Image: Marcus Chown
The BBC is asking for your views on its news and current affairs coverage. This is a good chance to feedback any comments you may have on its coverage of the NHS.
Details of the review are here.
It’s always best to cite examples of specific reports, and why you have concerns, rather than just say NHS coverage in general is biased.
The consultation runs until 13th December so you have time to collect specific information before submitting your response. You might like to keep a note of:
- unbalanced interviewees, eg. both participants in a debate attacking the NHS
- 'experts' labelled as independent when they are not, eg. health think-tanks, employees or former employees of the Department of Health or private sector companies with health interests
- government spin reported as fact eg. the ring-fencing of the NHS budgets
- error by omission - important information or background missed out of reporting of NHS issues
For more ideas about the kind of problems to listen out for and take a note of for your submission, do have a look at this article from Oliver Huitson which detailed some of the ways in which bias and inaccuracy crept into earlier BBC reporting of the Health and Social Act.
IMPORTANT - at the end of the survey, you will see an option to have your response emailed to you as a pdf file. It would be really helpful if you were able to say ‘yes’ to this, and then forward the email you receive with your response, on to us at ournhsbbc@gmail.com.
We can then compile our own database of comments to help with research in the future. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, that’s fine.
