On Rennard, money and the BBC

The Liberal Democrats have an unerring ability to not see the big picture when it comes to their own self-esteem and empowerment. At local level there are ruthless Genghis Khans who get our message across in an audacious and positive way. At national level we seem to fail to have the self-belief except in certain constituencies.

Take for example the latest missive from Lord Rennard. He wants money (don’t we all!) yet failed to show any innovative ways of `getting our message across`. If Obama has shown anything at all it’s to hypothecate fundraising to particular aims (ie fund the adverts for a day or two).

Second problem is the BBC – I raised a complaint with them for the `Now Show` regarding what i thought was over the top in terms of anti Lib Dem bias (without either the anti-Labour or anti-Conservative bias to match) nor the RIGHT to balance in reporting or, let’s be honest, exposure terms. The response is thus:

I understand you’re unhappy with the humour of the programme as you feel it is biased against the Lib Democrats

I can assure you that we are committed to impartiality and all our presenters and editors are aware of this. They’re expected to put aside they’re own opinions. Editors are charged to ensure that over a reasonable period they reflect the range of political views, opinions and trends in their subject area. We don’t seek to discount any view, or to endorse any view. We aim to establish all significant views, and to test them rigorously and fairly on behalf of the audience.

As the BBC is a public service financed by the licence fee it must provide programmes which cater for the whole range of tastes in humour. We believe that there is no single set of standards in this area on which the whole of society can agree, and it is inevitable that programmes which are acceptable to some will occasionally strike others as distasteful. The only realistic and fair approach for us is to ensure that the range of comedy is broad enough for all viewers to feel that they are catered for at least some of the time.

I acknowledge however your strong feelings about the fairness of the content and that some restraint should be shown. Please be assured your concerns have been fully registered on our audience log which is made available to the programme makers and senior BBC management. This will ensure ‘The Now Show’ team are aware of your views and will help them determine the future content of the show.

Thank you again for contacting us with your concerns.

Now I’m one for a self-deprecating laugh as the next person yet what I really asked for (and said in my email) wasn’t to STOP anti Lib Dem humour but to have it as part of balance. The key phrases for me though are `Editors are charged to ensure that over a reasonable period they reflect the range of political views, opinions and trends in their subject area. We don’t seek to discount any view, or to endorse any view. We aim to establish all significant views, and to test them rigorously and fairly on behalf of the audience`

Why is this the standard when it comes to humour and NOT news and exposure? It’s shocking! Or am I missing something? Seems to me that the establishment parties have been putting pressure on the BBC as they felt we’d got away `scot free` yet of course they won’t be doing the same on our behalf when it comes to exposure. This is not to say the Party hasn’t had some coups – yet surely the way of `getting our message across` is to ensure that these rules are changed?

If we don’t stand up for ourselves, who will? Are we allowing ourselves to be screwed over for lack of staff, diligence or chutzpah?

One of the key challenges for the Liberal Democrats is, I believe, changing the rules of the BBC. If Cowley Street don’t want to do it – perhaps we should challenge the people charged with our communications at Conference or via the good Baroness. One feels the need for a netroots as in the USA prodding the central party along.