BBC staff instructed to stop giving time to science cranks for the sake of editorial balance

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/04/bbc-staff-instructed-to-quit-giving-time-to-science-cranks-for-the-sake-of-editorial-balance/



BBC staff instructed to stop giving time to science cranks for the sake of editorial balance
By Tom Boggioni
Friday, July 4, 2014 20:51 EDT

Journalists at the British Broadcasting Corp. have been receiving instructions from the BBC Trust to stop inviting unqualified ‘experts’ on their shows in an effort to provide ‘editorial balance’ on contentious subjects.

According to The Telegraph, the BBC Trust released a report card on its efforts to curtail what it called giving “undue attention to marginal opinion,” on topics where the contrarian viewpoints have been widely dismissed.

“The Trust wishes to emphasize the importance of attempting to establish where the weight of scientific agreement may be found and make that clear to audiences,” the report states. “Science coverage does not simply lie in reflecting a wide range of views but depends on the varying degree of prominence such views should be given.”

In April the BBC was accused of misleading viewers about climate change and creating a ‘false balance’ by allowing unqualified skeptics to have too much air-time.