Summary
BBC Reporters and Presenters:
Over 95% Humanities graduates
Less than 5% Science graduates
Over 60% Private School
30% Modern languages
They have little empathy for ordinary British people. They are not suitably qualified to fulfill the requirements of the Charter. They are unable to perform any depth of analysis and hence unable to hold the government to account.
The effect of this was to fail to spot the severity of Coronavirus in early February, to fail to spot that the issue was not testing but contact tracing and quarantine using tests, to treat the peak as the end of the crisis when it is only half way through, to omit coverage of the probable Chinese lab escape and to fail to understand that the NHS buying most supplies from China is a mistake.
Why BBC Journalists and Presenters must be Changed.
Most BBC current affairs offerings such as the BBC News, "Today" program and "Newsnight" have become Punch and Judy shows. Why is the BBC failing to fulfill the Charter requirement of offering " a range and depth of analysis and content not widely available from other United Kingdom news providers, using the highest calibre presenters and journalists"?
The answer is in the question. The BBC does not employ the highest calibre presenters and journalists to meet the terms of the Charter. It is employing entertainers.
Worse still 95% of presenters and journalists are Humanities graduates despite the fact that almost 50% of graduates study science subjects in UK Universities. This means that most BBC front line staff have little or no understanding of mathematics and how natural systems fit together and are woefully underqualified to provide "in depth analysis", hence the Punch and Judy shows.
The Humanities are the core of Left Wing activism in the UK. The graphic below shows where academics rated themselves for left-right orientation on a scale of -1 to 1:
The BBC is staffed by a set of underqualified people with a built in Left-Wing bias.
The BBC has also taken care to select privately educated reporters and presenters. 60% of BBC presenters and journalists are privately educated yet only 6.5% of the UK population go to private schools. Superficially we might believe that this would predispose them to being right wing but the senior ranks of the Labour Party are notoriously derived from the privately educated and Labour is now the Corporate/Public Sector Party, a home for corporate personnel with humanities degrees.
The BBC has also recruited modern language graduates in preference to all others. 30% of front line staff are modern language graduates. Modern Language graduates spend a considerable time in the EU and this explains the divided loyalties of these members of staff. We need look little further for the origins of pro-EU bias in the BBC such as John Humphrys described (See John Humphrys savages bias at BBC).
The absurdity of BBC personnel recruitment would be comical if it were not for the fact that the BBC is the National Broadcaster. This is a serious issue for the UK and cannot be ignored as a quaint foible of the BBC. Something must be done about the BBC, at the very least its recruitment policy must be changed radically. It is not acting in accord with its Charter and is a risk to the stability and future of the country.
The BBC should recruit journalists from papers such as the Daily Mail and Telegraph as well as the Guardian and must, most importantly, change its in-house policy to favour those from a wider range of qualifications so that it can fulfill its true mission of in-depth, impartial analysis rather than offering Punch and Judy shows as News.
29/4/2020
Here is a list of the data used in this article with full details of the cost of educating these people.
Journalists and Presenters taken from List of BBC newsreaders and reporters
Presented as Name, Education, Degree.
BBC Journalists and Presenters with a Science Qualification:
Tina Daheley State Computer Science
Sarah Montague Private Biology
BBC Journalists with Humanities Qualification
Laura Kuensberg Private History
Mark Mardell Private French
Faisal Islam Private Economics
Katya Adler Private German/Italian
Nick Robinson Private Philosphy, Politics Economics
Justin Webb Private Economics
Reeta Chakrabarti Private French
Kirsty Walk Private History
Norman Smith Private History
Sophie Raworth Private Languages
Charlie Stayt Private ?
Louise Minchin Private Spanish
Roger Johnson Private
Mishal Husain Private Law
Jane Hill Private Politics
Christian Fraser Private Spanish
Victoria Derbyshire Private French
Ben Brown Private Phil. Politics, Economics
George Alagiah Private Politics
Martha Kearney Private Classics
Matthew Price Private Geography
Ritula Shah Private History
David Eades Private French
Philippa Thomas Private Philosophy, Politics, Economics
Kirsty Wark Private History
Orla Guerin IrishConvent Journalism
27 private
State Sector: Many "secondary" or "comprehensive" schools were grammar schools when these people were educated.
