As Israel ponders another boycott of the BBC, and considers withdrawing credentials from its reporters (a mistake) there is a report on Bloomberg looking at the coverage of the fighting in Lebanon given by Fox and the BBC with, what some might say, are predictable results.
The piece, headlined “Fox, BBC Viewers Get More Than Facts on Lebanon, Both Sides Say”, does clearly point out that the two networks give airtime to both sides, but picks up on criticism lobbied at the BBC (and Fox) of their choice of headline interviews.
“On the 28th day of Israel’s war with Hezbollah, the BBC interviewed Jordan’s King Abdullah, who voiced support for Lebanon. Fox News spoke with televangelist Pat Robertson, who said he was praying for Israel.
“Both networks also gave air time to sympathizers of the other sides of the conflict and dismiss any suggestion of bias. Still, supporters of Israeli and Arab combatants alike say the choices of major guests reflect internal leanings.
Update: I’m just going to add I like the BBC, which has News Night and News Night Review and, for me, it’s always BBC News 24 over Sky News any time. As for Fox…well that’s just a joke that only American Republicans seem to get. CNN for a bit of contrast.
The public also seems to be of the same opinion. Earlier this year BBC News 24 was pulling in 6m viewers per week, up from 5m in 2005, while Sky is reaching 4m, down from 4.6m.
And, of course, there is Doctor Who, which is a triumph.
