BBC, the Caeser's Wife

The Portuguese have a saying, reporting to the Roman times, that “Caeser’s wife mustn’t only be faithful, she must also appear to be faithful”.

Pardon the Portuguese for having translated “séria” into “faithful”, as it could have many other interpretations,

 I chose this one, because, as you know, I’m perverse.

This saying is to tell all of us, that appearances do matter, and credibility is made up of many things for one to appear credible.

It’s easy to pretend that one is credible, when one is, and one can always pretend credibility when one is not.

What one cannot do is not to give a care about the image one projects and then, demand that others perceive otherwise than the message sent.

This saying is applicable to the British Media.

If the tabloids one would hesitate between slavery and freedmen, there are some "serious" media which one would also hesitate where to rank it.

Their Roman citizenship is unquestionable, the problem resides to classify some between being just citizens, or a if the title of Senator is the adequate.

Will not refer names, but if we had to name royalty in this “society” I think BBC would stand out as the ruler, for its credibility, its status, its highly commendable work in WWII.

After all it was the voice of a Nation in its noblest of moments.

This was received by a reader, from BBC, after having complained:  

"Thanks for contacting the BBC regarding ‘East Midlands Today’. 

I’m sorry to read from your email that you were unhappy with some of the content which featured in this programme. I understand you felt the McCann family were given a platform to voice their opinions while Goncalo Amaral wasn’t there to offer a response. 

It is not always possible or practical to reflect all the different opinions on a subject within individual programmes.  

The BBC does not seek to denigrate any view, nor to promote any view. It seeks rather to identify all significant views, and to test them rigorously and fairly on behalf of the audience. 

Among other evidence, audience research indicates widespread confidence in the impartiality of the BBC's reporting. 

Account also needs to be taken of the way a subject is covered over a period of time; perfect balance is difficult to achieve on every single occasion while overall it is a more achievable goal. 

We’re guided by the feedback that we receive and to that end I'd like to assure you that I've registered your complaint on our audience log. 

This is a daily report of audience feedback that's circulated to many BBC staff, including members of the BBC Executive Board, programme makers, channel controllers and other senior managers. 

The audience logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions about future programming and content. 

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us." 

BBC, may I remind you that we’re still waiting like for you to release for public use the footage of the “Amaral F-word slander”, as you most certainly do not wish to denigrate Gonçalo Amaral, nor side with the McCanns by promoting their version of what happened to their daughter, all in the sake of confirming your confidentiality the impartiality of the BBC's reporting.

We fully understand that in an isolated occurrence it’s sometimes difficult to achieve perfect balance, however, unless you know something we don’t, which is likely, it’s not understandable where the difficulty resides in this particular one, so please do allow the testing of all views rigorously and fairly.

Thank you, and will remain patiently waiting.

It's up to you how long and how many times you wish to be reminded of this.