3 thoughts on “Another opportunity for Reporting Scotland to tell us the truth on homelessness”

1. Thanks for amplifying this information from the Simon Community.

   Firstly, and most importantly, it’s good to know this has happened: I want no-one to be homeless ever, anywhere. And I want to live in a country where national government and local government and local charities and communities and voters all strive to end homelessness. And I would criticise severely any government – SNP-run or otherwise – not working hard to address this!

   Although of lesser importance on a basic human level, I am also glad to have this information from TuS because it calls out a potential additional example of ‘bias by omission’ by corporate media and especially the BBC in Scotland. (Have we not a right to expect more of the BBC than from the corporate media?)

   The charges against our (so called) public service broadcaster mount by the day as evidenced – I emphasise ‘evidenced’ – by TuS! IMHO TuS has assembled over years now evidence of the following, in no particular order:

   – BIAS BY OMISSION – this is important because my understanding from academic literature is that in terms of public (and therefore voters’) perception, it takes many ‘positives’ to overcome a single media ‘negative’ on an issue. (Candidly it’s a notable event in my household when Reporting Scotland presents a positive news story that is politically significant!)
   – NEGATIVE FRAMING – including negative messaging in headlines in online articles which only towards the end of the text MAY provide balance.
   – FREQUENT FAILURE TO PROPERLY ‘LOCATE’ NEWS STORIES – it is commonplace for the BBC in much of its UK news and current affairs output to present stories about England, including negative ones, as if they were happening UK-wide. (Radio 4’s Today programme is notable for this.)
   – FAILURE TO PROVIDE UK CONTEXT on negative reports about Scotland e.g. on the impact of 10+ years of Tory austerity.
   – FAILURE TO PROVIDE UK PERSPECTIVE through comparison of a situation in Scotland with the same situation in other UK nations with devolved (therefore limited) powers and with the situation in England whose government has ALL powers.
   – APPLICATION OF DIFFERENT EDITORIAL POLICIES – most readily evidenced by comparing how an ‘issue’ is covered in terms of its politicisation (negatively framed headlines; associated with pictures of government ministers; a platform provided to opposition politicians) on the BBC News website for Scotland compared for example to coverage of the similar issue elsewhere in the nations of the UK
   – AMPLIFYING THE ABERRANT – rarely informing also on the more positive ‘norm’.

   Formal complaints to the BBC have no discernible impact, lead to no change. Am I, are we here, shouting into a void? Anyone with innovative idea/s on tactics to have more of an impact?

   I’ve heard it said that the BBC in Scotland has a diminishing audience. I am less concerned about the size of the BBC’s audience as a proportion of the total electorate in Scotland. I am more concerned about the size of its audience as a proportion of the number of those independence sceptics/opponents in Scotland who potentially are still persuadable to support the dissolution of the Union. If the BBC is having a ‘restraining’ effect on changing the views of the latter then the BBC’s editorial stance is important and the BBC’s output is a problem.

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2. Repressing Scotland announced a “senior Conservative” for a quote.
   Turned out to be Jackdaw Carlot–so “senior” no one remembers anything he ever did.
   Though some art works vanished on his watch!

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3. Pingback: The charges against our (so called) public service broadcaster mount by the day – Talking-up Scotland

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