Coast's Neil Oliver(top)and Iain Stewart.Spokesmen for the wind energy industry?
Since the Rupert Murdoch's media empire arrived in the UK in the 1970's,there has been a rapid dumbing down within the print and televisual media as established newspapers and television channels compete for readers/listeners. Whilst television companies like ITV and the Daily Mirror newspaper have followed Murdoch's media into the cultural gutter, the BBC has,until recently,remained somewhat detached from the ratings wars being fought out between the commercial rivals. 'Until recently' being the operative words. Viewers of the corporation's main TV channel BBC 1 would struggle to find much difference between this channel's output and Murdoch's SKY1 for example.
However,as UK popular culture has become shaped by Murdoch's warped vision, at least the BBC corporation has retained one or two oases of sanity amidst the Celeb/Game show/US dross which masquerades as entertainment on the popular channels. BBC2 and the arts channel BBC4 still manage to produce programmes which both stimulate,entertain and educate in equal measure. Nowhere more so that in its natural history programmes where the corporation has always maintained a world wide reputation for quality.
In recent years,one of BBC2's most popular programmes has been Coast presented by archaeologist Neil Oliver.Another programme which garnered plaudits was Discovering Scotland's landscapes, presented by another academic Scot with televisual 'sex' appeal, Iain Stewart,Professor of Geoscience at Plymouth University.
Rather strangely though,both presenters and their programmes appear to have abandoned the corporation's legendary objectivity when dealing with one of the hottest environmental topics of the day. That of the massive billion pound development of UK uplands,islands, coastlines and sea beds by the hugely profitable wind energy industry.
Despite the fact that wind power is hugely controversial with a growing number of scientists,engineers,politicians,ecologists and writers who offer compelling arguments which directly contradict the State/Corporate/Greenpeace view of wind turbines as- soaring symbols of clean,green energy. The arguments against wind power are no longer a minority view but in many areas-not least the mountaineering community- the majority view. Views articulated by many of our leading outdoor writers including, Robert McFarlane,Jim Perrin, Cameron McNeish, Chris Townsend and Ed Douglas.
Despite this,Coast and Scotland's Landscape frontmen present what is after all, the controversial industrialisation of the natural environment from the perspective of the profit driven wind energy industry. Objectivity has been abandoned for a highly subjective presentation of wind farms which essentially just regurgitates the highly dubious arguments and statistics spun by these private companies.
In fact- anyone reading a wind farm story on the BBC news website cannot fail to notice that the corporation presents these news stories from a rabidly pro-wind perspective. Quoting energy company PR spokespersons verbatim and repeating company statistics which have been shown to be highly misleading.
Furthermore,the BBC very rarely offers a platform for conservationists taking a diametrically opposed view from the energy corporations.
In effect, the Wind industry has been given a free ride by the BBC who are content to use the companies' PR spin and present it as news. Imagine if the corporation rehashed Tesco news releases and presented them as objective supermarket news stories !
In a nutshell,the wind industry has the BBC in its pocket in the same way as it has the UK and devolved administrations in its pocket. Can you name another private industry which has managed to put forward its commercial agenda without provoking an objective assessment of its activities from the news media...I can't ?
Since the Rupert Murdoch's media empire arrived in the UK in the 1970's,there has been a rapid dumbing down within the print and televisual media as established newspapers and television channels compete for readers/listeners. Whilst television companies like ITV and the Daily Mirror newspaper have followed Murdoch's media into the cultural gutter, the BBC has,until recently,remained somewhat detached from the ratings wars being fought out between the commercial rivals. 'Until recently' being the operative words. Viewers of the corporation's main TV channel BBC 1 would struggle to find much difference between this channel's output and Murdoch's SKY1 for example.
However,as UK popular culture has become shaped by Murdoch's warped vision, at least the BBC corporation has retained one or two oases of sanity amidst the Celeb/Game show/US dross which masquerades as entertainment on the popular channels. BBC2 and the arts channel BBC4 still manage to produce programmes which both stimulate,entertain and educate in equal measure. Nowhere more so that in its natural history programmes where the corporation has always maintained a world wide reputation for quality.
In recent years,one of BBC2's most popular programmes has been Coast presented by archaeologist Neil Oliver.Another programme which garnered plaudits was Discovering Scotland's landscapes, presented by another academic Scot with televisual 'sex' appeal, Iain Stewart,Professor of Geoscience at Plymouth University.
Rather strangely though,both presenters and their programmes appear to have abandoned the corporation's legendary objectivity when dealing with one of the hottest environmental topics of the day. That of the massive billion pound development of UK uplands,islands, coastlines and sea beds by the hugely profitable wind energy industry.
Despite the fact that wind power is hugely controversial with a growing number of scientists,engineers,politicians,ecologists and writers who offer compelling arguments which directly contradict the State/Corporate/Greenpeace view of wind turbines as- soaring symbols of clean,green energy. The arguments against wind power are no longer a minority view but in many areas-not least the mountaineering community- the majority view. Views articulated by many of our leading outdoor writers including, Robert McFarlane,Jim Perrin, Cameron McNeish, Chris Townsend and Ed Douglas.
Despite this,Coast and Scotland's Landscape frontmen present what is after all, the controversial industrialisation of the natural environment from the perspective of the profit driven wind energy industry. Objectivity has been abandoned for a highly subjective presentation of wind farms which essentially just regurgitates the highly dubious arguments and statistics spun by these private companies.
In fact- anyone reading a wind farm story on the BBC news website cannot fail to notice that the corporation presents these news stories from a rabidly pro-wind perspective. Quoting energy company PR spokespersons verbatim and repeating company statistics which have been shown to be highly misleading.
Furthermore,the BBC very rarely offers a platform for conservationists taking a diametrically opposed view from the energy corporations.
In effect, the Wind industry has been given a free ride by the BBC who are content to use the companies' PR spin and present it as news. Imagine if the corporation rehashed Tesco news releases and presented them as objective supermarket news stories !
In a nutshell,the wind industry has the BBC in its pocket in the same way as it has the UK and devolved administrations in its pocket. Can you name another private industry which has managed to put forward its commercial agenda without provoking an objective assessment of its activities from the news media...I can't ?
Post Title
→The BBC: The voice of the Wind Energy Industry?
Post URL
→https://national-grid-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/bbc-voice-of-wind-energy-industry.html
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