Friday 27 May 2016

On Tuesday BBC Wales screwed up.

On Tuesday  I mentioned that I though I didn't t  normally criticise something I haven't watched. Did so on  latest Week In Week Out, BBC One Wales, which was  screened tonight .

I did so  since the BBC has already treated this as NEWS 

According to the website
New Welsh language laws could cost public bodies £200m, a BBC Wales investigation has discovered.Torfaen council's deputy leader, Anthony Hunt, said he was shocked to find the authority may have to spend £868,000 during a time of cuts.
Services and information from public bodies have to be provided bilingually.
The Welsh Government said the cost involved should not be disproportionate if councils had followed Welsh language schemes in recent years.
Local authorities are the first to have to conform to the new rules, which came into effect in April.
Regulations will eventually be rolled out to all public bodies and financial impact assessments submitted by them to the Welsh Government suggested the total cost could reach £200m.
BBC Wales then  issued an apology before WIWO was broadcast on Tuesday after admitting that data which previewed the programme "wasn't robust".
So why did the programme go out?


Cymdeithas yr Iaith said:
 "We believe the programme was one-sided, included a number of inaccuracies, intentionally sought to create tensions between communities in order to get attention, and demonstrated a general bias against the Welsh language.
"When it comes to other equalities issues, the BBC would not have dared put a programme as flawed as this on air.
"We believe these inaccuracies, as well as the obvious bias in the programme, are very serious matters: it should not have been broadcast."
A BBC Wales spokesman said:
 "We have received a number of complaints about the Week In Week Out investigation, broadcast on Tuesday, May 24, and will deal with those in line with the BBC's complaints procedure.
"The team has a track record of delivering outstanding reports but we recognise that this particular investigation did not sufficiently explore the different viewpoints on the introduction of the new Welsh language standards."

But not apparently this time. 

So why did this team fall so far short ? Someone must be responsible for not only a flawed programmed but a press release that made very dubious claims that were published and to which they admit  "wasn't robust".

I suppose if they puled the programme because it was clearly flawed the Beeb would have been accused of Censorship and given in yo "The Welsh Language Lobby" and cause a bigger stir. In which the dubious figures  would have emerged and seem as proof of a Pro Welsh Language Conspiracy.

Indeed such is the nature of things we who support Cymraeg whether we speak it or not can't win,

If  even with the fact that the BBC produced an advert for the programmed disguised as an News Item, we had called for programme to be delayed or canned , we would have been accused of  preventing debate.

We need an enquiry not only into the programme itself , but with a News Item that preceded it which in some ways was worse because it was probably seen by more people.

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