Still Bad News?

UK TV News Reporting on the Unite

and RMT Strikes of 2010

John Robertson

Abstract: UK press and TV news coverage of industrial disputes, from the 1970s and
1980s has been demonstrated to be clearly unbalanced in favour of employers and
against workers and trades unions. There has been little empirical study in this field
through the 1990s and 2000s. This study sought to evaluate the coverage of two
industrial disputes in 2010 with a view to both comparison with earlier studies and to
offer further explanation for the pattern of coverage. An enhanced content analysis of
199 broadcasts by BBC1, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky News was used to describe the
patterns, relative frequencies and degree of balance in the reports. Further, the
discourse in selected reports was deconstructed to reveal how language use suggested
residual evidence of a perhaps unconscious imbalance. Though explaining possible
sources or causes of imbalance in professional behavior is beyond the scope of this
piece, two models, News Values and the Propaganda Model are applied to the data
with a view to an initial though contingent conclusion.

Key Words: media imbalance, trades unions, news values, propaganda

Introduction: Historical Evidence of Anti-Trades Union Bias in the UK

Given that management and unions had competing explanations to
offer for the dispute [British Leyland Cars in 1975], in principle each of
these might have been explored in an even-handed way. In the main
however, coherence and rationality are granted to management and not
to the workforce. The different ways in which both groups are
interviewed reflects this. It is not enough to analyse formal balance in
terms of the time allocated to the two groups (in this case the workers
and their representatives had more than management). The style of the
interview also matters. Questions put to management tend either to be
an open invitation to give their views or to lead directly to these. As a
result such interviews are fairly harmonious: the devil's advocate role
2

and the difficult questions are reserved largely for shop stewards
(Glasgow University Media Group, 2007: 16).
In the 1970s, UK TV News coverage of industrial relations was quite visibly imbalanced
in favour of management perspectives. The early work of the Glasgow University Media
Group (1976, 1980, 1982) offered empirical evidence of coverage that was selective in
favour of management and government politicians, imbalanced against trades unions
and tending to blame the latter for under-performance (Bad News (1976), More Bad
News (1980) and Really Bad News (1982)). There have been no comparable UK
studies throughout the 1990s or in the 2000s though the GUMG did return, in 1995, to
look again at the 1970s and 1980s, for an essentially teaching text (Philo et al, 1995).
Despite long and extensive searching only one recent study of media coverage of
industrial action could be found. A study of the Irish Independents reporting on Irish
public sector workers actions in 2009 (Murphy, 2010), revealed essentially the same
patterns as GUMG had done thirty years earlier emphasis on effects (strikes,
shortages etc) rather than causes (managements cost-cutting initiatives); language
chosen to demonize labour actions and to rationalize management/ government
actions. The only marked difference lay in absence of any crude imbalance in time
allocated to the different perspectives in the Irish study.
Balance is a problematic concept in the political economy of the news media. Balance in
debates between, say, global warming-deniers and the majority of scientists (Boykoff &
Boykoff, 2004) or between creationists and Darwinists would not serve the interests of
readers seeking evidence-based argument. In these cases, attempts at balance might
actually create bias in favour of the less-scientific positions. However, this study of the
mainstream TV news coverage of a dispute between two large trades unions with,
research and PR departments and experienced high profile leaders to present their
case against comparable staffing and resources in two large corporations, is different.
Both camps are able to present legal and statistical evidence amenable to rational and
evidence-based responses. In this case, the relative time allocations, sequencing and
choice of vocabulary by presenters does present evidence for an assessment of
fairness in reporting though the analysis presented here restricts itself to demonstrating
imbalance and balance.
Of course, the initial editorial decisions to begin coverage with and to concentrate upon
worker action or threats of action, rather than with the prior managerial actions leading
to the worker reaction, is in itself, powerful evidence of imbalance and, it can be argued,
neglect of this in analysis de-contextualises subsequent evaluation of imbalance in
reporting. This is returned to in later discussion.
The GUMGs evidence-based critique drew a great deal of reaction, much of it hostile
but nevertheless prompting some reflexive behaviour amongst editors and journalists
(Quinn, 2006: 459-460). Accusations of imbalance against the GUMG, by senior
broadcasters, were numerous in the letters pages of newspapers in the 1980s but
unsuccessful in countering the GUMGs findings (Philo in Quinn, 2006: 458). The most
developed and publicized attack on the GUMG came from Martin Harrison (1985). The
3

