Criticism ebbs and flows at the BBC, and then suddenly engulfs the corporation in waves. It happened with the Gary Lineker controversy, which prompted a standoff, a mutiny and yet another bout of BBC bashing over impartiality. Typically the hardest kicks have come from figures on the political right, complaining that the BBC is leftwing.
Thirty-five years ago, when I joined the corporation, they would have had a much stronger case. Back then, the default framing for much of the news agenda was indeed set by the Guardian: there was no shame in spouting what may have been described as Guardianesque views at the morning meeting of the World at One or the PM programme.
