Can We Trust the BBC?

Can We Trust the BBC?
Author: Robin Aitken
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2013-01-17
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1408183447

This book asks a big question: can we trust the BBC? As the most famous media brand in the world, the BBC is growing bigger and more powerful every year. Its reputation depends on honest and accurate journalism. But this book argues that the Corporation's own pervasive political culture imperils its impartiality. It demonstrates how some groups and viewpoints get favourable treatment while others are left out in the cold. The book examines the concept of 'public sector broadcasting' and asks if that has come to mean simply radio and television free of commercial bias. It argues that there are other 'hidden persuaders' that we the audience should be alert to. Drawing on the author's twenty-five years as a BBC reporter and executive, the books blends analysis and sharp polemic to paint a vivid picture of life inside the news machine from a uniquely privileged point of view. It also tells the story of how the BBC responded to a dissident in its own ranks. Robin Aitken responds to the criticism of the book by many ex-BBC employees through the media spectrum on its initial publication, and details his correspondence with current employees over his decision to publish. This book is a timely contribution to the ongoing debate about public broadcasting.

Can We Still Trust the BBC?

Can We Still Trust the BBC?
Author: Robin Aitken
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2013-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1472900898

As the world's most famous media brand faces the greatest PR crisis in its history, Robin Aitken gives an insider's view.

The BBC

The BBC
Author: Tom Mills
Publisher: Verso Books
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2020-10-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1784784834

The BBC: the mouthpiece of the Establishment? The BBC is one of the most important institutions in Britain; it is also one of the most misunderstood. Despite its claim to be independent and impartial, and the constant accusations of a liberal bias, the BBC has always sided with the elite. As Tom Mills demonstrates, we are only getting the news that the Establishment wants aired in public. Throughout its existence, the BBC has been in thrall to those in power. This was true in 1926 when it stood against the workers during the General Strike, and since then the Corporation has continued to mute the voices of those who oppose the status quo: miners in 1984; anti-war protesters in 2003; those who offer alternatives to austerity economics since 2008. From the outset much of its activity has been scrutinised by the secret services at the invitation of those in charge. Since the 1990s the BBC has been integrated into the market, while its independence from government and big business has been steadily eroded. The BBC is an important and timely examination of a crucial public institution that is constantly under threat.

The Noble Liar

The Noble Liar
Author: Robin Aitken
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2020-06-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1785904337

To some, it is the voice of the nation, yet to others it has never been clearer that the BBC is in the grip of an ideology that prevents it reporting fairly on the world. Many have been scandalised by its pessimism on Brexit and its one-sided presentation of the Trump presidency, whilst simultaneously amused by its outrage over 'fake news'. This punchy polemic galvanises the debate over how our licence-fee money is spent, and asks whether the BBC is a fair arbiter of the news, or whether it is a conduit for pervasive and institutional liberal left-wing bias.

The War Against the BBC

The War Against the BBC
Author: Patrick Barwise
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 528
Release: 2020-11-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0141989416

There's a war on against the BBC. It is under threat as never before. And if we lose it, we won't get it back. The BBC is our most important cultural institution, our best-value entertainment provider, and the global face of Britain. It's our most trusted news source in a world of divisive disinformation. But it is facing relentless attacks by powerful commercial and political enemies, including deep funding cuts - much deeper than most people realise - with imminent further cuts threatened. This book busts the myths about the BBC and shows us how we can save it, before it's too late.

Can We Still Trust the BBC?

Can We Still Trust the BBC?
Author: Robin Aitken
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2013-05-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 147290091X

The scandals that have rocked the BBC have touched the corporation from top to bottom. As the revelations about Jimmy Savile unfold and shock the nation, people may reasonably ask what possible trust they can have in this incomparable national institution, once the embodiment of truth and moral excellence. This book asks a big question: can we still trust the BBC? Drawing on his earlier book, Can We Trust the BBC?, Robin Aitken, a BBC reporter and executive for 25 years, argues that these most recent controversies are rooted in longstanding lapses and shortcomings in the BBC's doctrine of impartiality. In the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, he considers how 'public sector broadcasting' can survive now that public trust in the BBC has been jeopardized. This book blends analysis and sharp polemic to paint a vivid picture of life inside the news machine, as well as the Light Entertainment department, giving the reader unique insight into the context in which the scandals revealed in 2012 unfolded. Everything Robin Aitken prophesised in his original book has come true. His analysis at least is to be trusted.

A Question of Trust

A Question of Trust
Author: Onora O'Neill
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2002-06-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780521529969

In this 2002 book, Onora O'Neill investigates sources of deception in our society and re-examines questions of press freedom.

Who Can You Trust?

Who Can You Trust?
Author: Rachel Botsman
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2017-11-14
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1541773683

If you can't trust those in charge, who can you trust? From government to business, banks to media, trust in institutions is at an all-time low. But this isn't the age of distrust -- far from it. In this revolutionary book, world-renowned trust expert Rachel Botsman reveals that we are at the tipping point of one of the biggest social transformations in human history -- with fundamental consequences for everyone. A new world order is emerging: we might have lost faith in institutions and leaders, but millions of people rent their homes to total strangers, exchange digital currencies, or find themselves trusting a bot. This is the age of "distributed trust," a paradigm shift driven by innovative technologies that are rewriting the rules of an all-too-human relationship. If we are to benefit from this radical shift, we must understand the mechanics of how trust is built, managed, lost, and repaired in the digital age. In the first book to explain this new world, Botsman provides a detailed map of this uncharted landscape -- and explores what's next for humanity.

Enough Said

Enough Said
Author: Mark Thompson
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2016-09-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1466864729

There’s a crisis of trust in politics across the western world. Public anger is rising and faith in conventional political leaders and parties is falling. Anti-politics, and the anti-politicians, have arrived. In Enough Said, President and CEO of The New York Times Company Mark Thompson argues that one of the most significant causes of the crisis is the way our public language has changed. Enough Said tells the story of how we got from the language of FDR and Churchill to that of Donald Trump. It forensically examines the public language we’ve been left with: compressed, immediate, sometimes brilliantly impactful, but robbed of most of its explanatory power. It studies the rhetoric of western leaders from Reagan and Thatcher to Berlesconi, Blair, and today’s political elites on both sides of the Atlantic. And it charts how a changing public language has interacted with real world events – Iraq, the financial crash, the UK's surprising Brexit from the EU, immigration – and led to a mutual breakdown of trust between politicians and journalists, to leave ordinary citizens suspicious, bitter, and increasingly unwilling to believe anybody. Drawing from classical as well as contemporary examples and ranging across politics, business, science, technology, and the arts, Enough Said is a smart and shrewd look at the erosion of language by an author uniquely placed to measure its consequences.