Heavily conflicted BBC Scotland plunged new depths yesterday when they refused to touch the comments made by Graeme Souness about his EBT payment.
With staff from their radio, television and online productions along to support bookmakers William Hill the thought that they missed the news line can be instantly dismissed.
The only conclusion to be made is that someone close to the top of the tree, outwith the news and sports departments at the BBC, decided that Souness claiming that his EBT payment was for scouting (while managing Blackburn Rovers) rather than a loan wasn’t to be touched.
That decision on it’s own is worth examining. When BBC Scotland broke the original story it is incredible, or very sinister, that they decided to ignore a new twist to a story that they set the pace for once it finally surfaced in the mainstream.
Instead license payers were treated to the news that ‘Nothing matches an Old Firm match’ according to the former Blackburn manager on the BBC website. Of a more bizarre nature, from the interview where he discussed his EBT payment, the BBC decided to focus on Souness praising David Murray under the headline ‘Rangers will get back to golden period’.
All upbeat, nothing to see here, isn’t it time to move on for the benefit of Scottish football type stuff.
News of the EBT comments was quickly picked up by an agency with the same coverage appearing on the websites of BT Sport, The Press and Journal, STV, The Scotsman, Daily Record and The Scottish Sun among others.
With the BBC now reliant on agency reports due to their petty stand off with the club from Ibrox someone within the state broadcaster decided to ignore the story that other commercial outlets were carrying and which was generating plenty of comments on the nation’s barometer- twitter.
We can all come to our own conclusions over the state censorship of the story with the case for abolishing the license fee growing by the day.
Sadly during the lifetime of this story BBC Scotland have been heavily compromised with the weekly outpouring of their Sports department at the forefront of the continuity myth with the word liquidation avoided at all cost.
In October 2011 Mark Daly of the BBC revealed that Craig Whyte had been disqualified as a company director when he became chairman of Rangers- a story that prompted a club ban and the Rangers Supporters Trust picketing the BBC headquarters. Later on the same group of supporters claimed ‘ah but naebdy tellt us about Mr Whyte.
In May 2012 another Daly programme detailed some of the EBT payments with Souness listed alongside BBC favourites Steven Thompson, Alex Rae and Billy Dodds.
As the massive state funded budget of the BBC comes under greater scrutiny their own agendas are coming out into the open.
If they wish to support and protect their own special interest groups the BBC should find the advertisers to fund their views rather than dip into the public purse for productions that are far from public service.