GUMG reputation was left relatively unscathed after the revelation that Harris had not,
as GUMG did, used the actual broadcast transcripts but a selection of ITN-only scripts
(no BBC transcripts) which differed from what had actually been said on the broadcasts
(Quinn, 2006: 461).
Other researchers in the field of industrial relations in the 1970s and 1980s tended to
share the GUMGs account of widespread imbalance against unions but they did not
always share their explanations. Walsh (1988: 208), reviewing a wide range of research
across the English-speaking world, including the UK, supported the notion that media
coverage, especially TV news, focused on conflict rather than less-dramatic, but
perhaps more explanatory, issues. However, Walsh explains this in, to him, an apolitical
way, stressing pre-existing reader preferences for conflict and deviance (Ibid: 209).
Further, referring to Schlesinger (1977: 349) and his identification of a related
preference for short-term events rather than long-term issues, Walsh finds in these
(conflict and short-termism) good internal reasons for the way television reports
industrial reasons, (Walsh, 1988: 210). By good, Walsh seems to mean professional
perhaps, again, apolitical, rather than ideological or morally good. Walshs attempt at
apolitical analysis suggests one of two powerful models of explanation for media
behaviour in western market-oriented democracies. That there are good, professional
or natural reasons for the behaviour of journalists, editors and, of course, owners, has
a long history going back at least to the news values of Galtung and Ruge (1965) and
reworked more recently by Allan (1999). The notion that reporting of economic issues,
does not suggest at the very least unconscious yet ideologically informed self-
censorship is returned to in this paper. In the main oppositional, are theories which
foreground the political and the ideological, and which characterise media elites as
exploitative of both workers and audiences in the context of deregulated liberal
economies. The work of Herman and Chomsky (2003), Philo and Miller (2000; 2000a),
for example, stand on this ground which is sometimes labelled the critical political
economy of the media or, as Chomsky (2000: Title) has it, the study of: thought control
in democratic societies. These two quite divergent theoretical models form the basis for
later discussion of new data collected on industrial action in 2010 UK.
Industrial Action in the UK in 1970s and early 80s
The events most commonly associated with the idea of trade union power, in late 20
th

Century UK history, are probably the Winter of Discontent of 1978/1979 and the long
miners strike of 1984/1985. Press comment at the time focused heavily upon the
damaging effects of industrial action by various union groups, from power workers to
grave diggers, despite evidence from the Department of Employment that industrial
stoppages in January and February 1979 were actually significantly lower than in the
previous decade (Shepherd, 2009: 48). Further undermining the mythology surrounding
the winter of discontent and its impact on the coverage of economic policy throughout
the Thatcher and Blair years, Thomas (2004) exposes the gap between the actual
quality of life for most in the 1970s and the news reporting of the period which focused
upon strikes and their effects. Using a composite Measure of Domestic Progress (MDP)
rather than the misleading Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a report from the New
Economics Foundation (2004) identified 1976 as a peak year which had not been
4

surpassed by 2004. That particular media reporting of the strikes had been more
influential than direct experience of life in constructing shared reality definitions is
supported by Hay (1996: 262-263). Drawing on an Althusserian notion of interpellation
or hailing, in popular press headlines such as the Daily Mails They wont even let us
bury our dead (Daily Mail, 1
st
February 1979), Hay points to the typical use of terms
such as us and we to hail the reader into becoming a subject in the narrative. Further
evidence undermining the mythology of union power destroying UK industries comes
from an extended study of the UK engineering construction industry (Korczynski, 1999)
in the 1960s and 1970s. Korczynski exposes the dominant British Worker Problem
thesis as a smoke screen for management practices which led to production slowing,
unrelated to workers performance. These management practices include, for example,
commercial opportunism by contractors in the form of under-bidding, to get contracts in
the first place, then delays and demands for additional payments, from clients, based on
allegations that the delays were caused by labour militancy and that these were out-with
their control. Korczynski concludes: The evidence clearly suggests that the poor
performance was not primarily due to recalcitrant and militant labour (Ibid: 142).
Industrial Action in the UK in the 1990s and 2000s
Since the above two high-points, in terms of visibility and of impact, industrial action in
the UK has declined (ONeill, 2007: 814). By the period 1996-2005, the average number
of working days not worked per 1 000 employees in the UK (all sectors) was only 23.
This compared with the OECD average of 33. Though Japan (1), Germany (3) and
Switzerland (4) had very low scores, most comparable countries had higher scores
Canada (208), Spain (186), Denmark (165), Italy (99), Norway (80), Australia (62) and
France (53). Even the USA had a score of 36 (Office for National Statistics, 2007: 24).
In parallel, the presence of trade union representatives in the UK media coverage of,
especially, economic issues, has been limited and marginal (Pilger, 2004; Robertson,
2010). Future trends for UK trades unions look no more optimistic. The 2005
Leverhulme Trust Programme, The Future of Trade Unions in Britain (Fernie & Metcalf,
2005) found little evidence of renewal in terms of membership growth or of influence in
government or media circles. More recently, Daniels and McIlroy (2009) found only
marginal improvements in the face of the then (New Labour) Governments neo-liberal
economic policies of deregulation, privatisation and commodification.
In 1989-90, ambulance workers took action short of strikes and seemed to maintain
public support with a more effective PR strategy than had been seen before (Kerr &
Sachdev, 1992). Similarly, the extended Fire Brigades Union dispute of 2002-03
attracted a great deal of sympathy in the early stages (ONeill, 2007: 817) due to their
creation of communication teams, widespread media training and, in particular, their use
of more supportive local media. These two events suggest to some the possibility of a
trend toward a more liberal pluralistic terrain where trade unions and other pressure
groups can begin to improve their media presence (Davis, 2003; Wolsfeld, 2003). Davis
cites the successful PR campaign of the Union of Communications Workers, in 1994,
which held off privatisation. Untested, however, by these case studies, was how resilient
public support deriving from improved PR would be in the event of action moving on to
5

strike action. ONeills study of the Fire Brigades Union suggests that initial PR
successes were quickly rolled back by negative media coverage as strike action
progressed and, in the end; indicate broad support for the pessimistic views of the
Glasgow University Media Group, at least in terms of national newspapers (ONeill,
2007: 827).
The UNITE and RMT Action of 2010

