Speaking of courage, and this is from the UK side of the pond -- BBC journalist Stephen Nolan has just released his 10 part podcast Nolan Investigates Stonewall looking at the relationship the professional lobbying group enjoys with the BBC, OFCOM (the broadcasting regulator) and others, asking how this came about and if any professiona…
Speaking of courage, and this is from the UK side of the pond -- BBC journalist Stephen Nolan has just released his 10 part podcast Nolan Investigates Stonewall looking at the relationship the professional lobbying group enjoys with the BBC, OFCOM (the broadcasting regulator) and others, asking how this came about and if any professional lobbying body should have that sort of close relationship with public institutions in a democracy. It is a highly effective piece of investigative journalism. It is now available to listen to worldwide via the BBC Sounds app if case anyone is interested.
Here's the link to the Nolan Investigates Stonewall series on youtube. I'm watching it now. Thank you Michelle for letting us know about this. Stonewall is the notorious British transgender activist group.
Stonewall is the leading LGBT+ lobby in the UK. They started as a charity focused solely on gay rights 30 years ago and were v effective in repealing Sec 28 and championing the rights same sex attracted people. Many people think they did a great job in achieving that goal and v effectively moving the needle of public opinion. After the 2010 Equality Act and gay marriage, they evolved, adding the trans rights in 2015(?). When they took the trans-gender issue, they decided was no debate and it was their way or the highway . In some ways they were a lobby looking for a cause. Anyway, they are v embedded in public institutions in the UK as they billed themselves as the experts. What Nolan (who happens to be gay I believe, not that it really matters) has done is take on his own industry and expose what is happening. He is a hard politics journalist and thus used to complaints etc. For me, it feels a bit like when Edward Murrow took on McCarthy and exposed things in the US in the 1950s with his See It Now.
The point Nolan makes is a valid one -- should any professional lobbying organisation be granted that much power in public institutions, and be paid by the taxpayer to lobby government for its controversial changes in a mature democracy. A person may agree with Stonewall's stance on the issues and still be uneasy about the method, particularly in mischaracterizing the law etc.
It is worth listening to the full 8+ hours but from a journalistic stand point, the last two episodes are the most damning in terms of how public broadcasting in the UK has been captured.
I do hope he wins awards. He put on twitter the other day that he was used to complaints but what he wasn't used to was the many hundreds of emails and comments in support. It took some guts to expose his own employer. As I have friends who work/worked at the Beeb, I know precisely how much courage it took to do this.
It would not surprise me. You had Sarah Ditum in the Times of London "Stonewall can no longer play judge and jury". Charlotte Runice in the Daily Telegraph devoted her radio review column to the podcast holding the BBC's feet to the fire. Both are v mainstream papers in the UK. It will be interesting to see what happens when Alison Bailey's case against Stonewall comes to court next year. Bailey is the lesbian barrister who founded the LGB alliance and nearly had her practice ruined due Stonewall's interactions with her chambers.
I love the Brits! Douglas Murray, Freddy Sayres (so handsome), Piers Morgan, Helen Joyce, Posie Parker, Triggernometry. They're all so very, very good.
Speaking of courage, and this is from the UK side of the pond -- BBC journalist Stephen Nolan has just released his 10 part podcast Nolan Investigates Stonewall looking at the relationship the professional lobbying group enjoys with the BBC, OFCOM (the broadcasting regulator) and others, asking how this came about and if any professional lobbying body should have that sort of close relationship with public institutions in a democracy. It is a highly effective piece of investigative journalism. It is now available to listen to worldwide via the BBC Sounds app if case anyone is interested.
Here's the link to the Nolan Investigates Stonewall series on youtube. I'm watching it now. Thank you Michelle for letting us know about this. Stonewall is the notorious British transgender activist group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5octd2GGnHw
Stonewall is the leading LGBT+ lobby in the UK. They started as a charity focused solely on gay rights 30 years ago and were v effective in repealing Sec 28 and championing the rights same sex attracted people. Many people think they did a great job in achieving that goal and v effectively moving the needle of public opinion. After the 2010 Equality Act and gay marriage, they evolved, adding the trans rights in 2015(?). When they took the trans-gender issue, they decided was no debate and it was their way or the highway . In some ways they were a lobby looking for a cause. Anyway, they are v embedded in public institutions in the UK as they billed themselves as the experts. What Nolan (who happens to be gay I believe, not that it really matters) has done is take on his own industry and expose what is happening. He is a hard politics journalist and thus used to complaints etc. For me, it feels a bit like when Edward Murrow took on McCarthy and exposed things in the US in the 1950s with his See It Now.
The point Nolan makes is a valid one -- should any professional lobbying organisation be granted that much power in public institutions, and be paid by the taxpayer to lobby government for its controversial changes in a mature democracy. A person may agree with Stonewall's stance on the issues and still be uneasy about the method, particularly in mischaracterizing the law etc.
It is worth listening to the full 8+ hours but from a journalistic stand point, the last two episodes are the most damning in terms of how public broadcasting in the UK has been captured.
I do hope he wins awards. He put on twitter the other day that he was used to complaints but what he wasn't used to was the many hundreds of emails and comments in support. It took some guts to expose his own employer. As I have friends who work/worked at the Beeb, I know precisely how much courage it took to do this.
Did you catch Posie Parker's latest video? She thinks Stonewall is going down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LxBy7Ol6Xg
It would not surprise me. You had Sarah Ditum in the Times of London "Stonewall can no longer play judge and jury". Charlotte Runice in the Daily Telegraph devoted her radio review column to the podcast holding the BBC's feet to the fire. Both are v mainstream papers in the UK. It will be interesting to see what happens when Alison Bailey's case against Stonewall comes to court next year. Bailey is the lesbian barrister who founded the LGB alliance and nearly had her practice ruined due Stonewall's interactions with her chambers.
I listened to the first two episodes last night, and will tackle the rest today. Thank you again.
I love the Brits! Douglas Murray, Freddy Sayres (so handsome), Piers Morgan, Helen Joyce, Posie Parker, Triggernometry. They're all so very, very good.
As you said that you liked Douglas Murray -- this is his take on the Nolan Investigates podcast. https://unherd.com/2021/10/how-stonewall-was-exposed/
Totally agree! Fearless