This morning, I compared the short inserts into BBC Breakfast from BBC Scotland and BBC Wales. I’ll be repeating this exercise for a longer block with a view to a more reliable quantitative comparison. Today, the differing cultures could not be clearer (data below). BBC Scotland led off with ‘A national day of volunteering is taking place across the country‘ against extended images of the King and Queen on the balcony while BBC Wales left the story to third-place, said ‘People across Wales are being encouraged to volunteer on the extra Coronation bank holiday‘ and only used images and voices … Continue reading ‘Humza Yousaf accused!’ Research begins into BBC Scotland and BBC Wales’s different cultures

Comparing the reporting of BBC Scotland with that of the BBC elsewhere in the UK is always highly illustrative of the bias gap as the former politicise every issue and allow the opposition parties and an easy platform to attack the SNP, unchecked. So, today, from BBC Wales: Plans for a bypass have been halted as part of an end to road building projects in Wales. On Tuesday, the Welsh government announced all major road building projects would be scrapped over environmental concerns. It included the Cynon Gateway North in Rhondda Cynon Taf in a list of schemes which would … Continue reading BBC Wales and BBC Scotland reveal the bias gap again

I’m grateful to my Researcher, Bernadette Robertson, for alerting me to this with a shout of: ‘Hey! BBC Wales is on our beach!‘ From BBC Wales as an insert in BBC 24, today around 4:30pm: But here on the West coast of Scotland, locals and environmental officials say that benefits are already being felt on beaches like this [Ayr South] one because of the work they’re doing with farmers on the River Ayr….Scotland’s environmental regulator spends £900 000 a year on a dedicated team of 12 inspectors and support staff just checking water pollution from farms. In Wales? No fully-funded … Continue reading ‘Have you done what the Scots are doing?’ BBC Wales praises Scotland’s river quality enforcement

stewartb So that day has come round again, the one when NHS England publishes statistics on A&E waiting times for the previous month. It’s the time when we can test the consistency or otherwise of the BBC’s editorial policies and the choices editors make across the nations of the UK, as exemplified by the content of its News website which is amenable to direct comparison. And yes it does get ‘tedious’ because the BBC is nothing if not consistent in its differential practices month after month after month! We know well that BBC Scotland’s coverage of the weekly releases of … Continue reading BBC Wales’ editors CHOOSE to have ZERO politicisation of waiting times

From BBC Wales today: A mother has spoken of her horror after being told she would have to wait hours for an ambulance after her son became “lifeless” on the way to A&E. Georgia Faith Johnson called 999 when Tobias, aged two, had a seizure at their Cardiff home, but was told it was an eight hour wait. As she tried to get to A&E he went “floppy”, but was told to monitor him at the side of the road. The Welsh Ambulance Service said it was under extreme pressure. Any comments from politicians? None, just this: A row in … Continue reading BBC Wales: Mother of a ‘lifeless’ child waiting hours for an ambulance praises First Minister!

BBC Scotland’s Politics online page has something missing. BBC Wales and Northern Ireland are not missing it: What is it? Constitutional change – independence for Wales and re-union for Ireland. It headlines in that really divided society, Northern Ireland and gets two reports in Wales. Maybe there was nothing of that kind on in Scotland? You can’t expect BBC Scotland to just make something up. Well, there was something on. This: Oooh, I wonder why only BBC Scotland have ignored this issue, again? Maybe it’s just a one-of, innocent error? I’ve been reporting the consistent and stark contrast between the … Continue reading What is allowed on BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland but not on BBC Scotland?

BBC Scotland have nothing on this. They’re busy with increases in E-coli in a nursery (Where’s Prof Pennington when you need a bacteriologist?), bin strikes (None in BBC Wales apparently), a sex assault, a serial rapist and cancer. They do have Harry Styles and a wee fox cub to cheer you up but, of course, nothing that might conceivable reflect well on an SNP Government. BBC Scotland could have had this: Covid infections fall for the fifth successive week in Scotland They prefer this kind of thing, from March 2022: Covid hospital numbers in Scotland reach new peak. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-60806381 BBC … Continue reading BBC Wales has an attitude problem – talking-up Wales

Comparing BBC Wales coverage with that of BBC Scotland offers ongoing confirmation of the bias of the latter against the SNP and the cosy lack of bias in the former against Welsh Labour. On the subject of one death in a prison, BBC Wales makes absolutely no reference today to any politician at all. I doubt they know who the minister for justice there, is. BBC Scotland in 2019 headline and picture the minister for justice. The report then calls on the minister to comment. For an extensive list of comparative coverage, see: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2021/08/11/nothing-proves-bbc-scotlands-bias-more-clearly-than-bbc-wales/ But, there’s more, much much more … Continue reading Once again BBC Wales reveals BBC Scotland’s institutional bias against Scotland