To what extent does the above pessimism hold in 2010? The empirical study which
follows looks at the UK industrial action of the UNITE (BA cabin crew) and RMT workers
(Train and platform staff) from the end of March 2010 into the summer of that year.
These data were used to reveal the dominant media narratives regarding the strikers,
management, government and the general public or travelers.

UNITE is the largest trades union in Britain and Ireland with c1.5 million members, in
2009, from across 23 sectors including transport, engineering and IT. Though some
sectors in UNITE have prior experience, this was to be the first action undertaken by its
c7300 members working as BA Cabin Crew. Most of this workforce is women. Frontline
representatives, especially those interviewed for new reports were, however,
experienced males from the union leadership Derek Simpson, Tony Woodley and Len
McCluskey. Senior Cabin Crew working with BA earned on average c23 000, in 2009,
though many earned as little as 12 000 to 15 000
(http://www.prospects.ac.uk/air_cabin_crew_salary.htm.)

By contrast the RMT union had only 80 000 members, in 2009, but these were
concentrated in the railways sector and were predominantly male. Further, the RMT has
a long history of industrial action going back more than 100 years if its predecessor
organizations are included. Though more than one leader appeared on TV news for the
striking rail workers, their charismatic leader Bob Crow dominated. Crow is a former
Communist Party member and assertive speaker much derided by the UK tabloid press.
Train drivers working with Railtrack earned on average c35 000, in 2009, and could
reach 70 000 with overtime payments (http://www.mysalary.co.uk/average-
salary/Train_Driver_3139).

Methods
This study used a qualitative content analysis (Hsieh, H. & Shannon, S. E., 2005) to
describe and to analyse UK TV news coverage of The cabin crew and railway worker
strikes over thirteen weeks (Monday 29
th
March to Friday 25
th
June 2010). The TV
News programmes in the sample, covered in each of the thirteen weeks, were:

BBC 1 News at 8am, 1pm, 6pm and 10pm
ITV News at 8.30am, 1.30pm, 6.30pm and 10pm
Channel 4 News at 7pm
Sky News at 7.30am, 12 noon, 5.30pm, 9.30pm
(Channel 5 reports were too brief for comparative analysis)
6


In total, 199 broadcasts were scanned producing 52 BA/Unite and 19 Network
Rail/RMT, reports. Using the Broadcaster Audience Research Board (BARB, 2008)
figures, audiences for the most popular news and magazine programmes listed above
were gathered. In the UK, BBC1 News and ITV News in the evenings have by far the
greater daily audiences at just fewer than 5 and 4 million respectively. Sky News has
1.3 million while Channel 4 News does not register in that channels top 30 (minimum
1.7 million). This suggests a total TV news audience of around 10 million.

By a qualitative content analysis is meant enhancing an initial quantitative analysis of
patterns to a process of viewing, transcribing and coding the TV broadcast transcripts in
two or more passes. In the first pass, an essentially quantitative content analysis,
through the complete set of reports, measured the sequence, size, frequency of
coverage of types of comment and debate (eg management or striker comments, etc.)
and their distribution across the different programmes and channels. In the second and
further passes (depending on the sequence of reading and re-reading (as emerging
vocabulary and phrasing suggested return), the vocabulary and phrasing used by all
participants and, especially, in interpretative and normative statements by TV
presenters, was evaluated with a view to forming a qualitative account of the balance in
the reports and across the whole coverage. The forms of vocabulary and phrasing
presented in the Results section and discussed/evaluated later, emerged from the
process of the second pass in a continuous reflective cycle of reading and selecting.

Results
Coverage of the RMT/Network Rail dispute had several characteristics making it
distinctive from that of the Unite/BA dispute. In analyzing this coverage, three important
contextual factors are interesting and perhaps helpful in later explanation. First,
industrial action by rail-workers has a very long history going back to the 19
th
Century
while this was the first strike ever by air cabin crew. Rail unions are highly experienced
and hardened by long disputes. Second, 96% of craft apprentices (87.3% of all Network
Rail employees) are male (Network Rail, 2011) while only 33% of BA cabin crew are
male (Simpson Miller, 2008: 2). Third, 75% of BA cabin crew is union members (Milmo
2011). For the Network Rail train drivers and platform staff, membership density: is high
and likely to amount to 100% (EIRO, 2011).

The range and frequency (% of total) of types of statement found in the transcribed
news reports are presented in tables 1 and 2. The data in tables 1 and 2 reveal the
relative frequencies of categories of news media messages in two contemporaneous
industrial disputes enabling an initial debate about issues such as balance or
informational value. A further, more holistic approach to selected reports follows
enabling richer analysis of, especially, linguistic evidence of imbalance. Comparisons
between the data for the two disputes follow separate analysis of each.

