Great work! One thing though - the EHRC guidance wont be relevant to the BBC as an employer - it's the code of practice for service providers not employers. All the employers waiting for it are using it purely as an excuse to delay. It's nothing to do with employment
Edited to add: now listened. Great. I liked your point about the BBC ignoring stories - eg Rowling's first comments about Maya Forstater, UNTIL the backlash occurs. This, it seems to me, not only makes the backlash the story, trivialises it and makes it into a 'culture war' whilst ignoring the substance of what Rowling said in the first place.
I also wanted to say that those feelings that you all first had - that sinking feeling of almost disbelief when you first realised this was not going to be treated like any other difficult issue by an institution that deals in difficult issues ALL THE TIME - is EXACTLY the same as I felt and I am sure many others who worked in the public sector. That realisation that people weren't going to listen; were forgetting central tenets of their profession (in my case, child safeguarding, child development) and were essentially cowardly and willing to throw others under a bus who were not so cowardly. It's a very profound and destabilising experience to realise that people you thought of as sensible have lost their minds and/or their principles. It has changed me forever.
Agree, and for journalists who come out of the womb wanting to 'tell the truth' and that's why they do the job in the first place, it's a shock to find out they don't care.
That’s a great explanation for how we’ve been railroaded into places we’d never even have imagined twenty years ago. No need for persuasion or cultural consensus, all an activist needs to do is plant his flag first and they treat him as the default option.
Which was itself likely a product of news-as-entertainment coupled with activism being almost entirely for the left. Basically the media outsourced its discretion to press releases, and all the PR was on the progressive side.
‘Conversion therapy’ was a particularly stark example. No way should this label have attached to the side who were *against* doing sex change operations, and yet that’s where the logic took us.
We await the BBC guidance with bated breath ( or maybe not?).
On our substack the guidance is: no man has a vagina; no woman has a penis; non-binary is nonsense; and transitioning children is profound abuse. Do you think they might pick that up?
The situation with MSM in general is why we need citizen journalists like me and, as it happens, Graham over the last few years with help currently from ripx4nutmeg 😊 and previously from a woman called JL
My top addictive joy and entertainment is anything that gives us a window into what’s been going on behind the scenes, what does it take to make something or event or organisation work or not work. It could be real (like footnotes in books or extras on a DVD or live Supreme Court or court Tweet reporters); or even dramatised things that are close enough to being true (eg The Crown or dramatised crime or history, or Hamilton, the book or musical!). I guess it’s all kinda trustworthy-ish evidence-based gossip.
So this podcast is like the most long awaited golden story from behind the scenes — made hugely more exciting when it’s a serious national news service like the BBC who should never ever have been keeping this hidden. Thank you for now earning the taxpayer’s money that I’ve been “forced to” pay for so many years of BB Cobblers!!
Really interesting podcast, thank you. I once tried to complain to the BBC over how it represented For Women Scotland - I kept going each time my complaint got rejected until I eventually, annoyingly, dropped the ball because life got in the way.
Yes, by the time you get to the ECU you've lost the will to live because of cut-and-paste-patronising-don't address what you've said at-all -"but the Style Guide!" responses. I've got two I'm girding my loins to do.
Exactly that! I kept imagining a youngster with blue hair and face piercings just pressing a button for an autoreply, without having read anything I'd written.
Thank you for foregrounding the knots the BBC has got itself into vis a vis reporting Trans issues. I could sense the contortions going on in the editorial team when trying to avoid the fact that the Minnesota murderer was a man. I'm so pleased you discussed this.
Excellent podcast. You’re doing such important work and I hope that *at last* we are starting to break through the journalistic ‘brick wall’ that stops so much of this coverage getting through
Great work! One thing though - the EHRC guidance wont be relevant to the BBC as an employer - it's the code of practice for service providers not employers. All the employers waiting for it are using it purely as an excuse to delay. It's nothing to do with employment
Thanks Helen appreciated 🫡
Well done! So good to be able to listen to the voices behind the remarkable work on X. Thank you.
Absolutely riveting. Great to hear about and understand how some of the stupidity and lack of hard truth has been ALLOWED to happen.
Thanks Carol. Very glad it was informative
OOOH! Look forward to listening
Edited to add: now listened. Great. I liked your point about the BBC ignoring stories - eg Rowling's first comments about Maya Forstater, UNTIL the backlash occurs. This, it seems to me, not only makes the backlash the story, trivialises it and makes it into a 'culture war' whilst ignoring the substance of what Rowling said in the first place.
