THE BBC's Reporting Scotland has come under fire for dedicating just 15 seconds in each of its evening bulletins to the news that junior doctors accepted a record pay offer from the Scottish Government.
On Wednesday, British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland members shook hands with ministers on a 12.4% pay increase which ended fears of strike action in the NHS.
The deal means Scotland remains the only nation in the UK that has avoided industrial action in the NHS.
But just 15 seconds were attributed to the positive news in the middle of the 6.30pm Reporting Scotland bulletin.
The averted strike did not make the selection of top stories at the start of the programme and instead only got a brief mention as part of a section on “other stories”.
In the later bulletin after the main UK headlines at 10pm, an almost identical segment of a similar length was used with no interviews or reports from the ground used in either programme.
On rival broadcaster STV News, its 6pm programme included a much more extensive report, featuring interviews with political editor Colin Mackay - who explained the situation elsewhere in the UK - and interviews with the chair of BMA Scotland and Health Secretary Michael Matheson.
Pro-independence social media account MSM Monitor attacked the fact the BBC programme did not highlight the benefit it would have for patients.
News that Junior doctors have voted to accept the Scottish Govt pay offer merited just 15 seconds on Reporting Scotland tonight. Fifteen f*cking seconds. No context, no highlighting of benefit to patients, nothing. A comedian who had a show cancelled got seven times as long. pic.twitter.com/dT1joLZwXi
— MSM Monitor (@msm_monitor) August 16, 2023
It said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “News that junior doctors have voted to accept the Scottish Government pay offer merited just 15 seconds on Reporting Scotland tonight. Fifteen f****** seconds.
“No context, no highlighting of benefit to patients, nothing. A comedian who had a show cancelled got seven times as long.”
Social media users have said the BBC should be “embarrassed” for not giving more time to the news while others suggested BBC Scotland should be boycotted.
Together with the pay raise of 4.5% awarded in 2022–23, the deal amounts to a total increase of 17.5% over two years.
A much more significant segment of a few minutes with a reporter speaking to camera was dedicated to the story that comedian Graham Linehan had his Edinburgh Fringe show cancelled due to his views on transgender people.
Leith Arches had been due to host the Comedy Unleashed stand-up show on August 17 but following numerous complaints, bosses scrapped the event.
A new venue has now been found for the performance, Comedy Unleashed has said, but it is not known where that is.
Linehan has claimed the pink and blue on the trans rights flag are “the paedophile colours” and that "almost every central trans figure is a nonce".
The BBC has been approached for comment.
