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Uncovering the ignorance of the BBC’s big beasts
Two interviews, a classic face-off between Andrew Marr and Noam Chomsky and a more recent discussion hosted by Al Jazeera, reveal how only those who believe they are unbiased — because the Establishment is always right — rise to the top of our state broadcaster, writes IAN SINCLAIR

INCREASINGLY shared on Twitter, Andrew Marr’s 1996 interview with Noam Chomsky has become a well-known TV moment for many on the left.

Over the course of 30 minutes discussing the politics of the media on BBC2’s The Big Idea, the seemingly unprepared Marr, who would become the editor of the Independent in 1996, is repeatedly corrected and out-argued by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

Chomsky begins by summarising the propaganda model he developed in the late 1980s with Edward Herman, which they argue shows the media “serve to mobilise support for the special interests that dominate the state and private activity.”

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