By Simon Bucks, Associate Editor
If you missed it, here's an extract from last night's London Debate: Unplugged - featuring Rory Bremner who happened to be in the audience and joined in the discussion afterwards. Worth a watch.
Our panel were bloggers Iain Dale (Con), Jo Christie-Smith (Lib Dem) and Alex Hilton (Lab) who blogs at RecessMonkey and also at http://www.labourhome.org/. All three did a great job defending their respective candidates (thanks to all of them) so the least you can do to repay them is visit their blogs!
I think I owe Alex an apology: at 9 pm we were suddenly overwhelmed with guests - Rachel Johnson (Boris's sister), Andrew Gilligan and Stuart Wheeler - so Alex was rather outnumbered. Then Rory Bremner turned up as well, and I needed to turf someone (Alex) off the panel temporarily to make space.
Anyway, when he got his seat and mic back Alex more than made up for this brief absence. But next time we do an Unplugged show we'll try to even things up a bit.
P.S. Having read Jo's blog tonight I also want to apologise to the whole panel for the truly, buttock-numbingly uncomfortable double-bass player's stools they had to sit on.
So, [There You Go-Pink]!
Posted by: Khalid 1 May 2008 15:53:16
I should have made clear we asked a number of other people representing the other main parties, including the Livingstone campaign spokeswoman to join the discussion, but none came. So we did everything we could to keep it balanced.
Posted by: Simon Bucks, Sky News 1 May 2008 07:23:04
Sir
I thought the whole show was fantastic as it was an opportunity for the three players to put their case forward without assistance.
Now, if they can't do that on their own, [Jermaine Stewart-We Dont have To take Our Clothes Off] do we.
Thus far as any claim towards bias, that will all become clear come Thrusday 1st may 2008.
Posted by: Khalid 30 Apr 2008 18:12:10
Surely just an oversight that the additional guests were :
A Conservative donor,
The Conservative candidate's sister.
A former employee of Boris Johnson and London Evening Standard journalist.
You may even things up a bit the next time you do an unplugged show but you missed your opportunity to give the perception of editorial integrity at a key time in an election campaign.
As far as transparency is concerned, you failed to fully declare one of your guest's previous links to Boris Johnson and that a national newspaper with the same ultimate ownership as Sky News has come out in favour of Boris Johnson.
I thought the debate was handled fairly by Adam Boulton but the additional coverage let down Sky News and gives some the opportunity to wonder when Sky News will adopt the misleading 'Fair and Balanced' slogan.
Posted by: Neil, Camden Town 30 Apr 2008 03:33:29