My reply to an opponent of both UKIP & LibDems in our forthcoming BBC 2 debate saying:
"but the great battle of the minnows in the debate to come is going to help both parties"
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Good point. Though, if polls are to be believed (or expectations UKIP will come 1st in the UK election) it is hardly a minnow being nearly the same size as the LabCons. But it is true that in terms of media coverage, particularly the state owned BBC with its legal duty of "balance" UKIP is virtually a sardine.
But yes it has always been that coverage in the big media has always been skewed towards 2 parties and even if the LDs do better, per capita, than UKIP they are still largely excluded from the approved 2. Both parties gain from open debate (as, even moreso, does the public since it is possible we will see some real disagreement on substantive issues which is not normally what the media do).
It will be very interesting to see what viewing figures on this BBC2 programme are compared to BBC1 at the same time or normal viewing figures at the same spot the previous week. If they are as embarrassingly good for the BBC as I suspect it will be difficult for them to censor future debates involving either these parties or the serious undiscussed issues.
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On the same subject Tim Worstall recently made the point that the UKIP court ruling, that we are entitled to as much coverage as the "main" parties is actually a win for the LDs since what the BBC "guidelines" actually said was that the 1st 3 parties were entitled to coverage but nobody else and the LDs are actually now clearly 4th.
Technically Tim was right but in reality not since the BBC write and rewrite their "guidelines" as they please and it is obvious that (A) the current 3rd party aren't getting the coverage of the 4th (4th & 5th respectively in Scotland and (B) that the BBC will rewrite the rules again to allow whatever they want and only the possibility that a court might be stirred into some, limited, activity will hold them.
"but the great battle of the minnows in the debate to come is going to help both parties"
-------------------------------------------------
Good point. Though, if polls are to be believed (or expectations UKIP will come 1st in the UK election) it is hardly a minnow being nearly the same size as the LabCons. But it is true that in terms of media coverage, particularly the state owned BBC with its legal duty of "balance" UKIP is virtually a sardine.
But yes it has always been that coverage in the big media has always been skewed towards 2 parties and even if the LDs do better, per capita, than UKIP they are still largely excluded from the approved 2. Both parties gain from open debate (as, even moreso, does the public since it is possible we will see some real disagreement on substantive issues which is not normally what the media do).
It will be very interesting to see what viewing figures on this BBC2 programme are compared to BBC1 at the same time or normal viewing figures at the same spot the previous week. If they are as embarrassingly good for the BBC as I suspect it will be difficult for them to censor future debates involving either these parties or the serious undiscussed issues.
----------------------------------------
On the same subject Tim Worstall recently made the point that the UKIP court ruling, that we are entitled to as much coverage as the "main" parties is actually a win for the LDs since what the BBC "guidelines" actually said was that the 1st 3 parties were entitled to coverage but nobody else and the LDs are actually now clearly 4th.
Technically Tim was right but in reality not since the BBC write and rewrite their "guidelines" as they please and it is obvious that (A) the current 3rd party aren't getting the coverage of the 4th (4th & 5th respectively in Scotland and (B) that the BBC will rewrite the rules again to allow whatever they want and only the possibility that a court might be stirred into some, limited, activity will hold them.
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