Unite/BA Content Analysis
7

A number of themes dominated the reports collectively (see Table 1 and below) and, in
most cases did so for all four channels. Specific criticism by reporters, of either Unite or
BA management was quantitatively balanced with criticism of the unions, for BBC but
favoured the unions for Sky and was quite unbalanced in favour of management in ITV
and Channel 4 reports. Time allocated to statements by union or by management
representatives were quite unbalanced in favour of management except in the case of
Channel 4. Management statements made up the largest or second largest percentage
of the overall amount on each channel. ITV reporting, in particular, was dominated by
management statements. Contextual, explanatory, information was fairly common and
widespread, except on ITV. Reports emphasizing the need for negotiation and
compromise between the union and management were a common feature of BBC
reports and to a lesser extent of Channel 4 reports. In terms of the possible effects of
the dispute, all four channels regularly characterized damage to BA, reputation and/or
economic viability, as a key consequence. By contrast, only Sky News was concerned
by damage to politicians and, in particular, to then Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his
imminent election prospects.

Focusing on individual channels, BBC reports were characterized by greater breadth,
balance and a tendency to be constructive in criticism more of this in the more textual
analysis which follows. Almost all of the perspectives on the disputes causality, effects
and fairness were aired. Though allocating more time to management statements than
Channel 4 did, the BBC coverage was much more balanced in this regard than that of
ITV or Sky. ITV reports, by contrast were narrower, clearly unbalanced in terms of time
allocated to management and to union positions and drew little attention to constructive
reflection on solutions. Channel 4, like BBC, tended toward greater balance and
constructive criticism. Sky News was comparable in breadth and scale with BBC News
but markedly unbalanced in time allocated to union spokespersons. Directly critical
reporting of the management style and strategy of Willie Walsh was less common than
more indirect and ambiguous references to strength and determination. However, BBC
gave quite extended coverage of the report from over 100 leading academics which
accused Walsh of a macho stylelast seen in the 1980s (BBC News at 1, 26
th
March).

RMT/Network Rail Content Analysis

As with the reporting of the Unite/BA dispute, there were themes common to all four
channels and special tendencies in individual channels. This dispute was more complex
than the Unite/BA case. In particular, more than one group of workers (drivers,
signalers, maintenance workers) were involved, each with different concerns and
differing potency in action. Quite a high level of contextual explanation offered in
broadcasts may have been due to this. Direct critical statements by presenters and/or
reporters of union intentions and actions were common. Comparable criticism of
management was completely absent in BBC and Sky reports.

Focusing on each channel, BBCs coverage was, again, fairly balanced in time
allocation, with a fairly high level of contextual explanation and attention to the need for
negotiation to resolve the dispute. However with an absence of criticism of Network Rail
8

and a high level of attention given to the aggressive or assertive statements by RMTs
combative leader, Bob Crow, the overall distribution was unbalanced in favour of
management. Though offering space for union statements, ITV coverage had a heavy
emphasis on allegedly chaotic effects on travelers, on damage to politicians especially
to Gordon Brown and on comments directly critical of RMT. Channel 4, likewise gave
space to union comments but included the highest quantity of directly critical comments
about RMT. Like the BBC, Sky News made no critical comments about management
and stressed the effects on travelers.

Content Analysis TV Channel Comparison

These are complex data. No simple or comprehensive assessments can be made. The
only generalization possible is that these results are diverse and suggest a lack of the
kind of homogeneity anticipated in critical political economy analysis and which has
been demonstrated in the reporting of war (Chomsky, 2011; 2011a) and the economy
(Robertson, 2004; 2010). There are fairly marked differences between the channels with
BBC and Channel 4 offering a more broad and balanced coverage, at least for the
Unite/BA dispute, and ITV and Sky offering a distribution allocating more time to
management perspectives. Imbalance in time allocation and type of message is clearer
in the RMT/Network Rail coverage than in the Unite/BA coverage. Reporting of the
RMT/Network Rail dispute tended to suggest consequent damage for politicians
especially the then PM Gordon Brown while reporting on the Unite/BA dispute tended to
stress damage to BA. Personalisation of the events correlated with the opportunities to
caricature RMTs Bob Crow and BAs Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, in a similar way, as
confrontational and inflexible.

Selected Transcripts: Discourse Analysis
While the above quantitative account provides an impression of the relative strength of
differing perspectives on these two disputes and, especially, the differing emphases in
each of the channels, the experience of audiences associated with each single
broadcast is important and may be more important especially where there is viewer
loyalty to one channel, in terms of effects on opinion. This section proceeds by
deconstructing the discourse in two broadcasts, for each dispute, from the three
channels with the largest audiences (BBC1, ITV, Sky: 6 transcripts). Though Channel 4
News transcripts were analyzed, lack of space prevents reporting in this paper. The
sampled transcripts were, where possible, representative of other broadcasts in the
same channel grouping.