Thank you Jo x
I also wanted to say that those feelings that you all first had - that sinking feeling of almost disbelief when you first realised this was not going to be treated like any other difficult issue by an institution that deals in difficult issues ALL THE TIME - is EXACTLY the same as I felt and I am sure many others who worked in the public sector. That realisation that people weren't going to listen; were forgetting central tenets of their profession (in my case, child safeguarding, child development) and were essentially cowardly and willing to throw others under a bus who were not so cowardly. It's a very profound and destabilising experience to realise that people you thought of as sensible have lost their minds and/or their principles. It has changed me forever.
Agree, and for journalists who come out of the womb wanting to 'tell the truth' and that's why they do the job in the first place, it's a shock to find out they don't care.
That’s a great explanation for how we’ve been railroaded into places we’d never even have imagined twenty years ago. No need for persuasion or cultural consensus, all an activist needs to do is plant his flag first and they treat him as the default option.
It’s government by First Mover Advantage.
Thanks Iska. The capture of the media happened before anyone on the front line even realised. It's all top down.
Which was itself likely a product of news-as-entertainment coupled with activism being almost entirely for the left. Basically the media outsourced its discretion to press releases, and all the PR was on the progressive side.
‘Conversion therapy’ was a particularly stark example. No way should this label have attached to the side who were *against* doing sex change operations, and yet that’s where the logic took us.
The language is still a major battleground
Thanks, guys, great podcast.
We await the BBC guidance with bated breath ( or maybe not?).
On our substack the guidance is: no man has a vagina; no woman has a penis; non-binary is nonsense; and transitioning children is profound abuse. Do you think they might pick that up?
The situation with MSM in general is why we need citizen journalists like me and, as it happens, Graham over the last few years with help currently from ripx4nutmeg 😊 and previously from a woman called JL
Have cross posted
https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/je-suis-graham-je-suis-posie
What a week!!
Looking forward to the next one
Dusty
Thanks Dusty. ‘The situation with MSM in general is why we need citizen journalists like me’ 👍👍
So pleased to see this! I will be listening!
Thank you!!
Some excellent detailed conversations about how the BBC ended up so messed up but how do we fix it? Great work!
Thanks Elephants . We hope we’ll get round to talk about all the elephants in the room
After 22 years at the BBC I can honestly say the elephant was in every room! The BBC needs saving for so many societal reasons
My top addictive joy and entertainment is anything that gives us a window into what’s been going on behind the scenes, what does it take to make something or event or organisation work or not work. It could be real (like footnotes in books or extras on a DVD or live Supreme Court or court Tweet reporters); or even dramatised things that are close enough to being true (eg The Crown or dramatised crime or history, or Hamilton, the book or musical!). I guess it’s all kinda trustworthy-ish evidence-based gossip.
So this podcast is like the most long awaited golden story from behind the scenes — made hugely more exciting when it’s a serious national news service like the BBC who should never ever have been keeping this hidden. Thank you for now earning the taxpayer’s money that I’ve been “forced to” pay for so many years of BB Cobblers!!
Thank you for the kind words Nick!
Really enjoyed this...can't wait for the next episode.
Thanks Bob. You’re a mensch
I just enjoy endlessly complaining to the bbc! 😂
Oh me too...me too...
A very welcome podcast! I will listen and share! Cheers!!
Thank you!
Really interesting podcast, thank you. I once tried to complain to the BBC over how it represented For Women Scotland - I kept going each time my complaint got rejected until I eventually, annoyingly, dropped the ball because life got in the way.
I think that’s what they hope for. It’s a three month process of attraction
Yes, by the time you get to the ECU you've lost the will to live because of cut-and-paste-patronising-don't address what you've said at-all -"but the Style Guide!" responses. I've got two I'm girding my loins to do.
Exactly that! I kept imagining a youngster with blue hair and face piercings just pressing a button for an autoreply, without having read anything I'd written.
Attrition?
Thank you for foregrounding the knots the BBC has got itself into vis a vis reporting Trans issues. I could sense the contortions going on in the editorial team when trying to avoid the fact that the Minnesota murderer was a man. I'm so pleased you discussed this.
Excellent podcast. You’re doing such important work and I hope that *at last* we are starting to break through the journalistic ‘brick wall’ that stops so much of this coverage getting through
Great podcast thank you so much. Hope you will consider publishing a clean rss feed so people can listen in podcasts apps that are not Spotify. 🙏
This made me get the substack app. Three women calmly rationally and intelligently discussing the trans issues with knowledge and respect. 👏👏👏
Thank you 🙏