# BBC takes flak over debate audience - how'd you do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2015, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976 "2015-05-01T09:37:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/1 "2015-05-01T09:37:22Z")
So, it’s the run up to the election and the BBC’s _Question Time_ has had on all three leaders of major parties. In _Question Time_ the audience always asks questions so its composition is pretty important. The way the beeb [[BBC defends Question Time over claims of audience 'bias' | BBC | The Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/apr/30/bbc-question-time-audience-leaders-special)]did it]([BBC defends Question Time over claims of audience 'bias' | BBC | The Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/apr/30/bbc-question-time-audience-leaders-special)) is _“up of 25% of those who say they will vote Tory, 25% Labour supporters, 25% Liberal Democrat supporters, 15% who favour “other parties” and 10% who say they are undecided”_. The Tories and Labour have both taken issue with this saying it gives undue bias to the Lib Dems and smaller parties who according to polls could only dream of 25% of the population supporting them. As it’s publicly funded the BBC is required to be as un-biased as possible; if you were in charge how would you have selected the audience? ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/2 "2015-05-01T09:48:50Z")
No audience. All that noise is extremely distracting. ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/3 "2015-05-01T09:59:49Z")
I think this is a good example of begging the question.That is: Is the BBC impartial? Practical experience says it is not, and never has been. In fact in recent years it’s gone beyond biased to a massively funded propaganda arm of the UK establishment (who don’t really care which party is in power as it owns all of them) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/4 "2015-05-01T10:32:00Z")
> [@jezzaOZ](#): > > I think this is a good example of begging the question.That is: Is the BBC impartial? > > Practical experience says it is not, and never has been. In fact in recent years it’s gone beyond biased to a massively funded propaganda arm of the UK establishment (who don’t really care which party is in power as it owns all of them) Um, what? Care to cite some examples? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/5 "2015-05-01T10:34:24Z")
A political debate should not be about answering softball questions from your own supporters. As the front-runners, it is _even more important_ that the Tories and Labour be called to answer for their positions by those who oppose them, so allowing them to only face 65% hostile questioning while the Greens face 95% hostile questioning is arse-backwards. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/6 "2015-05-01T10:35:52Z")
To the OP, I think the BBC can’t win here. If they select based on opinion polls, they’ll be accused of trying to influence the vote. If they select equal numbers for every party, they’ll be accused of giving too much voice to minority parties. Maybe they should base numbers on current seats in Parliament. It would skew the audience in the Tories favour, but at least they could argue that they are trying to reflect the electorates choice up to this point. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/7 "2015-05-01T10:35:56Z")
> [@jezzaOZ](#): > > I think this is a good example of begging the question.That is: Is the BBC impartial? > > Practical experience says it is not, and never has been. In fact in recent years it’s gone beyond biased to a massively funded propaganda arm of the UK establishment (who don’t really care which party is in power as it owns all of them) That is an excellent summary. Still, I suspect t’was ever thus with the BBC. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/8 "2015-05-01T10:45:32Z")
> [@iljitsch](#): > > No audience. All that noise is extremely distracting. Really? I quite like the immediate feedback that a live audience participation brings, horses for courses I guess. As to the OP I’d select by random lot, I think it’d give the best facsimile of speaking to the audience at home and by definition means the picker of the audience can’t be accused of a bias. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/9 "2015-05-01T10:49:01Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Maybe they should base numbers on current seats in Parliament. It would skew the audience in the Tories favour, but at least they could argue that they are trying to reflect the electorates choice up to this point. That is not a good thing. If the Tories deserve their current level of support, they should be capable of sustaining that support in the face of hostile questioning by giving answers that their supporters want to hear. But if they do not deserve their current level of support, allowing them to avoid being questioned by their opponents is the best way of ensuring that undeserved support continues. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/10 "2015-05-01T11:37:37Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > That is not a good thing. > > If the Tories deserve their current level of support, they should be capable of sustaining that support in the face of hostile questioning by giving answers that their supporters want to hear. But if they do not deserve their current level of support, allowing them to avoid being questioned by their opponents is the best way of ensuring that undeserved support continues. But the question isn’t should the incumbent government be given a hard time, it’s what should the BBC do to avoid accusations of political bias. By your method, they could be accused of being anti-Tory. Even if I agree with your point about holding the government to account, which I do. That isn’t the BBC’s role. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/11 "2015-05-01T11:56:04Z")
