COULD THE BBC’S DAYS IN SCOTLAND BE NUMBERED?

COULD THE BBC’S DAYS IN SCOTLAND BE NUMBERED?
A few days before Scotland’s First Minister launched an ambitious and far-reaching “national conversation” on whether Scots should remain part of Britain, a Scottish Broadcasting Commission was established which could challenge the BBC’s public monopoly in Scotland.
The BBC’s Six O’Clock News bulletin – the most influential source of news in the UK – has become central to this debate, with many influential Scots questioning its validity, its quality, its political role, and even its necessity.
Many Scots, including Alex Salmond himself, have declared that they want the Six O’Clock News scrapped and replaced by an hour long “Scottish Six”, produced in Scotland, by Scottish journalists. The remit for a “Scottish Six” would be to cover national and international news, but from a Scottish rather than a London-centric perspective.
Maybe it was in a fit of pique, maybe it was unintentional irony, or maybe it was just confirmation that the BBC’s Six O’Clock News bulletin is no longer fit for purpose, but on the same day (14/7/07) that Alex Salmond launched his White Paper on Scottish Independence, the BBC’s London-based news editors may have sealed their own fate.
No matter which way you look at it, the launch of the SNP’s White Paper on Independence was a big news story, not just here in Scotland, but internationally. If Alex Salmond’s ambitious project comes to fruition, then Great Britain will go the way of the Soviet Union, and simply cease to exist. To paraphrase that most quintessential of English comedy groups, Britain will become an ex-country. Deceased. No more.
That this was the biggest news story of the day in the UK is incontestable. Unless perhaps, you happened to be a dyed-in-the-wool British ostrich, with head stuck firmly up yer Daily Telegraph.
So how did the BBC’s Six O’Clock News team choose to report this important breaking story? Lead item? Second item? Not quite.
The lead story was a consumer piece about the recall of plastic toys. It was a precautionary decision by the company Mattel, which, perhaps, they should have announced through paid advertising in the national press. This was followed by another similar item on the recall of old phone batteries.
Next up was a lengthy feature on how bad weather and flooding were affecting the English tourist trade this summer. Two lengthy reports were filed from Weston-Super-Mare and the Yorkshire Dales. This particular item could have been carried any day this month, at any point, in any news bulletin. It was what could have been described as “a filler”.
Next was a purely regional story about the murder of a young child in London. It was reported that police were not searching for anyone in connection with tragedy. This was followed by another, again purely regional, murder story.
Next up, Scotland! At last. Except it was about an e-coli break-out in Paisley. You have to hand it to the BBC news editors, they love their Scottish health scare stories. Nobody could say the London BBC news rooms aren’t interested in such things as deep-fried Mars bars, or Glaswegians dying of lung cancer.
Would the Paisley food scare be a tenuous Scottish link to the story about the break-up of Britain? No. The next item was yet another murder story. This time about the death of a biker. In South London.
Finally, almost fourteen minutes into the early evening news bulletin, the BBC editors deigned to broadcast three full minutes on the biggest news story to hit Scotland in our lifetimes. It had been relegated to “News Item Number 8’. The low priority given to the piece was, we can only presume, to reassure Her Majesty and the rest of London/England, that it was all just a storm in a whisky jar.
The feature consisted of footage of Alex Salmond launching his White Paper. Followed by an oppositional response from Des Browne (an MP elected to Westminster, London). Followed by a vox pop on the streets of Edinburgh.
This vox pop was notable, only in that it consisted of just two interviews, each less than ten seconds long. The first was with a young guy wearing a Scotland football top - who was against Scottish Independence. The second was with an old woman - who was also against Scottish Independence. End of vox pop. Call me old fashioned but it wasn’t quite my idea of either impartiality or depth.
Only the BBC News editors can answer why they chose to respond in this manner. But I suspect that this travesty of reportage will not have gone unnoticed in the corridors of power at Holyrood, and may well turn out be one of the straws that break the British broadcaster’s back.
The new Scottish Broadcasting Commission’s remit is wide-ranging, and goes way beyond looking at a “Scottish Six”. What is now being considered is amending The Scotland Act to transfer all broadcasting powers, currently under the political control of Westminster, over to Holyrood. The ramifications of this should not be underestimated. The creation of a separate publicly-funded Scottish Broadcasting Corporation is one option being given serious consideration at the highest level.
And not before time. Many Scottish license payers feel they are being royally shafted by the current arrangement. Whilst 9% of the UK’s population lives in Scotland, only 3% of the programmes commissioned by the BBC are produced in this country. Hardly value for money.
When you add this to the widely perceived London-centric bias that dominates the BBC’s national agenda and output, you can see why the current set-up, just like that of the British state itself, has only itself to blame for hastening its own demise.http://www.scottishindependenceconvention.com/
http://kevinwilliamson.blogspot.com/
http://www.clydesite.co.uk/

