Totally out of touch with public mood, the BBC is prioritising political parties – any political party – over an independent candidate, even a serious one. The BBC’s Michael Crick has denied any bias by the BBC in refusing to cover me on Newsnight. In Today’s Independent on Sunday, Michael Crick states:
“Oh yes, that’s right, it’s all a big conspiracy, ordered by the BBC governors. Of course it’s not. It was an accident. We’re not obliged to report all the candidates. He’ll have to join the queue behind the BNP and UKIP candidates to be interviewed. It’s much ado about nothing.”
The BBC’s desperation to promote the BNP as ahead of me is scarey. Here are today’s odds from Ladbrokes.
Conservatives 1/9
Labour 6/1
Greens 16/1
Craig Murray 25/1
Ian Gibson 33/1
Liberal Democrats 33/1
UKIP 100/1
BNP 200/1
Bill Holden 200/1
Libertarian Party 500/1
Official Monster Raving Loony 1000/1
Can anybody see a genuine reason why I have to queue behind the BNP for an eventual interview, or why the Greens and Lib Dems have been heavily plugged by the BBC while I to date have not been reported at all?
Bloggers are excellent at free speech issues which affect the interent. But free speech should not be confined to the internet. I should be most grateful if other bloggers would take this up too.
——————————————————————————–
Link to Crick’s reported comments:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/matthew-bell-the-iiosi-diary-1731991.html
Never trust a man who says things aren’t what you didn’t say they were.
I have no control over what the bbc decides to broadcast other than by not watching it.
How about going to the source of there staff (Cambridge and Oxford universities)
The bbc certainly considers the internet a bad thing as nothing positive is ever reported.
If anyone tells me where the best place to blog about BBC policy is, I will do it. But why does Ladbrokes keep offering odds of 33/1 for Ian Gibson? This seems to me to be a very bad deal. He isn’t reapplying for the MP job, in this election, is he? The story I heard is that he now has the job of ‘Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham’. Presumably his theoretical duties now involve awarding theoretical ASBOs to any hoodies, vagabonds or masterless villains found lurking in those leafy places. Since he isn’t an election candidate (as far as I know) the odds against him winning must be much longer than 33/1.
Hear, hear, Tim, beautifully put. It’s a classic cheap shot from Crick, very dissembling & shifty behaviour.
(Thanks for posting the link, which the Indie website’s own search engine couldn’t find.)
Let’s take at face value the man’s own words, his intro on his own personal Newsnight blog:
“I’m Michael Crick, and I’m Newsnight’s political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there’s usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out.”
So this is a real test of Crick the reporter and the man. Is he so puffed up with his own self-importance that he will decree what is and is not news, or he is prepared to report what is happening on the ground?
“I’m Michael Crick, and I’m Newsnight’s political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there’s usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out.”
And make sure that the world doesn’t ever get to know it.
Instead of concentrating solely on Newsnight, you should go more for the BBC and ITV local news broadcasts – ‘Look East’ amd whatever the other one is, and the local press – EDP, etc. Only after you have got these covered, start worrying more about Newsnight, Channel 4 News etc. I don’t watch these local broadcasts much, or read the EDP, (so I don’t know whether you’ve already been in them) but most of your prospective constituents do take more notice of these (and the ITV and BBC main news) than they do of ‘Newsnight’.
I agree with you about Michael Crick and Newsnight censorship of the message that you want to put across. The place to be having that argument is on BBC related media – not so much here, where we are ‘preaching to the converted’. When I tried to complain to complain directly to Newsnight and the BBC, I failed to do it, because of the BBC’s complicated complaints procedure. If anyone can advise me on how to get around this, I will try again.
Of course it’s censorship directed by the government or let’s be more exact, the permanent unelected government. The last person they would want is a someone who stands up to his beliefs rather than someone who grovels and runs after every tit bit thrown his or her way or one well trained to oil the wheels of a party machine which acts as shadow executive of the permanent government.