As can be seen earlier all three channels offered space to opinion representing both
union and management perspectives. Failure to offer a crude balance with at least one
statement from either side was rare but did occur. The sequence of management and
union statements was sufficiently varied with union representatives coming first as often
as management or news representatives did. This latter issue is not seen here as
problematic given the shortness of most statements and, indeed, the possibility that
coming second may be advantageous in offering the opportunity to appear reasonable
and constructively responsive to provocation.
9


Unite/BA & RMT/Network Rail: Discourse: BBC

The 17
th
May, 1pm, report began with a short statement by Willie Walsh saying he
didnt expect to be able to deal with Cabin Crew before action the next day due to
Unites success at the High Court in justifying the legality of its action. This was followed
by two longer statements by Derek Simpson thanking the judges and condemning BAs
action as striking at the heart of the democratic right to take part in a properly
conducted ballot and by a BBC reporter outlining the judgment in terms supportive of
Unite. A subsequent statement by the reporter connected the legal decision with a
subsequent walkout and disrupting thousands of peoples holiday plans. Two further
statements by the reporter offered contextualization. In a subsequent short statement
to camera, Unites Derek Simpson was able to characterize BAs case as trivial and
their overall strategy as careless in incurring unnecessary losses for the company.
Simpsons tactics were often targeted on the failed strategies and alleged character
flaws of Willie Walsh. By contrast, other Unite representatives tended to adopt more
defensive tactics speaking only in support of their exploited cabin crew colleagues.

This report, like other BBC reports on Unite/BA, had a degree of balance both sides
speak directly, both sides are discussed respectfully, some explanatory background is
provided, solutions are sought. Looking closer, however, imbalance can be observed in
a failure to contextualize fully by reference to management actions preceding union
actions and thus tending to portray the latter as the source of the dispute. Second, there
is the labeling of union actions in terms which can seem impulsive, aggressive and
callous with regard to other groups eg disruption, chaos. Third, there is simple and
repeated association of union actions with economic losses for their employers. As with
the first point, the latter locates the source of the problem with union actions and
disregards their equally valid reading as reactions.

BBC News reports of the RMT/Network Rail dispute (signal workers only taking action)
were almost balanced in terms of time allocation, much more contextualized than for the
Unite/BA dispute and pointed to the need for negotiation. However, the ratio of critical
statements by reporters was heavily distorted in favour of management and
considerable time was given to aggressive statements by RMT leader, Bob Crow.

The 1
st
April 6pm report began with a short statement by a presenter announcing Next
weeks national rail strike is off. This was followed by two short statements for RMTs
Bob Crow and a Network Rail representative. Crows opening statement: Were coming
out fighting. Fifteen rounds to a fight and round two will start shortly with his strong
(former boxer) face filling the screen, was a popular choice for editors across the
coverage.
Quite a large statement, delivered by the news presenter, followed. This described the
court injunction against action by RMT and returned to the theme of RMTs Bob Crows
personality, described his furious reaction. A more detailed account of the court
judgment, presented by the BBCs transport correspondent, followed and listed the
10

shortcomings in balloting 11 ghost (inoperational) signal boxes, missing 26 other
places and 67 other unspecified voting irregularities. No RMT response, directly, to
these criticisms was broadcast nor was there any reflection by the reporter on the
seriousness of the findings or on possible explanations. The injunction would soon be
turned around on appeal and the RMT errors would be described by the second judge
as trivial.
The report then finished with pieces by Network Rail representative, Diane Crowther,
and by the RMTs Bob Crow. Crowther, again, made a fairly low-key reminder that We
still have a dispute. We need to sit down with the unions while his colleague Crow (38)
was able to make an impassioned statement about the need to ..defend railway safety.
Weve seen crash after crash after crash.
This report, like other BBC reports on RMT/Network Rail, had a rough balance both
sides speak directly, both sides are discussed respectfully, some explanatory
background is provided, solutions are sought. Imbalance, however, can be observed in
a failure to contextualize fully by reference to management actions preceding union
actions and thus, again, tending to portray the latter as the source of the dispute.
Second, there has been the editorial decision to personalize the RMTs argument by
concentrating on Bob Crows combative announcements at the expense of the more
rational arguments about safety. Crow, of course, is partly responsible in providing so
many newsworthy quotes and images. This contrasts with the style of UNITEs Derek
Simpson. Though a heavy presence, the latter smiled and undermined his opponents
with sharp sarcasm and deflation. Most important, perhaps, was the tendency by BBC
presenters and reporters to polarise the debate around the themes of traveler chaos
and confrontational unionism. Wider and important themes such as the effectiveness or
otherwise of Network Rail and its predecessor Railtrack in maintaining both the
efficiency and safety of the rail infrastructure, using government funding, found no
space.

Unite/BA & RMT/Network Rail: Discourse: ITV

ITV News coverage of the Unite/BA dispute gave twice as much time to BA statements
as to those from Unite. The coverage of RMT/Network Rail is, at first sight, confusing
with 4/5 times as much time allocated to union statements as opposed to management
statements. However, ITV also featured 4/5 times more comments directly critical of the
union than of management. Taken as a group, this suggests, at first, dominance in time
allocation, of union statements but, critically, a tendency for rail management positions
to be presented in stronger, more critical of the union, terms than was the case with
Unite/BA. Evidence of this follows below. ITV offered little contextualization by contrast
with all of the other channels, gave much of its time on the rail dispute to the damaging
effects on politicians (mostly PM Brown), to chaos for travelers and, on the cabin crew
dispute, to damage for the airline.

