Murdoch's campaign against the BBC continues in today's shoddy reporting
The Sun has revealed the cost to taxpayers of car allowance for 327 senior managers at the BBC.
The paper reports today that ‘the broadcaster spent almost £1.7million on managers’ driving perks over the last financial year’, which they say amounts to £32,000 a week.
What the story leaves out, however, is that spending on this ‘perk’ of a company car for managers has actually decreased since the previous year.
The BBC spent £1,678,207 in the financial year to March 31, as against £2,026,680 the year before – a drop of £348,473.
The Sun also neglects to mention that the car scheme was dropped three years ago (2012) so that no staff hired since then have had a company car.
As a spokesman for the BBC told the Yorkshire Post:
“Car allowances were stopped three years ago for all new managers. This is reflected in the fact the cost and number of those eligible to receive it has fallen by over a third.”
What the Sun does include, though, is a comment from Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, who has campaigned against the BBC licence fee.
We can expect more of this shady reporting about the BBC ahead of charter renewal, as the Sun’s proprietor Rupert Murdoch lobbies to cripple the state broadcaster. (It’s even rumoured that another BSkyB bid is in the offing…)
Keep an eye on MediaWatch for the latest.
Adam Barnett is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward. Follow MediaWatch on Twitter
Read more:
Daily Mail accuses BBC of left-wing bias…because the Guardian is more expensive
The Sun wants to scrap the Human Rights Act…after using it to defend its reporters
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21 Responses to “The Sun slams BBC for bosses’ car allowance…which has dropped by over a third”
stevep
What passes for left wing today was right wing 30 years ago. The BBC has always been accused of bias when it suits and upheld as a model broadcaster when it suits by all political colours. Lets not forget that it is probably the most respected and diverse broadcaster on earth, we`d all miss it if it no longer existed.
gunnerbear
Well, there is this…. http://www.cps.org.uk/files/reports/original/130814102945-BBCBiasOliverLathamfc.pdf?utm_source=Press+%26+Political+Only&utm_campaign=bdafa69cb1-FTT_chown_lawson&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9f3445a366-bdafa69cb1-303547657
gunnerbear
There is this as well… http://www.standard.co.uk/news/what-is-the-loneliest-job-in-britain-being-a-tory-at-the-bbc-7245499.html The BBC has the dominant position in broadcasting because of the licence fee and it’s shear size. The BBC news website has all but smashed local newspapers. If the BBC isn’t full of left wingers, why does it onlly advertise in jobs in the Guardian? And look at this, in his own words, “We need to foster peculiarity, idiosyncrasy, stubborn-mindedness, left-of-centre thinking.”http://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2009/jul/16/ben-stephenson-tony-garner Apologies for the multiple post but my browser is playing up!
gunnerbear
Mark Steel caned Miliband over and over on the News Quiz. Like him or loathe him, few comics would dare do this…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv4mSDD4Wd8
stevep
Left-leaning comedy, although not a new phenomenon, took off in the early `80s as a reaction to the smug, racist, sexist, right-wing sitcoms and shows that had passed for comedy since broadcasting started ( just watch old episodes of “The Comedians”, “Wheeltappers and Shunters social club”, “On the Buses”, “To the manor born” etc. ). The new wave of comedy (Alexei Sayle, Rik Mayall, Ben Elton, The Comic Strip, Not the nine 0` clock news etc.) was a breath of fresh air that swept old attitudes and stereotypes away and ushered in a new era of programming less concerned with mother-in-law jokes and dirty old men chasing half-naked women and concentrated more on social interaction and how people were coping in a harsher economic world (Only Fools And Horses, Bread). Political satire became popular again ( Spitting Image, Yes Minister ), and rightly too.
So please let`s have less of the far-right tired old “lefty hypocrisy” chestnut and more of a balanced view of programming over all the channels since broadcasting began.