Jeremy Bowen Grammar History
Rachel Burden Grammar Journalism
Huw Edwards State French
Clive Myrie Grammar Law
Naga Munchetty Selective English
Emily Maitlis State Languages
Sally Nugent RC Grammar Media/French
Kate Silverton State Psychology
Jon Sopel Grammar Politics
Carolyn Quinn Grammar French
Evan Davis Grammar Philosophy, Politics, Economics
Clive Myrie Grammar Law
BBC Reporters and Presenters:
Over 95% Humanities graduates
Less than 5% Science graduates
Over 60% Private School
30% Modern languages
They have little empathy for ordinary British people. They are not suitably qualified to fulfill the requirements of the Charter. They are unable to perform any depth of analysis and hence unable to hold the government to account.
The effect of this was to fail to spot the severity of Coronavirus in early February, to fail to spot that the issue was not testing but contact tracing and quarantine using tests, to treat the peak as the end of the crisis when it is only half way through, to omit coverage of the probable Chinese lab escape and to fail to understand that the NHS buying most supplies from China is a mistake.
Why BBC Journalists and Presenters must be Changed.
Most BBC current affairs offerings such as the BBC News, "Today" program and "Newsnight" have become Punch and Judy shows. Why is the BBC failing to fulfill the Charter requirement of offering " a range and depth of analysis and content not widely available from other United Kingdom news providers, using the highest calibre presenters and journalists"?
The answer is in the question. The BBC does not employ the highest calibre presenters and journalists to meet the terms of the Charter. It is employing entertainers.
Worse still 95% of presenters and journalists are Humanities graduates despite the fact that almost 50% of graduates study science subjects in UK Universities. This means that most BBC front line staff have little or no understanding of mathematics and how natural systems fit together and are woefully underqualified to provide "in depth analysis", hence the Punch and Judy shows.
The Humanities are the core of Left Wing activism in the UK. The graphic below shows where academics rated themselves for left-right orientation on a scale of -1 to 1:
 |
| Source: Are universities left‐wing bastions? 1=Left -1=Right |
The BBC has also taken care to select privately educated reporters and presenters. 60% of BBC presenters and journalists are privately educated yet only 6.5% of the UK population go to private schools. Superficially we might believe that this would predispose them to being right wing but the senior ranks of the Labour Party are notoriously derived from the privately educated and Labour is now the Corporate/Public Sector Party, a home for corporate personnel with humanities degrees.
The BBC has also recruited modern language graduates in preference to all others. 30% of front line staff are modern language graduates. Modern Language graduates spend a considerable time in the EU and this explains the divided loyalties of these members of staff. We need look little further for the origins of pro-EU bias in the BBC such as John Humphrys described (See John Humphrys savages bias at BBC).
The absurdity of BBC personnel recruitment would be comical if it were not for the fact that the BBC is the National Broadcaster. This is a serious issue for the UK and cannot be ignored as a quaint foible of the BBC. Something must be done about the BBC, at the very least its recruitment policy must be changed radically. It is not acting in accord with its Charter and is a risk to the stability and future of the country.
The BBC should recruit journalists from papers such as the Daily Mail and Telegraph as well as the Guardian and must, most importantly, change its in-house policy to favour those from a wider range of qualifications so that it can fulfill its true mission of in-depth, impartial analysis rather than offering Punch and Judy shows as News.
29/4/2020
Here is a list of the data used in this article with full details of the cost of educating these people.
Journalists and Presenters taken from List of BBC newsreaders and reporters
Presented as Name, Education, Degree.
BBC Journalists and Presenters with a Science Qualification:
Tina Daheley State Computer Science
Sarah Montague Private Biology
BBC Journalists with Humanities Qualification
Laura Kuensberg Private History
Mark Mardell Private French
Faisal Islam Private Economics
Katya Adler Private German/Italian
Nick Robinson Private Philosphy, Politics Economics
Justin Webb Private Economics
Reeta Chakrabarti Private French
Kirsty Walk Private History
Norman Smith Private History
Sophie Raworth Private Languages
Charlie Stayt Private ?
Louise Minchin Private Spanish
Roger Johnson Private
Mishal Husain Private Law
Jane Hill Private Politics
Christian Fraser Private Spanish
Victoria Derbyshire Private French
Ben Brown Private Phil. Politics, Economics
George Alagiah Private Politics
Martha Kearney Private Classics
Matthew Price Private Geography
Ritula Shah Private History
David Eades Private French
Philippa Thomas Private Philosophy, Politics, Economics
Kirsty Wark Private History
Orla Guerin IrishConvent Journalism
27 private
State Sector: Many "secondary" or "comprehensive" schools were grammar schools when these people were educated.
