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This is weird and wrong and I am amazed the BBC think it's OK (and I say that as someone who essentially agrees with what she says). https://twitter.com/ashcowburn/status/1265406013961842691
Just tactically, it's self-harming. You have a government keen to paint BBC news as left-wing propaganda so that it can hobble it. Sure, here's some ammunition.
But more importantly, I don't want the BBC taking sides on big political issues. None of us should. It's crucial to our political culture that it's one of the few places that doesn't take sides, where we can go for something close to an objective view.
BBC can be a platform for strong views, including by its journalists, but those spaces should be clearly marked and circumscribed as such. Yet here we have the anchor of a news programme - the very person who is meant to referee debates - showing her hand.
It's done without any framing or attempt to separate from the programme's reporting. Any why do we need to hear this presenter's opinion? What public need does that serve? Like, there isn't enough to report on?!
BBC has many incredible journalists, including at Newsnight, & its role is to provide what the market doesn't. What do we have a shortage of in these online days? Great journalism and reporting. What we have a massive superfluity of? Opinions.