RIVER CART INITIATIVE, RENFREWSHIRE.

August 30 2007

Commercial traffic returned to a Scottish river for the first time in decades yesterday in a trial geared towards showing it can once again be used to transport cargo.
The £1.4m refurbishment of the A-listed Inchinnan bascule bridge crossing the River Cart in Renfrewshire meant it could be raised drawbridge-style for the first time in many years, paving the way for the historic moment.
Taking advantage of the development, two huge steel spools, with a combined weight of 80 tonnes, were taken on a 20m barge by Steel Engineering of Renfrew along the Cart on the first leg of a 600-mile sea journey to Newcastle to show-test the operation of the bridge.
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It was raised to its full 30m height yesterday to allow the barge to pass.
The 8.6m-wide spools were then taken to George V Dock on the Clyde before making the onward journey and will be used by oil industry operators in the laying of pipes.
Built in 1922, it is one of the last remaining fully operational drawbridge-style bridges in the country.
With the closure of Paisley harbour and much of the heavy industry upstream on the Cart from the 1960s onwards, use of the bridge opening facility has reduced greatly.
Renfrewshire Council took ownership 11 years ago and was immediately faced with an ongoing and expensive maintenance liability.
After it was granted Grade A-listed status in 1994 as the only bridge of its kind in Scotland, conservation legislation meant the unreliable opening facility had to be maintained under the watchful eye of Historic Scotland.
But the council has seized the opportunity to use its refurbishment to investigate the opening of the upper part of the Cart to the transportation of cargo once again.
It has already carried out a multi-beam sonar survey of the river bed in the upper reaches of the Cart to look into the possibility of dredging the area to allow more accessibility to waterborne craft.
Iain Nicolson, convener of Renfrewshire Council's Planning and Economic Development Board, said: "The strengthening and refurbishing of the historic bascule bridge means the Cart remains available as a working asset."
Peter Breslin, director of Steel Engineering, said: "We intend to use this facility for other contracts now that we have proved the principle. There are a number of companies we work for which will be interested in using the Cart to move fabrications which are too large for road transport."
The earliest attempts to improve navigation of the river were made in 1753 and 1834.
An engineering paper referring to the opening bridge said it would form "an important link in road communications between Glasgow and the lower reaches of the Clyde and also provide a gateway giving improved access from Paisley harbour to the Clyde and the sea".
The Inchinnan bascule bridge was built to the design of renowned engineer Sir William Arrol, one of Houston's most famous sons, who was also responsible for London's Tower Bridge. The Cart bridge was constructed in 1922 and formally opened in March the following year.
It allowed the width of the navigation channel to be increased from 50ft to 90ft improving access to Paisley Harbour and helping the town's aspirations to port status.
But silting was always a problem with the river, along with a reliance on favourable tidal conditions.



Add Comment
Posted by: Duncan Macniven, East Kilbride. on 10:26pm Wed 29 Aug 07
Great news there are still people with vision alive and well in Scotland. The other much overlooked option is to utilise the River Cart as a means of getting people swiftly from the centre of Glasgow to Glasgow Airport. A lot cheaper than the proposed rail link and a lot less disruptive. Alex Gilmour and family have been running the waterbus from Jamaica Quay to Brahead for 6 years now. They are keen to set up a commuter run into the city for 0830 each weekday morning, but the only landing stage they have is Braehead. And the Bells Bridge owned by Scottish Enterprise is so lacking in upgrading that it cannot open in high winds so causing further blight on the river. Not very enterprising is it. Arse's need a severe kicking.
.