You need to contact Helen Boaden, head of news at the BBC.
However, check your e-mail.
I agree with Ruth. Word comes down the direct line from No 10 to the BBC. Craig has rattled the cage.
It is noteworthy that Crick (I’m Michael Crick..Fly Me!) writes of Smith and Ostrowski in Norwich North but NOT about Craig who is a far more interesting candidate and person.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/
Clive avoid the b. useless complaints ad write direct to [email protected]
and to the Editor of Newsnight [email protected]
The previous editor Peter Barron decamped to the Zionist outfit Google whose co-founder Sergey Brin supports Israel and who visited there to celebrate their 60th ‘birthday’, ie Al Naqba.
Clive,
Thanks, but grandmothers and eggs…
Both Radio Norfolk and Look East are blanking us. Have writen letters to the Edp, not published, sent them press releases, not referenced, and given a long interview to their political correspondent, not published, and done a photoshoot for a photographer they sent – not published.
Also a Mail on Sunday feature which the M on S had commissioned from me and which they much praised has been spiked – and they have agreed to still pay for it, unheard of.
I have told people to concentrate on reaching the pople direct and not waste time on a boycotting media.
I am really sorry about what is going on Craig. I wish with all my heart that the people there see the truth and elect you.
There are better odds on Paddy Power if anyone fancies a punt. Craig is 20/1
http://tiny.cc/V7SXj
I’m sorry too, but it is also a sign that you have got under their skin and are therefore doing something right.
The Mail on Sunday affair is the most surprising in a way. Only a couple of days ago the Mail published a thoughtful (for them) piece about the 7/7 bombings highlighting, once again, some of the more glaring inconsistencies in the official account. That article obviously wasn’t spiked but yours was. Interesting.
Hi Craig. I agree but I am afraid there is not much you can do about the BBC unless you can successfully bypass them and make them look the irrelevent and out of touch folls thay are.
You and other independents need a forum. The whole country needs a strong forum on the internet that is not controlled by established interests. Currently all of the dissident blogs, and there are a lot out there, are all disjointed and fragmented.
I have just created a new internet site at tanstaafl.socialgo.com and I have created a constituency/group there for the Norwich by-election. Amongst other things this site will record a rolling poll of voting intentions. I suggest that you try to get as many as possible of your supporters to sign up and vote before the other parties know it is there. If you can get a meaningful number of your people signed up (I am thinking at least one thousand plus so that we can not be ignored) then we can start publishing the poll results. Hopefully you can use this to get extra publicity in spite of the BBC.
It must be the heat – they are worse odds!
I have just written to Wm Hill asking them why they have omitted Craig altogether from their list of odds.
http://guardian.oddschecker.com/specials/politics-and-election/norwich-north-by-election/winning-party
Hi Craig,
It is with regret that you cannot get coverage, and as a Green, I know how frustrating it is to not get your fair share of press. It infuriates me too.
However, please don’t take this out on the Greens, after all, we do have an organisation that has been working Norwich for some years, across Norwich we also polled more votes than any other party in the Euro Elections, albeit we are not as strong in Norwich North as we are in Norwich South.
I would like all candidates to get a fair share of coverage, but it doesn’t always happen. The best thing you can do is concentrate the efforts on the ground, keep trying with other outlets, and then see if Newsnight picks it up.
Once again, I am sorry to see that Newsnight has sidelined another decent candidate.
Well, the British National Party do now have two MEPs and several County Councillors. Just how many does your party have Craig? I’m afraid that no matter what your (probably distorted) views are of the BNP, they are a legally constituted political party with over one million ordinary British people voting for them, and those votes are increasing year on year as more people are seeing through the lies and smears. When your party is growing like the British National Party, then maybe you’ll get more change from the BBC and other media outlets.
Sorry matey, but that’s politics, can be quite bruising.
