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Media failings & judgement-lacking blogs contributed to BNP success says BBC’s Alagiah

Photo: BBC

On Friday I heard BBC newsreader George Alagiah speak about media and identity at a lecture organised by Polis at LSE. He said he was uncomfortable with a white-only party appearing on Question Time and attributed some of the blame for the electoral success of the BNP to the media. He raised concerns about blogs lacking judgement filling the vacuum left by struggling broadcasters.

Speaking about the coverage of immigration issues, Alagiah said: “When organised well-funded regional news-gathering is in retreat, opinion and hearsay fill the gap, which is all the more likely in the age of the blog. There is plenty of opinion out there, but not much of it is about judgement.”

A full article written by me about George Alagiah's speech can be found on the Journalism.co.uk blog.