BBC takes issue with study criticising its Scottish independence coverage

I published an item on Friday, TV coverage damages Scottish independence campaign, say researchers, which reported on an academic study carried out into news reporting by the BBC and ITV about the forthcoming referendum. The research, which dealt with referendum campaign reporting in the period from September 2012 to September 2013, was headed by John Robertson of the West of Scotland university. It contended that "the mainstream TV coverage of the first year of the independence referendum campaigns has not been fair or balanced... Taken together, we have evidence of coverage which seems likely to have damaged the Yes campaign." BBC Scotland, having received complaints and queries about the study, investigated the claims and then issued a statement in which it took issue with the study's findings and its research. It states: "It took us several days to review the research available to us within the report and when doing so we identified a number of inaccuracies within it. In addition we would also question the methodology as well as the fundamental validity of the conclusions it reached. It is our view that the report consistently fails to support its contentions with factually accurate evidence; for example there are several substantive factual inaccuracies within the references it makes to Reporting Scotland news output. We are also concerned, for example, with the inclusion of a number of non-referendum stories within the data outlined in the report. We also believe that the report failed to define terminology used within it; for example 'fairness', 'insulting language' etc or whether any account was taken of what the BBC's own editorial guidelines or the Ofcom broadcasting code have to say in this respect." The BBC therefore argues that "there is no evidence whatsoever" to justify the study's conclusion that its coverage had damaged the Yes campaign. It has since raised its concerns with Robertson and his university, and notes that Robertson appeared on Good Morning Scotland on 25 January to discuss the report. My understanding is that, following exchanges between Robertson and the BBC, they have pretty much agreed to disagree. BBC Scottish independence Scotland University of the West of Scotland Roy Greenslade theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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