The BBC foists on us a skewed version of reality

It may seem that this ruckus has very little to do with you, but if that is   what you think, then you are missing what is really going on, and losing   your opportunity to contribute to a much larger debate about the nature and   purpose of news coverage – which I assume you do care about since you are   reading the comment pages of a serious newspaper.

First, let’s be clear about who the antagonists are in this furore. While it   is true that all three party leaders have come down in favour of the sort of   statutory regulation of the press that (most, but not all) newspapers   reject, this does not mean that all MPs – let alone all politicians – agree   with them.

A good many dissident voices on both sides of the party divide have spoken out   against such a move which, they say, would be anathema to the concept of a   press free from political control that has prevailed in this country for   more than 300 years.

And on the other side, not all sections of the news media are opposed to the   idea of a press super-regulator under government auspices. In fact, the BBC,   which is the largest and most influential provider of news in this country,   has made little attempt to disguise its support for the taming of what it   regards as the vulgar British newspaper trade. (At the same time, the   corporation is under threat of external regulation itself: there is   considerable pressure to bring it under the auspices of Ofcom like any other   broadcasting organisation. Interestingly, the BBC regards the idea that its   practices and views might be questioned by an outside body as outrageous.)

Read More: telegraph.co.uk