The BBC, the next election and economic ignorance
New review finds reporters lack understanding of ‘basic economics’ and so compromise broadcaster’s coverage
An independent review of the BBC’s coverage of government financial policies has concluded that “too many” of its journalists lack an understanding of “basic economics”, leading to problematic, biased or confused reporting.
The criticisms were part of a newly published “thematic review” of the BBC’s coverage of “taxation, public spending, government borrowing and debt output”. The review was commissioned by the BBC board.
Two economics experts, Michael Blastland and Sir Andrew Dilnot, were given the job of assessing the BBC’s impartiality on such matters, but found that reporters at the corporation “lack understanding of basic economics”, which could compromise their ability to cover complex economic and financial stories successfully.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
‘Vaunted impartiality is at risk’
The review “does not hold back,” said James Meadway, director of the Progressive Economy Forum, in The Guardian. Journalists were criticised for regularly relying on simplistic political narratives and reporting party intrigue and Westminster gossip to cover over their “limited understanding” of the issues.
“Some journalists” at the BBC apparently “instinctively” believe all debt to be inherently bad, the review suggested, and therefore failed to appreciate that the role of government debt is “contested and contestable”. The review singles out “household analogies” for the government debt, in particular, as “dangerous territory”.
The depth of the criticism means the broadcaster’s “vaunted impartiality is at risk”, said the Daily Telegraph. This is especially problematic given that “the reach of the BBC gives it enormous power to move the news agenda”, the paper said. “This is particularly so when it comes to financial matters, as well as spending and taxation policies.”
“This isn’t another piece of ‘BBC bashing’,” said the Telegraph, but a “serious point made by independent scrutineers”, which “Tim Davie, the director-general, and his managers should take seriously”.
‘Most important arena for next election’
There are “two consequential things we know about the next election”, said Stephen Bush in the Financial Times: “one of the big battlegrounds will be economic policy, and the most important arena the contest will be fought in will be the BBC.”
The two matters tie together directly because, according to Ofcom, eight in 10 UK adults use the BBC in some form every week, while 73% use the BBC for news.
This means that “the decisions it makes about how to cover British politics matter more than almost everything else”, Bush wrote. And “some of the most important and difficult decisions will concern tax and spend”.
The impact that economic reporting has on politics is immediately apparent if you look to the past decade, said Meadway in The Guardian.
“Would a public not spoon-fed mush about the supposed perils of government borrowing have been so ready to accept David Cameron and George Osborne’s austerity in the early 2010s,” he asked. “Would Labour’s then leadership have felt so compelled to support spending cuts – a position that helped lay the ground for Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-austerity leadership bid? Might the Brexit vote have gone differently?”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
-
5 cleverly clashing cartoons about the presidential debate
Cartoons Artists take on a deepfake debate, winners and losers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Pélicot case: a horror exposed
Talking Point This case is unusually horrifying, but the misogyny that enabled is chillingly common
By The Week UK Published
-
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: pure 'nostalgia bait'
Talking Point Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder return for sequel to the 1988 cult classic
By The Week UK Published
-
Tax plans spell trouble in the North Sea
Talking Point Labour’s tax plans are whipping up a storm. Are the worries of opponents justified?
By The Week UK Published
-
On Leadership: why Tony Blair's new book has divided critics
Talking Point The former Labour leader has created a 'practical guide to good governance' but should Keir Starmer take note?
By The Week Staff Published
-
'The journalistic mission to follow the facts and deliver the truth must persist'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why did the Secret Service fail to protect Trump?
Talking Point Secret Service under pressure to explain operational failures – and it's not the first time they’ve slipped up
By The Week UK Published
-
'Spare us the charade'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Iran: does Masoud Pezeshkian's election mark a turning point?
Talking Point New president is seen as a progressive but much will depend on how the US reacts
By The Week UK Published