I have always admired the BBC as a mostly objective, neutral, comprehensive and balanced news outlet. A rare gem among the commerical monoculture dominant in America.However, I caught a few incidents lately where there was a lack of context and background. There are very uncharacteristic of the BBC, since I am used to them being very thorough and balanced. I don't know if it is sloppy reporters or editors or what.Here are some examples:1. The BBC covered the recent trials and sentences on "Islamists" in Oman. One would imagine from the BBC reporting that these are al-Qaeda inspired Sunni extermists. However, Oman follows the Ibadi sect. What is interesting is that contrary to to Sunnis, the Ibadi sect sees armed rebellion against unjust rulers as legitimate and even a duty. This has historically associated them with the Khawarij. Reuters and others did mention that fact as a background. 2. They had a story on a hanging in Iran of a child rapist, and that the convict was stabbed before being hanged. They language they used makes it look like this stabbing was part of the punishment. They failed to mention that it was one of the victims' relatives who tried to stab the criminal and that the police stopped him. I hope that a pattern is not emerging here, they have been a good source of news for me.
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