The BBC has come in for fresh criticism for its politically correct bias, this time from a former reporter.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Robin Aitken, who worked for the BBC for 25 years, said the Corporation was failing to represent socially conservative views.
The Christian Institute recently highlighted the BBC’s long record of using its influence to promote a narrow range of politically correct ideas.
Boundaries
The veteran journalist wrote: “You do not get to hear articulated a socially conservative viewpoint by many (any?) BBC presenters.”
He added that they “all seem signed up to the same liberal dogmas about life, the universe and everything.”
“Feminism is never challenged; atheism is celebrated; “human rights” trump all (unless it’s the right of the unborn) and so on and so forth.
“The BBC corrals permitted opinions within a very tight boundary fence,” Aitken said.
Criticism
The liberal bias of the BBC has previously been noted by both current and former employees.
Former Political Editor Andrew Marr, who still presents a Sunday morning political show, described it as a “publicly funded, urban organisation with an abnormally large number of young people, ethnic minorities and gay people”.
Roger Bolton, who presents Feedback on Radio 4, has also criticised the BBC for its liberal bias and failures in religious coverage.
The BBC corrals permitted opinions within a very tight boundary fence.
Robin Aitken, former BBC reporter.
‘Liberal elite’
He said: “You do have a whole liberal elite in this country, a liberal secular elite, who dominate television.”
Bolton described BBC television executives as “secular and sceptical” and said they see religious coverage as “a rather tiresome obligation to be minimised rather than a rich and promising area to explore.”
Earlier this year, the BBC was accused of institutional bias, after it was revealed that an internal document orders staff to use pro-abortion language.
An official ‘News style guide’ for BBC journalists says that staff should avoid the term ‘pro-abortion’ and use ‘pro-choice’ instead.
Bias
The guide instructs staff to: “Avoid pro-abortion, and use pro-choice instead”, adding that: “Campaigners favour a woman’s right to choose, rather than abortion itself.”
But conversely, it pushed for the use of “anti-abortion” instead of “pro-life” but does not make clear why.
Peter D. Williams, from the campaign group Right to Life, said: “The BBC’s ‘News Style Guide’, is an utterly shameless example of institutional bias against the right-to-life movement, and for the abortion lobby.”
In September, Deputy Director of The Christian Institute Simon Calvert said: “Whether it’s abortion, gay marriage or transsexualism the BBC has shown again and again that it is only prepared to publicise one side of the debate.”