A report has been published by the BBC about its economics broadcasting
The BBC states:
“The BBC has shared its first ever thematic review on economics broadcasting as part of the Corporation’s 10-Point Impartiality Plan.
The review assesses whether due impartiality is being achieved across BBC taxation and public spending, government borrowing and debt output and considers if a breadth of voices and viewpoints are being reflected.
The BBC Board commissioned review finds that there is widespread appreciation for BBC coverage of tax, public spending, government borrowing and debt with plenty to applaud, but identifies a range of concerns that could put impartiality at risk.
The work was led by seasoned economics experts and broadcasters Michael Blastland and Andrew Dilnot.”
The full review can be seen here.
Some findings from the report:
“We think too many journalists lack understanding of basic economics or lack confidence reporting it. This brings a high risk to impartiality. In the period of this review, it particularly affected debt. Some journalists seem to feel instinctively that debt is simply bad, full stop, and don’t appear to realise this can be contested and contestable.”
“Too often, it’s not clear from a report that fiscal policy decisions are also political choices; they’re not inevitable, it’s just that governments like to present them that way. The language of necessity takes subtle forms; if the BBC adopts it, it can sound perilously close to policy endorsement”
The first comment could be directed to much of the media, not just the BBC . PEF has been critical of the way that economics is reported in the media, including the BBC, on macroeconomic issues such as the level of public debt, public spending and the deficit, making misleading comparisons between government finance and the household budget. The BBC has particular responsibility as the public broadcaster to get this right and help educate the public on important concepts in economics.
PEF Council member Simon Wren-Lewis has long complained about media misreporting on economics, coining the term ‘media macro’. The media played a crucial role after 2010 , feeding the narrative that labour profligacy with public spending led to the 2008 crash and and that austerity was the only solution to reduce the debt and deficit which followed the rescue of the banks.
See his blog here on the BBC report where he considers the effects on political developments caused by BBC reporting on austerity and Brexit
“So it is quite plausible that two major errors in the way the BBC has treated economic issues have had a crucial role in political developments since 2010, with the terrible consequences we see today. If the BBC follows the report’s recommendations its reporting will certainly improve, but it remains only a first step to correcting the disastrous errors that the BBC and others made over the last fourteen years.”
Hopefully the BBC review will lead to better and more accurate reporting on macroeocomics in the future, and as we approach the next election.