Posted by: Archie, Argyll on 11:15pm Wed 29 Aug 07
There is most definitely a dire lack of facilities for the practical use of our rivers and lochs for transportation of goods and commuting, be it in your own boat or that of a commercial concern like the one mentioned in Duncan Macnivens post above, so any movement toward improvement, like this bridge being restored to its proper functionability, is to be welcomed. Jetties and small piers would be a guaranteed boost to the Scottish Infra-structure and are easily and cheaply constructable, so one has to ask the questions: Why are restrictions on this happening apparently in place, and in whose interests are these restrictions serving? Is it the Scottish Public?

Posted by: Stephen from Erskine, San Francisco on 1:24am Thu 30 Aug 07
I'm always pleased to see things like this. Water transport is particularly well suited to moving large heavy objects safely and cheaply. It is not however an alternative to an Airport Rail link. The reason that water transport (the canals) fell into disuse was competition from the railways in terms of speed. Before anyone writes to remind me of the high speed ferries currently running in the Irish Sea please remember that they can only run at high speed in open water. Once these ferries enter Belfast Loch or Loch Ryan they must slow down to the speed of a conventional vessel to prevent damage to the shore line and risk of injury or drowning to anyone on the shore line. Glasgow Airport to City Centre by boat - might be quicker walking.
Posted by: Archie, Argyll on 2:45am Thu 30 Aug 07

Archie, Argyll on 2:58am Thu 30 Aug 07
P.S Stephen. They do not have to be large ferries but 20 to 25ft. Power Boats. The SBS cut about at around 40 knots so 25 would be a skoosh quite literally.

Posted by: The Ghost of Dan Archer, Firhill in the sky on 10:17am Thu 30 Aug 07
Some yars ago the Paisley Daily Express ran a front page April Fool story abou cruise liners being able to sail up the White cart to disembark their passengers in the heart of Paisley. The barge leaving story is therefore a clear case of life imitating art. More seriously, Glasgow Airport rail access would have been better run through the disused Arkeston Spur which once went to Babcock's Renfrew Works - a viaduct from there to the airport would have been better than the proposal to obliterate some of the best and most-used public football pitches in Scotland, at Paisley Racecourse. By the way - can I have an English translation of Yok Finney's post please?

Posted by: BM, Glasgow on 10:50am Thu 30 Aug 07
You wouldn't be suggesting that there's an opportunity for an experienced waterbus driver, would you, Duncan?

Posted by: Duncan Macniven, East Kilbride. on 9:32pm Thu 30 Aug 07
No problem BM I am indeed an experienced water-bus skipper currently employed as such.. Since there is only one Water-bus on the Clyde, at the moment, then it is no secret who I work for. These views are my own and not that of any company who may employ me. It was such a great sight watching the progress of this barge to KG5. Not forgetting the seaplane service we now see every day. Archie in Argyle knows what he is talking about. An Airport service would be cost effective as the artery is there. All we need is the infrastructure at either end and the vessels. Oh and the political will.

The construction and disruption required for a rail link is massive, the river route could be utilised for a tiny fraction of the cost. Venice seems to do it just fine. The Clyde for some strange reason seems to be an embarrassment to some of our political masters with there hands on the levers of power. OK in places it is, but that is through lack of investment and vision. Semi submerged chunks of quay side up to 40ft. long are regular hazards now for us the Waverly and the Seaplane. St. Mungo takes a lot of flotsam out of the river but no one can spot every piece.

To me the greatest folly has been the Clyde Arc which has now made the river to the east of it unnavigable for craft with an air draft greater than small vessels such as the water-bus, the intention had been to make it even lower. So we have the Kingston Bridge which was built with an air draft that would allow passage for large sea going vessels, but only if they can navigate under the Clyde Arc to the West, what a total farce. The priority appears to be to build office towers, (The BBC shed,) and luxury housing and forget quays such as the Broomielaw etc. which are world famous and synonymous with Glasgow.

The danger to Glasgow from a silted up undredged Clyde and a surging winter tide is not one that anyone seems to recognise. Unless you work on the river and see the water lapping at Clyde Street as I have. Most large cities like Glasgow would be overjoyed to have a river such as the Clyde running through the centre. Look at what has been done with The Tyne, The Mersey, and the Liffey to name but a few. Would you not like to be able to get a boat from central Glasgow to Rothesay or Arran or the Airport. Platform 13 Glasgow central is only a few short steps from Jamaica Quay water-bus terminal, with a bit of imagination and innovation they could be even closer.

Which brings me back to where I started and how great it was to see the barge knowing it came from the Cart. And the innovative and courageous thinking behind it, is that not what Scotland has always been about. William Arroll, Alexander Kennedy Smith, Thomas Smith, Alan Stevenson, Charles Alexander Stevenson, David Stevenson,David Alan Stevenson, Robert Stevenson, Thomas Stevenson,Thomas Telford and many other great Scottish engineers and innovators must be birling in their graves, watching there legacy being ignored and undone. Steel Engineering of Renfrew, The Council and Historic Scotland are to be applauded for their vision and dedication. Lets see some more.

ARGONAUT AND SEA PLANE

Not one to gloat, but I thought it was worth publishing a shot of the seaplane since Scotland are now flying.
And a shot of the Argonaut loading a submersible at KG5, as the French are now sunk :o)

THE BBC STEAMIE.

This display outside BBC Scotlands new shed on Pacific Quay is ART. It took 3 years to plan and cost you and me £350,000. Well thankyou very much for what looks like a line of washing. What a bloody joke, what a farce, what a scandal this organisation is. Corporate madness has infected this organisation and it should be cauterised. I find this so utterly offensive. I am listening to the game online from France on Clyde 2 and cannot see it as I will not subscribe to Setanta, or Sky. I have £135.50 extorted legally from me every 12 months for this utterly corrupt and offensive crap and I am sick of it. BBC Scotland you are named and shamed. Hang your heads not your washing.

AUNTY BBC IS ANTI SCOTTISH.

AUNTY BBC IS ANTI SCOTTISH.

Glenn Campbell
Based at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Glenn Campbell 'reports' politics for a wide range of BBC programmes from Reporting Scotland on television, to Scotland at Ten on Radio Scotland. Campbell, 28, was born and brought up in the Hebrides. He studied at Islay High School and Glasgow University. His career began in commercial radio. A former Head of News and Sport at Scot FM, he also presented the station's news magazine "Lunchtime Live" which won a silver Sony award in 1999. Campbell joined the BBC in 2001 as a news reporter. He occasionally presents Good Morning Scotland and Newsdrive on Radio Scotland. His accent reminds me of the scene in Jaws 1 when Robert Shaw (Quint) draws his nails down the blackboard. I like the Hebridean accent but not this one. It seems the Campbells are to retain their position in Scottish history of the black arts!

*****On Reporting Scotland on Thursday this clown ripped up the SNP manifesto several times in front of camera at a peak viewing time.This was an act of bias so breathtaking as to be almost beyond belief.He is clearly a Lickspittle of the very first order. SNP politicians should refuse to take part in any programme led by him until (yet another) comprehensive apology is issued by the Biased Broadcasting Corporation. Meanwhile of course the BBC continues to dip deeply into our pockets for the privilege of viewing this junk.

*****The Biased Broadcasting Corporation Apologizes (yet again)
BBC apologises over fresh independence gaffe Reporter says sorry for
saying Scots voted against separatism in 1997

THE BBC has been forced to issue another apology for its coverage of Scottish politics after getting its facts wrong about the devolution referendum 10 years ago.

Senior BBC journalist Andrew Cassell said sorry for claiming Scots rejected independence in the 1997 poll - despite the fact that this constitutional option was not on the ballot paper.

It is the third time the corporation has apologised for its handling of SNP-related issues since the Holyrood election.

The latest gaffe occurred during a BBC 10 o'clock news bulletin last month. Cassell claimed Scots had rejected independence in a referendum 10 years ago. But the 1997 plebiscite offered only two options; the status quo and devolution.

A complaint was followed by Cassell apologising. He said: "I accept the report was not worded well and I apologise. I can assure you there was no deliberate attempt to misrepresent the situation, merely an attempt to explain it to a wider audience outside Scotland, which I concede I didn't do as well as I'd hoped." He added: "On the detailed point of the wording I accept it could have been scripted better, but I think the wider tone of the report was spot-on."