ITVs report on the Unite/BA dispute, at 6.30pm on 27
th
March was representative of
some of their other reports but there had been a greater degree of variety in these than
11

in BBC reports. What follows is an example of those reports quite critical of BA as
opposed to the other dominant group of reports where more time was given to
management than to union statements. Opening with two very short statements from
management and union positions, there followed a report from the management
position that so many cabin crew are defying the strike that BA has reinstated a number
of flights. This was followed by a group of statements directly critical of BA
management.

Unite representative, Tony Woodley, appeared on screen to assert that his members
arent collapsing and BA are losing a fortune by hiring other planes. This theme is
taken up by the reporter who identified seven different carriers on the departure boards
and notes that BA wont say how much it cost. A further two comments describe the
reported flights leaving empty (38) and the overall cost of the dispute to BA (7 million
per day). Finally, Unite was reported as stating that there will be no settlement without
reinstatement of travel perks.

Overall, this report was weighted quite heavily against BA with most attention being
drawn to a number of weakness and/or strategic errors. This report had a kind of
balance, as many discussed earlier did both sides speak directly, both sides are
discussed respectfully, some explanatory background was provided, solutions were
sought. However, in this case, greater criticism was directed at BA. Imbalance in the
other direction can also be observed in a previously noted tendency no to contextualize
fully by reference to management actions preceding union actions, as they must always
have done and almost always implicating the latter as the source of the dispute.

ITV News at 6.30 on 25
th
March was typical of most ITV reports on the RMT/Network
Rail dispute in its heavy emphasis on effects for travelers, damage to the Brown
government and, to a lesser extent, direct criticism of the RMT. Beginning with a short
scene-setter the presenter notes that the union says its about jobs and safety but
added Itll hit passengers with the worst disruption for sixteen years. The latter phrase
with its dramatic imagery overwhelms the preceding but undeveloped contextualizing of
the dispute. RMT leader Bob Crow follows but with a less confrontational piece than
elsewhere: Negotiation is all about compromise. If they move toward us well move
toward them but theres one thing were not gonna compromise on and thats safety.

However, this safety thread is not followed and the next three quite large and colourful
statements by the ITV reporter shift the direction away from the dispute itself toward the
future of the PM. The first of these two pieces reminds us that the timing of the rush-
hour disruption couldnt be worse for Gordon Brown starting on the same day that the
PM will announce the next election. The second piece from the same reporter further
reinforced the sense of impending doom with phrases such as bring Britains trains to a
grinding halt, rail workers will walk out.and cause the worst disruption for sixteen
years. Sticking with the apocalyptic tone, the reporter summarises with For passengers
its a nightmare. For the government it could be catastrophic.

12

Bob Crow appears again to clarify the essence of the action for him: These issues aint
about extra money. These issues aint about achieving better pay and conditions.This
is about the safety of the railway network. Again, there is no follow-up discussion of
safety even though it has been twice offered as the central theme by the union. The
next comment returns to the reporters preferred topic Four days of strikehitting the
commuters.hard! After three short comments by travelers, which focus on the impact
on travel to work, a very direct attack on the RMTs rationale was made by rail expert
Christian Wolmar: This is not about safety. This is about the fact that the RMT is a
militant union which bats very strongly for its members and is keen that it wins this
particular battle. Expert opinion was rare in either of the disputes. The only
comparable case was the announcement by a group of professors criticising BAs
macho approach (discussed earlier). Wolmar is self-styled as Britains leading transport
commentator. Note Wolmars parodying and perhaps patronizing of Crows This aint
about speech described above. This suggestion of an ideological rather than a safety
rationale for RMTs leadership is provocative, unsubstantiated by Wolmar yet not
questioned by the interviewer. Again, the presenter and reporter return to
consequences for New Labour and finish with a clear statement of the ITV stance
The reality is that the strike will have a severe impact on both the network and the
country.

This ITV report had three notable characteristics. First, it did not often use Network Rail
representatives but rather presented their case for them. By contrast, RMT positions
were mostly selected to be those delivered directly by Bob Crow. Second, ITV used
much more direct, dramatic and simplistic language than in BBC reporting of the same
issues. In particular, union action is characterized as solely responsible for causing
effects. There is no contextualizing or exploration of management actions leading up to,
perhaps causing, the dispute. Third, the tendency to refer to consequences for the
country or the nation, again, marked a difference between reports on the two disputes
with the cabin crew dispute having consequences only for BA and for its passengers
while the rail dispute was repeatedly linked to travelers, politicians, the rail system as a
whole and the nation or the country.

Unite/BA & RMT/Network Rail: Discourse: Sky News

Sky News coverage of the Unite/BA dispute was unbalanced in terms of the time
allocated to management and union opinion. Management perspectives were allocated
nearly five times as much time. Reporting on RMT/Network Rail was more balanced.
Sky News reports were typically shorter than those of the other three channels. Perhaps
due to this, there was less balance in their coverage.

