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Letter to the Editor of BBC Newsnight
Excerpt: The following is an e-mail which I sent earlier today to the Editor of BBC Newsnight, following the discussions here and here.
The following is an e-mail which I sent earlier today to the Editor of BBC Newsnight, following the discussions here and here.
I encourage anyone else who agrees that the biases of presenters and guest pundits should be disclosed to contact the BBC expressing this opinion. You can contact the BBC's complaints department here, or e-mail the Editor of Newsnight here.
Letter to the Editor of BBC Newsnight
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2006 11:48:03 +0100
To: peter.barron@bbc.co.uk
Subject: Frank Luntz
Dear Sir,
Regarding your use of pollster Frank Luntz:
Mr. Luntz is presented on Newsnight as a neutral pollster, an "American polling expert", implying that, since he is not British, he has no interest or stake in British politics and is therefore neutral in his conclusions. I believe this to be incorrect. He was an Oxford contemporary of several key Cameron supporters and was active in conservative political circles there. During his initial appearance on Newsnight, he produced very favourable evidence for David Cameron during his Conservative leadership campaign. In your recent programmes, Mr. Luntz has again produced favourable evidence for Mr. Cameron, this time in relation to Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians.
Furthermore, Mr. Luntz is well known in the US as a Republican pollster, not a neutral. He has produced advice and assistance for the Republicans at least as recently as the 2004 Presidential elections. This is not a matter of minor relevance; in 2004 he was fired from a planned MSNBC focus group following complaints about his partisan bias. These complaints were summarised in a letter from the President of Media Matters for America, available here. At this time, he publicly claimed to have done no work for the Republicans since 2001, a claim later found to be untrue.
This makes clear that, in the US, Mr. Luntz is regarded as a partisan figure, unable to gain employment as a neutral pollster within the mainstream media. That he is employed as such for the BBC raises serious doubts about Newsnight's credibility as a source of political news. I understand that Mr. Luntz and his focus group is to appear again on your programme; as was requested by Media Matters in the US, I would hope that you inform the viewers of Mr. Luntz's history or, more preferably, balance his coverage with some examination of his methods and a more in-depth investigation into how his results are produced.
Regards,
Rob Knight
Editor, http://www.liberalreview.com
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"Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures."
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Now that you've seen the results of the election, will you at least acknowledge that the Newsnight session was an accurate reflection of the election result? The dial session clearly articualted the frustration with Blair, the curiousity over Cameron, and the disappointment with the Lib-Dem leader even as they appreciated the Lib-Dem local politics. And that's exactly how they voted.
If you seek an accurate analysis of the electorate as it is and not as you want it to be, that's exactly what I delivered. I think you owe me and Newsnight an apology.
Frank Luntz
Frank Luntz
I think not, Mr Luntz. Rob's e-mail stands. Post hoc ergo propter hoc.
"Post hoc ergo propter hoc" -- Translation: 'Stupid is as stupid does...' :-)
However Luntz votes, he's a bloody good pollster. Now Brown's in a Luntz pickle. Who's right? Ideology or reality?
I have had the misfortune of attending your focus groups, including the one on BBC.
In these groups, you try to elicit WHAT you want to hear from the group, and discard what you don't want. You ask leading questions, forced "yes or no" questions, and simplify grey areas while demanding yes or no answers.
Many people attending your groups think you are just a dumbass blowhard.
Hey, whatever, I'll sit and let you make up data for your clients. All I have to do is walk across the street, listen to you and collect 100 bucks.