But Cassell's apology angered the SNP, as he claimed: "Support for independence in the polls has never exceeded the 30% mark - a fact readily acknowledged by Mr Salmond and many in his party."

An SNP spokesman said: "To add insult to injury, the apology itself compounds the problem by revealing a complete lack of knowledge about the level of support for Scottish independence."

*****The row comes after the BBC and Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark apologised to Alex Salmond in June after she cut him off during an interview. An interview which was conducted in the rudest most sneering arrogant tone, which betrayed Warks own hatred of the SNP and made a mockery of the word "impartial". Wark should not be allowed near Scottish affairs again. She seemed to be trying to prove she had more ball's than Paxman. One is as biased as the other.

*****Weeks later, it was revealed the BBC had also apologised for exaggerating business opposition to independence.

Relations were further strained after Salmond announced the creation of a "broadcasting commission" to look at the industry's future, described by one BBC insider as a "provocative gesture".

An SNP spokesman said: "This is the third time network BBC has had to issue an apology for its coverage of Scottish politics. It again raises serious questions about the accuracy of output produced in London."

BBC Scotland are a joke and are offensive to Scots. The latest scandal being the hiring of Sunset and Vine production company, from south of the border, to cover Scottish sport such as The Melrose 7s, Scottish Masters Bowls, Scottish Cup Football, Shinty, Curling and international football highlights, which is all BBC Scotland can afford. We saw that on Saturday the 9th. September, when the England Israel game was live on BBC Scotland, but the Scotland Lithuania match was highlights only late evening as Setanta has outbid poverty stricken BBC Scotland. Can you imagine the uproar and wailing and howling if this had been the other way round.

Since the early 1980s we have witnessed BBC Scotland slowly and systematically erode their core craft base. Paying of staff and making conditions so unbearable that many jumped into the freelance market, or took early retirement. Outside Broadcast equipment was allowed to become so old and obsolete that producers did not want it when they saw what the BBC in London or private companies offered. This was a deliberate policy of discrimination and sheer arrogant brutality towards staff who had served BBC Scotland loyally for years. A policy that was over seen by senior managers parachuted in from England mainly London. How do I know this? From 1976 to 2001 I was a Rigger and then a Rigger Supervisor on the TV Outside Broadcast Unit at BBC Scotland. I witnessed the carnage. The BBC has contracted inwards to it's London core, it is a Londoncentric organisation, that is institutionaly racist and discriminates against Scots, at all levels. Just listen to a football commentary or sports news programme. Or watch Salmond v Wark on Utube.

*****Remember the Newsnight stunt last year in Glasgow Gallowgate, where Timmy Samuels and his team of jokers left a car festooned in St.Georges flags, and then enticed the local youths to trash it. All on camera, all on cue, with their faces covered, and looking at the camera, not exactly covert was it. Imagine the uproar if BBC Scotland pulled that one in London or Manchester. A complaint to the BBC had this response. " We were conducting a legitimate social experiment," since when were Newsnight staff tasked with that brief. What they were doing in terms of the law was inciting racist hatred. Did we hear a word from the CRE or any Unionist politician? No chance. The unionist establishment and the BBC, same thing really.

Someone may read this, (like the greedy odious Lord Foulkes, and his anti Scottish agenda,) and start jumping up and down. So at this point let me say categoricaly, this is not anti English sentiment. I have English friends and relatives with whom I have the greatest rapor. This is anti UK establishment, which is overpopulated with Scots and most English people I know agree.

FRANCE 0 SCOTLAND 1 :o)

We dared to dream, the dream is real, we have beaten France at Hampden and now we have done it to them again in Parc De France. What a beautiful stunning result. James McFadden you are a hero thankyou, Alex McCleish thankyou, Roy Aitken thankyou, all of you I love you.
Now then BBC Scotland you continue to be a disgrace, you are anti- Scottish, a complete waste of carbon.
Viewers in Scotland have had the humiliation of watching the England games live on BBC Scotland. And we cannot see our own games live, what a disgrace, what a humiliation, what a national scandal. This BLOG has just gone political. Watch this space.