Anyway, insofar as I can give attention to such a ridiculous tempest in a teapot: random. The complaints seem moronic, since the scum craving votes ( money + power ) from the dimwits are supposed to argue convincingly enough to get undecided votes. If the audience is already for or against by faction then they are obviously not the undecided votes. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/12 "2015-05-01T12:02:54Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Anyway, insofar as I can give attention to such a ridiculous tempest in a teapot: random. > > The complaints seem moronic, since the scum craving votes ( money + power ) from the dimwits are supposed to argue convincingly enough to get undecided votes. If the audience is already for or against by faction then they are obviously not the undecided votes. Yeah, isn’t it a shame we don’t have a national broadcaster who might beam the event to nation on the country’s most popular, free to air channel. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/13 "2015-05-01T12:43:11Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > But the question isn’t should the incumbent government be given a hard time, it’s what should the BBC do to avoid accusations of political bias. By your method, they could be accused of being anti-Tory. Even if I agree with your point about holding the government to account, which I do. That isn’t the BBC’s role. Then why are they running the debate? The adversarial element is essential for a debate to be a debate, otherwise it’s just a circle-jerk. Giving Tory voters more opportunities to ask questions means giving the Tory candidate less meaningful questions, and it’s stupid to give the least attention to the candidate who is most likely to win _because_ he’s the most likely to win. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/14 "2015-05-01T12:52:29Z")
It was perfectly fine and fair. Certainly a good candidate for “least worst” option. The only people complaining will be those who think their leaders screwed up on the night. As for a biased BBC? cite for that please. They get a kicking for being both terribly left-wing, right-wing and non-committal _all at the same time_. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/15 "2015-05-01T13:33:52Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Then why are they running the debate? The adversarial element is essential for a debate to be a debate, otherwise it’s just a circle-jerk. Giving Tory voters more opportunities to ask questions means giving the Tory candidate less meaningful questions, and it’s stupid to give the least attention to the candidate who is most likely to win _because_ he’s the most likely to win. And yet you still haven’t answered the OP. How does the BBC remain neutral if the audience doesn’t reflect the country? I personally want to see the Tories beaten up in debate as often as possible, but that is not the debate in this thread… I’d be up for an audience of undecided voters, who might actually ask some thought provoking questions rather than just trying to score points. Didn’t the BBC do something like that at the last election? ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/16 "2015-05-01T13:47:58Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Yeah, isn’t it a shame we don’t have a national broadcaster who might beam the event to nation on the country’s most popular, free to air channel. What has that to do with selecting the _composition_ of the studio audience ? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/17 "2015-05-01T14:22:56Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > What has that to do with selecting the _composition_ of the studio audience ? You said: > [@](#): > > The complaints seem moronic, since the scum craving votes ( money + power ) from the dimwits are supposed to argue convincingly enough to get undecided votes. If the audience is already for or against by faction then they are obviously not the undecided votes. Which suggests the debates are held purely to swing undecided voters in the studio audience. I merely pointed out that the debates aren’t held for the benefit of the audience, they are for the benefit of anyone in the country who cares to listen in. As an aside, I also don’t hold with the drunk-at-the-bar view that all politicians are ‘scum’. Some might be, but many aren’t. Do you actually know any politicians? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/18 "2015-05-01T14:30:54Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I’d be up for an audience of undecided voters, who might actually ask some thought provoking questions rather than just trying to score points. But what we’re looking for is thought-provoking _answers_. The questions are there to push the candidates into giving those answers, and somebody who wants to score points by forcing a candidate to self-destruct is better suited to ask such questions than one who either does not know or does not care about the issues that might trigger such a response. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/19 "2015-05-01T14:41:22Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > But what we’re looking for is thought-provoking _answers_. The questions are there to push the candidates into giving those answers, and somebody who wants to score points by forcing a candidate to self-destruct is better suited to ask such questions than one who either does not know or does not care about the issues that might trigger such a response. A fair comment, I’m not wedded to the idea. But remind again how this helps answer the original question about BBC neutrality? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976/20 "2015-05-01T15:53:24Z")
I think the rules for a debate should be different than the rules of an election. The representatives of the three parties should be facing an equalized situation so they can present the views of their party, even though their parties do not have equal amounts of support among the electorate. And part of that should be that each candidate should face a crowd that has an equal mix of supporters and opponents. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbc-takes-flak-over-debate-audience-howd-you-do-it/718976.md?page=2)