Jeremy Bowen Grammar History
Rachel Burden Grammar Journalism
Huw Edwards State French
Clive Myrie Grammar Law
Naga Munchetty Selective English
Emily Maitlis State Languages
Sally Nugent RC Grammar Media/French
Kate Silverton State Psychology
Jon Sopel Grammar Politics
Carolyn Quinn Grammar French
Evan Davis Grammar Philosophy, Politics, Economics
Clive Myrie Grammar Law
Fiona Bruce Grammar French/Italian
Steve Rosenberg Comprehensive Russian
15 State
Other
Carrie Gracie ? Philosophy,Politics Economics
Joanna Gosling ? French
Lyse Doucet Canadian Arts/International Relations
3 Other
More information on BBC Staff from "Books and Boots"
See Diversity, or how progressive rhetoric about diversity and the greater representation of women, blacks and Asians masks the ongoing influence of traditional networks of private school and Oxbridge
BBC TODAY PROGRAMME
Mishal Husain – Cobham Hall (boarding fees: £31,500), Cambridge
Martha Kearney – George Watson’s Ladies College (day fees: £13,170), Oxford
Nick Robinson – Cheadle Hulme School (day pupil fees: £12,300), Oxford
Sarah Sands – Kent College, Pembury (boarding fees: £11,500) Goldsmiths, University of London
Justin Webb – Sidcot School (boarding fees: £27,540), London School of Economics,
BBC RADIO WORLD AT ONE
Faisal Islam – Manchester Grammar School (annual fees: £13,000), Trinity College Cambridge
Mark Mardell – Epsom College private school (boarding fees: £38,568), University of Kent
Ed Stourton – Ampleforth College (boarding fees: £36,486 per year), Cambridge
Claire Marshall – Blundell’s School (annual fees: £13,000 ), Balliol College, Oxford
Sarah Anne Louise Montague, Lady Brooke – Blanchelande College (annual fees: £10,800), University of Bristol
BBC ANDREW MARR SHOW
Andrew Marr – The High School of Dundee (annual fees: £13,650), Loretto School (annual fees: £36,000), Trinity Hall Cambridge
BBC WOMAN’S HOUR
Jane Garvey – Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School, Crosby (annual fees: £11,000), University of Birmingham
THE WORLD TONIGHT
Ritula Shah – Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls (annual fees: £19,500), University of Warwick
BBC PRESENTERS
Samira Ahmed – Wimbledon High School (annual fees: £20,000), St Edmund Hall, Oxford
Stephanie Flanders – former BBC economics editor – St Paul’s Girls’ School (£26,500), Balliol College, Oxford
Fi Glover – St Swithun’s School (annual fees: £34,500), University of Kent
Will Gompertz, BBC arts editor – Bedford School (annual fees: £33,000). Married to the daughter of the Provost of Eton, which is nice.
Roger Harrabin, BBC’s Energy and Environment Analyst – King Henry VIII School (annual fees: £12,000), St Catharine’s College, Cambridge
James Landale, BBC’s diplomatic correspondent – Eton College (fees: £42,600), University of Bristol.
Paddy O’Connell, presenter of Broadcasting House – Gresham’s School (boarding fees: £36,000), University of Aberdeen.
Hugh Pym, Health Editor BBC News – Marlborough College (annual fees: £38,000), Christ Church, Oxford
Sophie Raworth – 6 O’Clock News presenter: Putney High, and St Paul’s Girls’ schools (£26,500), Manchester University
Alice Roberts – presenter of Coast and Time Team – The Red Maids’ School (annual fees: £15,000), University of Wales College of Medicine
David Shukman, science editor of BBC News – Eton (fees: £42,600), Durham University
Norman Smith, BBC Assistant Political Editor – Oundle School (annual fees: £38,000), St Peter’s College, Oxford
Vicki Young, BBC News Chief Political Correspondent (annual fees: £14,000), New Hall, Cambridge
JOURNALISTS
Katy Balls, The Spectator magazine –
Louise Callaghan Sunday Times Journalist of the Year – UWC Atlantic College (annual boarding fees: £33,000), School of Oriental and African Studies
Melanie Phillips, The Times and BBC – Putney High School (annual fees: £20,000), St Anne’s College, Oxford
Helen Lewis – Deputy Editor of the left-wing New Statesman and feminist author – St Mary’s School, Worcester (annual fees: £18,000), St Peter’s College, Oxford
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