The question is simple, who to listen to or read in order to find relatively unbiased views when it comes to the current hot topics ?
I listen to or watch TalkRadio, LBC, ITV, C4, BBC and France 24 and others. But which ones are the best to get balanced views. As I write I’m flicking between right winger and brexiteer Mike Graham on TalkRadio and lefty and Remoaner James O’Brien on LBC. Both are very biased to the point of boredom.
The Beeb seems as good as any though some feel it’s either too left or too right !
Where do you listen/watch for a balanced view ?
Channel 4 News every evening, Today Programme in the morning and, if I’m around, BBC TV News at 2pm.
I have become accustomed to taking all with a pinch of salt.
Channel 4 News is my main source which I never miss, in fact I make sure my dinner is on the table and ready to eat and watch the moment it starts. Today Programme is in the background from when I get up to first sortie of the day and in between. 2pm news is for the first pictures of the day.
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Thanks Dave, I’ll give C4 a try.
I have been wondering this too.
Some people say Al-Jazeera.
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Like David, I regularly watch C4 News. Occasionally I’ll also watch Newsnight on BBC 2. I sometimes watch Sky News, but it tends to be to only watch specific people, e.g. I’m a fan of Sophie Ridge as I find she is impartial and prepared to ask challenging questions. These days I almost never watch the news on BBC 1 or ITV.
Bizarrely though, I instinctively turn to BBC for major events.
In France I mostly watch 20h on TF1 for catching up with the news, or occasionally France 2/3… Never M6 though, as it is so dumbed down it reminds me of watching John Craven’s Newsround as a child.
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I like Krishnan Guru-Murphy… straight and to the point in his interviews.
Such a shame though that for telling the truth, he has been suspended 
What did he do?
After interviewing MP Steve Baker and as Baker walked away, Krishnan was heard to say (not broadcast) “What a wanker” 
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Even better, he dropped the c-bomb
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Ah yes… got the sentiment wrong 
I remembered it was on those lines…
Yes Karen, I quite like AJ.
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Al Jazeera is widely respected internationally - recent excellent documentary series on UK Labour Party…
My sister (who lives in the UK) tells me Channel 4 News is the best of the bunch there.
@Geof_Cox the Tory’s certainly haven’t crowned themselves in glory recently, and I certainly blame Boris for all the derailing caused by Brexit, but frankly, I just can’t see what Labour can offer. As I think I mentioned previously, I think they’re rudderless and only seem capable of opposing anything Tory that’s put on the table. We don’t need that, we need clear policy, direction, leadership and delivery, and not a continuously ranting QC I’m afraid. Until this happens, I see the Tory’s as not ideal, but I see Labour as a non-starter. Let’s just hope that someone somewhere is able to grab the situation by the scruff and move it all forward!
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Before things diverge, I read the BBC, listen to R4 discussion and read Al Jazeera. I also read comments on various forums because key individuals can distill the information usefully, giving an effective wider sweep, but you also need to recognise their biases - someone whose comments I generally trust has an intense anti-faith bias that colours his views and interpretation of data.
Generally it is unusual to find an individual with a bias, and the only solution is to take a sample from multiple views and see which have a ring of reality about them. It can be tricky sometimes because toxic individuals can still have valid views, while people who are basically decent can also be lead astray.
Often we seek out sources that match our personal biases, and that can be hard to spot.
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The Al Jazeera ‘Labour Files’ investigation is by no means pro-Labour - just good journalism, showing perhaps why the channel is widely respected.
I actually tend to agree with you on Labour as it is now. My prediction a long time ago (some on SurviveFrance will remember) was that Labour could only win ‘by default’ - ie through Tory weakness, not its own strength. That’s still my view - but it is looking more and more likely to happen.
The danger then is that the UK will have a government very much like Macron’s in France - a lot of people with a lot of hopes pinned on it. who find in due course that it’s not really changing much, so more of them keep moving to the political extremes, ultimately strengthening the mad bad extreme right of the Tory party, while at the same time undermining Labour itself by shedding votes on its left flank.
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France 24 online news programmes are good and you can listen in french or english (or both).
But my favourite Fr24 viewing is François Picard’s, evening progamme, The Debate which is always excellent with three or four experts in different countries intelligently discussing the issues of the day.
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Yes Dr Mark, some good stuff on France 24. They have a wide coverage of all things Africa.
I see Tories as not ideal… wow where have you been for the last 12 months?
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Errr, you surely meant 12 years…
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Good point. I think that is what happened in the US. Obama was, and still is, the rare good soul in politics but the system is designed and set up to block. The ghouls don’t want to be shown up.
Not so sure it’s the same phenomenon in France. Macron is clearly capable but added to French distrust of government there is a very strong push from the right, resulting in the rightest left there has ever been.
The trouble with democracy is that it means those in power are only ever considering the short term that gets them to the next election. Criticism is easy. Especially organised criticism manufactured and spread online. Truth, as we know, is the first casualty and sadly, a majority of voters believe what they read. That was basically proven when a slim majority voted to disconnect the as yet UK from Europe on the basis of an imaginary 350 million membership ‘saving’ and media whipping up the latent but omnipresent xenophobia.
Same elsewhere in Europe. Instead of pulling together in times of economic turbulence humanity is looking for scapegoats and sacrificial lambs.
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Surely the last 80 years at least?
When I think of UK governments since the war, I can think of a whole list of things Labour governments have done to improve people’s lives. The 1945 government establishing the NHS, strengthening the welfare state, massive house building programme (ok that peaked just after they left office, but the programme was Labour’s); the 60s and 70s Labour governments’ huge extension of education, not only many new universities, but also the introduction of comprehensive education, and of course extension of social justice and equality, the equal pay act, etc; the Blair/Brown years not so radical, but some important reforms like the independence of the Bank of England, introduction of the minimum wage, etc…
ButTory governments? All Churchill’s achievements were with the wartime cross party government - as Tory PM in the early 50s he did nothing (partly of course because he wasn’t there for much of it); Eden? - the Suez crisis; Macmillan, Douglas-Home? - well can you think of anything positive? Heath - joining the EU, the one Tory highlight; Thatcher - total disaster from which the UK has never recovered; Major - Black Wednesday; Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss…
Isn’t that their job in Opposition 
Their raison d’etre is to question/test the policies of the Government - if they were in power they could do so much more but as has already been seen, since the Tories are so devoid of ideas now, it is Labour who have been driving their agenda of late - even to the extent at PMQs, the PM asking the Leader of the Opposition what they would do and then cherry picking the bits they think they can get away with without alarming their membership too much…
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