High ranking must bee seen as a failure by the BBC and their colleagues in the print media.
A major objective for the SNP has always been to demonstrate competency in office. The public are now recognising this despite the media that operates here.
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Was it just me that thought it astonishing that Faisal Islam on discovering that Cummings was fabricating his own history felt the need to write this
‘To be clear – I was genuinely interested in how prescient he had been on coronaviruses, and expected to be impressed.’
Is this what journalism has become?
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