Skys Live at 5 on the 22
nd
May is used here as an example of the coverage. Starting
with a short statement by the presenter : BA is holding talks with the union representing
cabin crew to try to prevent the next round of strikes, the report is a revealing example
of how apparently innocuous and non-judgmental language can produce imbalance.
The meetings were actually being held by ACAS and not BA, after a public invitation
from ACAS with help from the TUC and using these terms: discussions must take place
13

urgently (ACAS, 2010). The remainder of the presenters statement went on to cement
the impression of BA as the force for resolution of the dispute. There followed a short
video excerpt of the SWP protest at ACAS but with no contextual commentary. Next the
reporter returned to the damage to BAs finances finishing with: The airline says the
strikes cost them 2m. BAs prior role in the dispute is not raised. Finally, however,
Unite leader Derek Simpson is then able to make two comments. First was: There was
plenty shouting and sighing but only talking will resolve this dispute. Second was: We
are this airline. Willie Walsh [Chief Executive] isnt BA. Willie Walsh is in it for a couple
of years to earn his multi-million pound bonus and move on. Taken together, the
elements of this report are imbalanced in favour of BA in terms of time allocation and
use of language to describe events but Simpsons opportunity to finish with a critique of
Walsh might be argued to have produced a narrative that was, in the end, more
balanced.

Sky News coverage of the rail dispute was even shorter with typically only three to five
statements per report. On the 25
th
March, the report began with a statement from the
presenter describing the possible action by signal-workers at Easter. There followed an
account of the ACAS talks which, again, was largely descriptive. The final statement,
however, raised fear that the Easter weekend would be targeted and that would cause
chaos for millions of people. As with other reports, no mention is made of management
action predating union reaction.

Discussion and Conclusions: Still Bad News?

The 1970s work on news reporting of industrial relations reporting, in the UK in the
1970s and 1980s, by the GUMG, revealed a very clear bias. The language adopted
demonized trades unions and especially their leaders. Interviews rarely challenged
management perspectives and always attributed responsibility for strikes to union
actions. Commonly, wider ideological ambitions were identified as underlying and
explaining union actions. A lack of balance in terms of time allocated to each
perspective was also common. In 2010, there is clear evidence of a crude balance in
terms of time allocated to the opposing arguments, especially in BBC reporting. The
demonizing of union leaders, similarly was not particularly evident though the tendency
to feature Bob Crow rather than milder-mannered and sometimes humorous
alternatives could be seen as an easy way to do so without being accused of such. It
has to be noted that the demonizing of Willie Walsh was equally allowed a presence.
Language choices in the reporting and presenting, by contrast with the 1970s and
1980s, was generally restrained and did not condemn either side. Condemnation was
common in the words of management and union representatives but this was usually
balanced. Politicians too, tended to appeal to both sides in the action whereas they
tended to appeal to workers to show sense in the 1970s and 1980s. Unchanged from
the earlier era, however, was the critical notion of responsibility for disruption. The
notion that strikes derive from problems with the workforce (greed, laziness, subversion)
and not from any prior provocation (job losses, reduced contracts, safety) can only be
seen as ideological underpinning.

14

The discussion here starts from recognition of the deep inadequacies in the notion of
balance, in reporting, especially in a quantitative form, as an indicator of fairness.
Where these findings, here, appear to reveal a degree of balance between
management and worker perspectives in reporting, this is not suggested to be evidence
of fairness beyond a fairly minimalistic definition. However, unlike in reporting contexts
such as war, genocide, famine, inequality and other s where a crude balance in
reporting of the views of aggressors and victims or of corporations and their customers
or workers, is clearly unfair and even spineless (Silverstein, 2008: )reporting, an
industrial dispute between large and experienced trades unions and corporations, in UK
mainstream news in the 21
st
Century, as revealed in the data here, is much more
amenable to the meaningful application of measures of balance, quantitative and
qualitative.

Collectively, all of the news reporting of these two industrial disputes began with the
actions of the two unions and their workers though both sets of actions can equally be
seen as reactions to previously unreported management initiatives aimed at cutting
costs, improving the profitability of the companies for executives and shareholders only
or improving the quality of service for customers. Once begun, a few examples did
include description of these earlier events but the strong correlation between union and
workers and the origins of the dispute had been made. The reported pay and conditions
of workers and, at times, how these related to other worker groups and/or to the
unemployed featured regularly. The pay and bonuses of managers and the profits
distributed to shareholders were not reported. These important first observations can be
explained in terms of news values (Galtung & Rouge, 1981; Allan, 2004) and the
professional, conditioned, behaviour of journalists or in terms of a critical political
economy of the media (Herman & Chomsky, 1988; Glasgow University Media Group,
1976; 1980) and the downward hegemonic pressure from owners and senior media
professionals. Allans eleven news values (2004: 57-58) have obvious resonance here.
Stories of dispute (conflict and negativity) are, for journalists, ideal as they start with
action. The, as represented, physical and seemingly emotive behaviour of workers is
just more interesting to audiences than previous board room activity by managers
though this is never evidenced. In this sense, reporters are balanced except in having a
professional or non-ideological preference for conflict and negativity. Further, it is
argued, editors will prefer conflicts between two sides so as to be simple for viewers
(simplification), which impact on viewers daily lives (relevance) and which unfold daily
(timeliness, continuity). Finally, stories with distinctive personal characters, such as Bob
Crow (RMT) and Willie Wallace (BA) (personalisation) and which allow at least an
appearance of balance (composition) will be both easy to write and appealing to
audiences. Reports of these two industrial disputes, elaborated earlier feature at least
eight out of eleven news values.

