Media bias in reporting the junior doctors’ latest strike

Last Updated: April 25, 2016By
[Image: Guy Bell/Rex/Shutterstock].

[Image: Guy Bell/Rex/Shutterstock].

The way our news media slant their reports on major issues – while claiming to be impartial – is fascinating.

Here’s The Guardian‘s latest report on the junior doctors’ strike planned for Tuesday and Wednesday:

Hospitals are finalising plans to help them cope with 48 hours of unprecedented disruption after a last-ditch attempt by MPs to avoid this week’s all-out strikes by NHS junior doctors failed to break the deadlock between them and the health secretary.

Specialists from other hospital departments will be drafted into A&E units on Tuesday and Wednesday to help with the extra pressures caused by junior doctors’ decision to withdraw cover from emergency care areas for the first time in the NHS’s 68-year history.

Hospitals are asking patients to stay away from A&E during the walkouts, which will be staged from 8am to 5pm each day, unless it is an emergency and are bringing in consultants as cover. A total of 12,711 non-urgent operations and 112,856 outpatient appointments have been cancelled as part of determined efforts to ensure patients’ safety when there are far fewer doctors on duty than usual.

And here’s the BBC version:

Planned all-out strikes by junior doctors in England this week could threaten the safety of patients, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned.

Hospitals are making final preparations for the latest walkouts – on Tuesday and Wednesday – when emergency care will be affected for the first time.

Mr Hunt said the “extreme” action would be “deeply worrying for patients”.

Which do you believe?

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6 Comments

  1. Joan Edington April 25, 2016 at 12:53 pm - Reply

    The Guardian’s view is certainly the best, although even it could be better. It makes it sound as if the hospitals are having to specifically draft in all these consultants for A&E. From the vast majority of comments I have read, from consultants and senior doctors, they are pretty much willingly volunteering their services in support of the juniors.

  2. paulrutherford8 April 25, 2016 at 1:20 pm - Reply

    I’m off to hospital in a few minutes and will ask staff there what they think about Hunt. They will be working as usual all week, being in Wales, but I know people who don’t realise that the NHS here is unaffected!

    One person has had a routine operation cancelled and was raging at the Junior Doctors… even though his surgery isn’t cancelled because of them.

    Ignorance is staggering!

    • Mike Sivier April 26, 2016 at 9:45 am - Reply

      What did they say?

  3. Terry Davies April 25, 2016 at 2:45 pm - Reply

    Hunts quote is an obvious statement and goes without saying.

  4. mrmarcpc April 25, 2016 at 3:16 pm - Reply

    Certainly not the Beeb’s that’s for sure, the tories are running scared, the public are behind the doctors and so need to destroy that and so will think of any dirty tactic they can to do that!

  5. Michael Broadhurst April 25, 2016 at 7:51 pm - Reply

    dont believe this govts version of ANYTHING.they are just a bunch of lying toe rags.

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