Can you imagine the press if this happened to boris ?

[linga]

Its all destructive questioning, trying to entrap their target. Its no wonder we get guarded defensive answers.
What we should have is constructive questioning aimed at getting a sensible answer.
The aim of criticism should not be to destroy but to enlighten.

The press no longer seem to report news but create and manipulate it

 

[Highland Mule]

Or maybe they are trying to pick holes in an obvious fairytale?

 

[linga]

Or maybe they are trying to pick holes in an obvious fairytale?

I was talking generally not specifically about the Cummings episode but even if they are trying to pick holes it would be better done differently ( incidently if its an obvious fairytale there is hardly any need to try to pick holes)
What it amounts to is a witch hunt. The aim is to destroy not to achieve anything positive....negativity. What a waste of time and effort

 

[Jackov Altraids]

A free press is the most important part of a democratic society and the first thing that comes under the boot of any would be dictator.

This is true.
What you and @Ashtree seem to overlook is the lack of free press.
It is the result of decades of capitalism that the press belongs to the highest bidder.
There is power to be had by controlling the press and many with money do.
There use to be a distinction between news and comment which seems to have disappeared.
The digital age has now created the dangerous dissemination of news in a manner that many people just go to the source that tells them the news they want to hear which self-perpetuates the decline of society.
The BBC was a beacon of truth and stability that we could all trust but this has been undermined by capitalist forces. In the good old days the news was brought to us by "Our man in...." which has been replaced by Maxi.smiler@tweet-me-rich. How can you trust correspondents who are trying to sell themselves?
This also absolves the BBC from the responsibility of making sure content is factual when it comes from sub-contracted medias.

We do have a free press in as much as the press seem to be free to report whatever they like.
News is like weather. Buying a forecast/story you like is not necessarily going to give you the outcome you want.

 

[arcobob]

I really think that some of these interviewers are not that clever. They would not win prizes in interrogation technique. I think Jeremy Paxman was far more adept than Piers Morgan without becoming objectionable.

 

[Muck Spreader]

This is true.
What you and @Ashtree seem to overlook is the lack of free press.
It is the result of decades of capitalism that the press belongs to the highest bidder.
There is power to be had by controlling the press and many with money do.
There use to be a distinction between news and comment which seems to have disappeared.
The digital age has now created the dangerous dissemination of news in a manner that many people just go to the source that tells them the news they want to hear which self-perpetuates the decline of society.
The BBC was a beacon of truth and stability that we could all trust but this has been undermined by capitalist forces. In the good old days the news was brought to us by "Our man in...." which has been replaced by Maxi.smiler@tweet-me-rich. How can you trust correspondents who are trying to sell themselves?
This also absolves the BBC from the responsibility of making sure content is factual when it comes from sub-contracted medias.

We do have a free press in as much as the press seem to be free to report whatever they like.
News is like weather. Buying a forecast/story you like is necessarily going to give you the outcome you want.

I think one of the biggest problems with the BBC at present is it's obsession with trying to be impartial even when the story they are reporting on is often a crock of sh!t, they then dig up some loon to try and justify it. Lucky the BBC were a bit more incorrect during WW2 or we would have received endless interviews with Heinrich Himmler on the benefits of living in concentration camps

 

[Jackov Altraids]

I think one of the biggest problems with the BBC at present is it's obsession with trying to be impartial even when the story they are reporting on is often a crock of sh!t, they then dig up some loon to try and justify it. Lucky the BBC were a bit more incorrect during WW2 or we would have received endless interviews with Heinrich Himmler on the benefits of living in concentration camps

I think that is part of the general confusion between reporting and comment. The news used to be the facts which were then discussed by people of different persuasions in a separate programme. Getting 1 impartial person to comment would be brilliant but it doesn't get the ratings the same as 2 diametrically opposed people fighting to the death.
I watched a wonderful subtitled film about UN peace keepers many years ago. It had the fantastic line by a soldier all dressed in white;" I'm not sure that standing here watching one side shoot the other, is being neutral".

 

[Muck Spreader]

I think that is part of the general confusion between reporting and comment. The news used to be the facts which were then discussed by people of different persuasions in a separate programme. Getting 1 impartial person to comment would be brilliant but it doesn't get the ratings the same as 2 diametrically opposed people fighting to the death.
I watched a wonderful subtitled film about UN peace keepers many years ago. It had the fantastic line by a soldier all dressed in white;" I'm not sure that standing here watching one side shoot the other, is being neutral".

But is it the fact that various governments over the years have put the squeeze on the BBC and demanded that they become more business like, that has drawn them into these ratings wars?

 

[Jackov Altraids]

But is it the fact that various governments over the years have put the squeeze on the BBC and demanded that they become more business like, that has drawn them into these ratings wars?

Yes.
I thought they were right to make the corporation run more like a business with the efficiencies and dynamism that would result.
Times have changed and so has my mind.
The only way to stop us having a societal breakdown like the U.S seems to be having, is to invest heavily in a BBC that is immune[as much as possible] to political and financial shenanigans. The UK and the world needs a reliable and independent source of facts.
Stopping any kind of self-promotion by BBC employees would be a good start with a register of members interests in the same way as those elected have to.