roachboy

actually, dc, i do not usually cite bbc materials.
i mean, i use bcc as a source more than i would use, say, cnn or time magazine--but it is nonetheless not a source that i particularly like or favor when trawling for information.

and i'm aware of the balen report and of critiques of that report---maybe when i have more time, we can talk abut this. right now, however, i'm pressed.

for what it's worth, my attitude toward bbc, particularly in its radio news format, is that while it is far better than any of its american counterparts, there are areas on which their coverage is simply problematic.
i used to simply disregard anything bcc broadcast about northern ireland for example.
so this is not new.

i am far more inclined to cite the guardian--but i do not rely on a single press outlet, nor do i rely on exclusively anglophone press outlets. critical reading is unavoidable, and often the simplest type of critical reading is juxtaposition of sources---this is most useful if you are trying to feel your way into an issue/area that you are not familiar with--recently, for example, i have tried to work out something of what's happening in the eastern congo (former zaire) and found it necessary to bounce around amongst a wide range of source material simply to get around wire service reports (which reproduce everywhere it seems) and acquire at least a convincing illusion of grain in the information. this simply takes work, which requires an allocation (formal or otherwise) of time to do it in. that's all.

__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite