Monolithic Media

This report on bias at the BBC (tip to Instapundit) strikes me as a bit like reporting that rain is wet. The real value, perhaps, is the first-hand look at how bias is implemented in a modern newsroom. For the most part, it seems, the selection of stories and the assignment of priorities are the big problems. Stories that don't interest the editors are ignored or buried. Even those stories that are covered suffer the effects of the writers and editors politics, however. I especially liked this quote from MikeM in the comments:

The chief problem is that the art of the “narrative” has taken precedence over fact reporting.

But the overwhelming issue is the lack of balance and variety of viewpoint. The BBC is a defining example of the media monopolist, committed to the proposition that there is a single view of the truth that only the paid experts can discern.

What we are talking about, ... is a sort of unconscious, institutionalised Leftism. And when so many people working together share a particular world view, groups who do not share it are bound to be marginalised.

I was struck by how the reporter-turned-author was marginalized throughout his career but was unable to find a better place to ply his trade. Too few options, it seems. The need for a "new media" is clearer, perhaps in the UK than in the US.