I would like to encourage anyone thinking of putting money on at the bookies to actually send their stake to the campaign office as a donation instead.
I would think the secret services have had all holidays cancelled to ensure Craig doesn’t win. The people who really run the country don’t want anybody in parliament who will lower the veil and show exactly what’s going on. The MPs expenses are just the tip of the iceberg.
I sent an email to Newsnight on 1 July.
This is what I asked:
Please can you explain why Craig Murray was left out of your list of candidates for Norwich North.
This is what I got back:
Thanks for your email. We’ll have a look at your suggestion for an investigation and get back to you for further information.
If your comment is a general comment it will be made available to others on the programme but we will not directly reply to you.
I think I’ll have to look at whether I continue paying for a TV licence for an organisation that is in effect the mouthpiece of our rulers.
Ruth,
This webiste may interest you:
http://www.bbctvlicence.com/index.htm
Our party “British National Party” have always been denied decent coverage so stop crying over spilt milk , stop spitting the dummy and get on with life , your a single independant that doesnt stand a chance with your right wing views and lack of policies.
Why don’t you try medialens. They’re always having spats with BBC news, and are very effective at getting replies.
Some of the silly replies and poorly argued emails from journos do reveal a fundamental dishonesty at the heart of media.
You can contact them here:
http://www.medialens.org/contacts/
Err… where to start with message from “BNP”? And it’s not the apostrophes missing in action, either.
If “right wing views” is aimed at Craig, then that’s a peculiar charge, given that the mainstream would easily label Craig’s position as left wing. And Craig would probably label them specifically liberal rather than left. In any case, politics is always more complex than this reductionist measure – see the previous post on Political Compass for why this is the case.
I guess if you have a specific problem with something Craig’s said, or not said, then by all means do raise it. But the mainstream is quite right to recognise the BNP as a racist party, so I hope you’re not putting it forward as a decent alternative. The only thing I would like to see the media do more is to highlight the BNP as a party of fascists, given their links to white power groups and their admiration of Hitler.
@BBCTVLicence.com
38 letters seems to easily qualify as a course of conduct amounting to harassment: see Ferguson v British Gas [2009] EWCA Civ 46.
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/46.html
Why not pop down to your local CAB and ask them to help you with the pre-action protocol, for instance the letter before claim. TVL will probably ignore it so then you can file your claim for damages. If you look at the Annex in Ferguson (see url above) that will give you an idea on how to draft the particulars of claim.
Answer: the BNP has two MEPs and many councillors. They are a much more newsworthy party than an unknown independent who has no party backing. QED. Not sure why you are getting your knickers in a twist over this, it’s not newsworthy. You missed the boat.
jon you talk bollocks , you read all the lies in the news and believe it just like the rest of the pc brigade.
we have no white power groups and we are more left wing than the mainstream parties , not that you will believe anything but your arse .
the BNP are growing bigger by the day so get used to it .
and just for the record this prick murray is on the same level as the gutterpress “full of lies”
BNP how is Craig on the same level as the gutterpress.Please expand. Futhermore your Party the BNP have nicked all the old Labour Policys in order to con peaple in to voting for them just like your mentor Herr Hitler did.
Like Luke, as a Green I know how difficult it is to get media exposure. The big three grey parties tend to get the lion’a share of the coverage. Like other posters have said, the best way forward to is keep the campaign on the doorstep as you can’t rely on the media to give you a fair hearing. They’ve ignored the facts on Iraq and torture; you’re reminding them how poor they are at keeping the corrupt shits running this country to account.
It’s interesting that you’re getting the BNP knuckledraggers trolling here, it suggests they see you as a threat, so you must be doing something right.
Yes BNP, you are newsworthy. So is Ian Huntley. However, Michael Crick would not go out and offer Huntley a publicity interview. His comment about seeking out the BNP to offer them a publicity interview, ahead of Craig Murray (and ahead of UKIP, for that matter) is a disgrace to the BBC.