My apologies to those who opened this thread , who having read the title, hoped to find a discourse into the Robert Redford directed film of the same name, starring Brad Pitt and Tom Skerritt. The story revolves around a Presbyterian minister raising his 2 sons in Montana in the early 1900's and their love of fly fishing on their local river.
Instead we will deal with a different kind of river which I hope will become apparent to you all in due course.
Before I start however I would like to acknowledge the remarkable work undertaken by members of the Vanguard Bears Rangers website in not only compiling but also allowing me to freely use the fruits of their labours in this piece of writing.
Our story starts much closer to home than Montana, on Pacific Quay, Glasgow in fact, home of BBC Scotland where only last month the Rangers manager, Ally McCoist was subjected to what BBC Scotland bosses attempted to play down as “inappropriate editing”. However that really is only half the tale, and experienced broadcaster Hugh Keevins summed it up far more aptly when he suggested that those involved at BBC Scotland were guilty of a “character assassination” on the Rangers manager.
Further evidence of Auntie Beeb's desire to play down the incident came in both the speed and platform for their apology – issued on the BBC Website/BBC Scotland Sportsound and ,Five Live – thus negating the need to issue such a public apology on the national BBC news networks.
Despite such attempts to play down the incident and minimise damage to the BBC, it is widely reported that BBC bosses in London have launched an investigation into the whole fiasco. Perhaps not entirely surprising when you consider this is the second such apology the BBC have been forced to issue to Rangers football club in recent months, following of course Nicky Campbell's ridiculous suggestion that the Hearts supporter who attacked Celtic Manager Neil Lennon last season, “could be a Rangers supporter in disguise”.
But of course if they concentrate their probe around the most recent set of events then they will be merely skimming the surface of something far more deep rooted within this organisation.
Despite setting itself up as something of a flagship in the war on sectarianism, BBC Scotland has over the years chosen to ignore use of the term “Hun” to describe Rangers supporters by its employees, most notably Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove. But use of the word was not confined to comedians and sport shows with current affairs presenter Lesley Riddoch apparently furious that her use of the word consequently forced her to issue a public apology.
Perhaps this “anti-sectarian flagship” should remind itself of the Anti-Sectarian Charity Nil By Mouth comments on the word :-
[quote]“Offensive sectarian language is still used in Scotland on a daily basis, with abusive terms such as “Hun” and “Orange bastard” being used negatively against Protestants”[/quote]
In the interests of consistent Policing one can only hope that the new Anti-Sectarian Police Unit, formed to tackle sectarianism and bigotry in Scotland, will not confine their powers to those attending football matches, but also to those who think they can flout the law safely from behind the doors of Pacific Quay. If it does not then we clearly have one law in Scotland for some and a completely different one for others.
However its not just the spoken word which should concern those BBC bosses in London. In 2002 the launch of a new Rangers kit saw model Nell McAndrew modeling the ladies version of the strip. A BBC report into the launch was supported by a picture which had been saved under the file name “HunCunt1”. It would not be unreasonable to assume that such an embarrassing public gaffe would result in clear guidance been issued to all BBC Scotland staff. Either it wasn't, or if it was it was completely ignored for in 2007 when Kevin Thomson joined Rangers from Hibs. A BBC Scotland report into the signing was accompanied by a picture of Thomson. This picture was saved under the file name “Kevin Cunt Thomson”.
This is an organisation which sets its own standards which include among other guidance documents :-
[quote]The BBC must apply generally accepted standards so as to provide adequate protection for members of the public from the inclusion of offensive and harmful material. [/quote]
[quote]The use of strong language must be editorially justified and appropriately signposted to ensure it meets audience expectations, wherever it appears. [/quote]
Employees of BBC Scotland are continually breaching the standards the BBC has set for itself. How long is this going to be allowed to continue ?
But its the area of imbalanced and biased reporting which is undoubtedly the most insidious and concerning aspect in all of this. The examples cited within the Vanguard Bears dossier are too numerous to reproduce in this article, however those BBC investigators should be able to avail themselves of its contents, as it has already been submitted to BBC Scotland. If they are in any doubt its the one which highlights the example of a BBC Scotland report which claimed that Arthur Boruc was cautioned by Police for blessing himself due to the anti-catholic nature of the Ranger's support. The truth of course was that Boruc was not cautioned for blessing himself, but (and not for the first time) for making inflammatory gestures towards the opposition support.
Recent events at BBC Scotland have only served to confirm the suspicions of many Ranger's supporters that there is a hidden agenda within the organisation towards our club. Some have even used the word “conspiracy”. I don't think there is a conspiracy. I don't believe that BBC weathergirl Kirsty McCabe, who thought it was funny to refer to Ibrox as Castle Grayskull, is in cahoots with the editorial BBC Scotland news team who appear to have a penchant for using pictures of the Rangers support whenever an item on sectarianism is published.
What I do believe however is that a river runs right through the organisation which is BBC Scotland, and that river has varying depths of anti-Rangers bias which has manifested itself in the examples presented in this article, and the numerous additional instances contained in the Vanguard Bears dossier.
The question is no longer if an anti-Rangers bias runs through BBC Scotland, but more importantly why ?
Maybe those London bosses should examine the financial accounts for BBC Scotland over the last few years. Perhaps they could ask the question why 88 BBC Scotland employees were required to go to Seville at the licence payers expense, but only a handful were needed for Manchester for the respective coverage of the 2 Old Firm UEFA Cup Finals.
Or why they dispatched a film crew to cover the ill fated Celtic Convention in Benidorm (which they reported as a success) yet they have never seen fit to cover a similar event involving Rangers Supporters.
It was French writer Comte de Mirabeau who uttered the words …...
“I know you will guess all I left unsaid”
And BBC Scotland have certainly left a lot unsaid.
Video images recorded on a mobile phone showing Celtic players Stephen Pearson and John Hartson indulging in sectarian chanting at the Jackie MacNamara testimonial dinner in Donegal was apparently not newsworthy for the flagship of anti-sectarianism which is the BBC.
Nor was the Neil Lennon “Dirty Orange Bastards” outburst towards the Rangers support.
Apparently a convicted IRA terrorist painting a banner for the “Jungle Boys” which was part funded by Celtic FC was...yes you've guessed it – not newsworthy.
Perhaps however those BBC bosses will chose to ignore the considerable evidence which suggests that BBC Scotland has a significant anti-Rangers bias meandering through its organisation. If they do it is reasonable to forecast it will not be long before they are forced to issue yet another humiliating apology. Particularly with the new regime at Ibrox who have stated this club will no longer be the whipping boys.
Of course those BBC bosses would do well to reflect on recent events at News Corp, where those at the top are being brought before parliament committees to explain and justify the actions of their employees, as well as the pending prosecutions of those involved at all levels.
If a private company can be brought to account in such a manner, what awaits a publicly funded organisation who can be shown to have flouted the law, broken their own codes of ethics and breached numerous ethical standards of journalism ?
We have come a long way since my opening paragraph and mention of Montana, which incidentally houses the historic site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. It was here of course an arrogant and ego inflated General Custer totally underestimated the strength, determination and resolve of his opposition.
Perhaps BBC Scotland will find, to their cost, that history has a habit of repeating itself.
