BBC a Tool for Manipulating the Masses?

I've just listened to an interesting news broadcast on Radio 4 - another interview with Jody McIntyre. It would appear to me that the interviewer is actually being forced to ask certain questions and pursue a line of questioning to fulfil a specific agenda.

In this interview the man conducting has obviously been ordered to ask questions that already assume that police kettling is an appropriate and reasonable technique - even though both his guests flagrantly disagree. I'm tempted to argue that, although part of the responsibility may rest on the interviewers, the real culprits are those writing interview scripts.

I found this interesting comment left in response to a forum post on the BBC acting as political spin doctors:

"I did A-level psychology, and we were taught that the BBC exists purely to manufacture the thoughts, attitudes and opinions of the nation. It sets the social scene and dictates the mental & emotional life of the country.

They use really clever techniques to do it as well, based on decades of research into 'attitude change' and 'behaviour modification and control'. For example, during television news reports when they're trying to make the audience believe 'the story', they always get randon people on the street to give their opinion on the matter. Then they edit Joe commoner's opinion into the report. This practice or technique is based on 'social learning theory'. It was a school of psychology in the 60's which conducted tons of research into how to change, manipulate or dictate people's general thoughts and attitudes.

Anybody heard of 'The Bobo Doll experiment' by Bandurra & Walters? They discovered that if they could focus an audiences attention on a 'model' (average person giving an opinion in the news report), then the audience would 'immitate' and 'assimilate' any thought, opinion, attitude or behaviour being expressed by the 'model'.

So when you watch the BBC 6 O'clock news, and they're programming you with so called facts and truths, dictating to you what is right & wrong, good & bad.....look out for Mr 'average bloke on the street' to pop up and give you his opinion (which is always consistent with the news report - unless they get a social undesirable on to show you what unbelievers are like).

Just a quick lesson in mass media brainwashing, courtesy of my Psychology A-level."

I guess it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that a government-funded tv station supports the government. But I think it's interesting to keep in mind.


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