Poll: Was the BBC right to invite BNP’s Nick Griffin onto Question Time? #bbcqt

5 Replies

Amid much controversy the BNP’s Nick Griffin made his BBC Question Time debut last night. Now, having seen or read about the transmitted programme, do you think the BBC was right in its judgement to invite him on? Please take part in our poll and leave additional comments about the programme below:

5 thoughts on “Poll: Was the BBC right to invite BNP’s Nick Griffin onto Question Time? #bbcqt”

  1. Peter

    Sadly, I can’t and hence will not answer such a question in such b… er… monochromatic terms.

    The ‘results’ would likely just be used by extremes to further inflame certain already polarised views.

    Now… if you asked if the BBC handled the whole charade well, and hence served the cause of illumination over that of heat (and hence ratings) generation…

  2. Judith Townend Post author

    Thanks for the feedback Peter. The comments facility is open for debate and additional comment over the BBC’s actual handling of the affair. How would you structure a more illuminating poll? We could add another one underneath…

  3. Peter Johnson

    99% of question time 23/10/09 was taken up crucifying Nick Griffin and the BNP. In my oppinion Mr Dimbleby has lowered himself and his standards The audience were 99% anti BNP and practically no other subjects were mentioned.
    British fair play uh!

  4. Peter

    Thank you for the reply, Judith.

    I have, as you’ll have gathered, a slight ‘thing’ about polls; not just how they are conducted but then how they can get used to ‘prove’ things, often by the host and then others to suit. The way questions are posed can ‘help’….

    The Guardian is rather prone to such things. I once saw one that was pretty much ‘Do you a) blanket support safety cameras or b) are you a Death Race 2000 nun killer?

    The questions rather shaped the replies… or those not offered. Which probably served various purposes no matter what.

    Following this fine blog on twitter, what has struck me before during and post is what else has popped up via the bbcqt hashtag around this.

    Frankly, from the ‘views’ I have read, there must have been two separate events for what most ‘took’ from it to be adequately explained. I fear most merely had their prejudices enforced. Ironically.

    So you have put me on the spot here.

    Fair enough. But my interest is not so much the ‘topic’ inspired by Mr. Griffin’s invitation, but more the handling of ‘balance’ by our in theory done-the-line broadcaster.

    Hence, may I suggest (adding my own ‘help’, I am sure):

    ‘Did last night’s BBC QT and all that surrounded it, serve the cause of…

    a) heat
    b) illumination

    …in allowing the public to understand the issues and protagonists’ arguments in a fair, balanced and objective way?

    ps: just noting this from the Times’ feed: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6887091.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797084

    Which might suggest:

    c) or was just a ratings fest giving various extremes more opportunity to shout loudly to their galleries and hence simply leave the majority of the general public bemused?

    pps: wish you had a preview to ensure my proff-reading and linkage is up to scratch:)

  5. Jon

    I thought Nick Griffin was very brave to go on Question time, and did a fairly good job of saying what I believe the silent majority would like to say. He was commenting in very difficult conditions and took a heavy battering from the other panel members, most of them talking a load of rubbish.
    If the BNP are the only party who can actually do something to control imigration, they will get my vote.

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