By Paul Homewood
h/t Robin Guenier
Two days ago, BBC One screened a full length documentary on Extinction Rebellion:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07fvjfs
The programme was clearly intended to give XR the appearance of being a serious and sizeable organisation. Just note that opening introduction:
“A huge new global protest movement”
XR are very secretive about how many members they have, but the actual numbers involved in protests on the streets have been miniscule. For instance, a protest in Sheffield in April attracted only about 20 people.
Significantly the programme notes state the BBC reporter was with with XR for months leading up to the April protests:
In this timely and powerful documentary, reporter Ben Zand gains access to the most important of the protest groups, Extinction Rebellion. He is with them for four months as they build towards “the rebellion” – 11 days of protest in April during which they take over and occupy four iconic locations in London.
Yet XR only appeared on the public scene in October 2018, when they held their first protest in London. So Ben Zand patently was not responding to an already existent phenomenon. Instead the BBC wanted him in at the very outset, in order to give them the publicity they desperately needed.
We have already seen how Roger Harrabin has been keen to give unjustified prominence to both XR and the school kids climate strikes, in order to give the impression that they are both widespread, popular movements, and not the Rag, Tag and Bobtail outfits which they really are.
The nature of this hand in glove relationship is made clear, with the news from XR that yesterday they met BBC senior management to discuss the Climate and Ecological Emergency.
BBC meeting
The meeting, organised by Director General Sir Tony Hall, will examine the BBC’s approach to reporting on the crisis and how it can lead the way with a suitably urgent response. The BBC will be represented by Controller of Factual Commissioning Alison Kirkham; Head of Specialist Factual and Natural History Commissioning Tom McDonald; News & Current Affairs Editor James Stephenson; and Director of Editorial Policy and Standards David Jordan.
Representing Extinction Rebellion UK will be: Cofounder Dr Gail Bradbrook; Extinction Rebellion Youth Outreach and Logistics Coordinator Daze Aghaji; Media Tell The Truth Campaign Coordinators Jon Fuller and Donnachadh McCarthy; plus Media and Messaging Coordinator Ronan McNern.
Extinction Rebellion representative Daze Aghaji said: “The BBC has started making an attempt but we’re still nowhere near where we need to be in terms of reporting in the midst of this crisis. I urge the BBC to keep young people and our future in their minds as they think about programming. We must show integrity in the face of the climate crisis, together we must tell the truth about this emergency now.”
This is utterly disgraceful. Why is Tony Hall even prepared to meet this self appointed bunch of eco loons, never mind discuss how the BBC should be reporting on climate change?
Would he be meeting with sceptics who believe that the BBC’s approach on climate matters is already far too extreme, and is failing to give viewers a properly balanced coverage? I think we know the answer to that!
via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
July 19, 2019 at 05:36AM
Iowa Climate Science Education 
Reblogged this on Climate- Science.
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