For a critical political economy of the type articulated by Herman & Chomsky, the
coverage is a consequence of events passing through a set of five cultural filters
(Herman, 1996) manifest in the behaviour of media owners and senior professionals
profit orientation, advertising income, elite sources, flak and anti-communism. Unlike
news values which can be identified in a surface match between allegedly universal
15

human preferences and the observable features of reports, the filters are located deep
in the professional conditioning and a conscious or semi-conscious sense of the
convergence of self and class interests. So, a learned predisposition to favour elite or
official opinion over that of groups associated with leftist politics, recognition of and
respect for the profit-based(advertising dependent) nature of most media organisations
acts as a filter to inhibit the flow of anti-management/owner news while easing the
passage of anti-union/worker news. The tendency, demonstrated here, for news reports
of industrial disputes to begin with the portrayal of unions and workers as the source of
trouble fits well with this model. Further this key conceptualization of unions and
workers as responsible for the dispute found its way into the discourse of several
reports as worker actions were simply positioned as causal to chaos and disruption.

The overall more negative reporting on the RMT railway workers as opposed to the
Unite cabin crew, described above, was distinctive. The RMT is more activist in wider
leftist politics than Unite (rmt.org.uk, Unitetheunion.org). Further, many journalists have
prior experience of the RMT leadership across a range of issues.

Moving on from their initial editorial selection to the nature of the subsequent coverage
of these two disputes, examples of news values can be easily identified. This is not, of
course, especially remarkable given that news values as a theory is the product of the
analysis of news reports. Further, it is here that differences between the four channels
muddy the waters. The fairly widespread allocation of time to statements from the two
sides with the occasional input from politicians (conflict, simplification, composition), to
aggressive leaders on both sides, to damage and to disruption for travelers
(personalisation, conflict, relevance) suggest the plausibility of a news values
explanation. However, the very emphasis on such features at the expense of the higher
information value in statements about contextual explanation and conflict resolution
illustrates a form of imbalance. There was almost always contextualization and conflict
resolution, across the channels, but they made up, together, less than 25% of the total
reporting.

The extent of variety in this reporting does not suggest, at first sight, the level of
hegemonic influence seen in 1970s and 1980s reporting of industrial action (Glasgow
University Media Group). In this coverage, a critical political economy theorization, as in
Herman & Chomskys Propaganda Model (PM), seemed well-matched to the evidence.
In 2010, the cabin crew and rail industrial actions were reported in ways far less nakedly
anti-union. In the cabin crew case, in particular, much less critical reporting was
widespread across the TV stations. Nevertheless the fundamental implication of union
responsibility for conflict survives. In every case, the narrative begins with the actions of
unions and, by implication, management are portrayed as reacting to provocation and,
often, acting to protect other affected parties such as customers, tax-payers,
shareholders and government. The news value, in a democracy, of tracing conflict to its
roots and telling the story from then seems unchallengeable yet, in the context of
reporting industrial relations, UK TV News persists in neglecting the full story.
Consequently, the answer to the question Bad News? must remain Yes.
16

References:
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service: ACAS (2010) Statement from ACAS on
BA/UNITE BASSA dispute on Friday 14 May 2010. Accessed in February 2011 at:
http://www.ACAS.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2951
Allan, S. (1999) News Culture. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Boykoff, M.T. & Boykoff, J.M. (2004) Balance as bias: global warming and the US prestige
press. Global Environmental Change 14 (2004) 125136
Broadcaster Audience Research Board (BARB, 2009) Weekly Top 30 Programmes,
Accessed in November 2010 at:
http://www.barb.co.uk/report/weeklyTopProgrammesOverview?_s=4
Blumler, J. & Gurevitch, M. (1995) The Crisis of Public Communication. London: Routledge
Chomsky, N. (2011) Power and Terror: Conflict, Hegemony, and the Rule of Force, Boulder:
Paradigm Publishers.
Chomsky, N. (2011a) How the World Works, Berkeley: Soft Skull Press
Dalton, A. (2007) Rail chief urges women to get behind controls as rail workers, Scotsman
2
nd
February 2007. Accessed in January 2011 at:
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Rail-chief-urges-women-to.3343229.jp
Daniels, G. & McIlroy, J. (eds) (2009) Trade Unions in a Neoliberal world: British Trade
Unions Under New Labour. Oxford: Routledge
Davis, A. (2003) Public Relations and News Sources, in: Simon Cottle (Ed.), News, Public
Relations and Power, London: Sage, pp. 27_42.
EIRO: European Industrial Relations Observatory (2007) Representativeness of the European
social partner organisations: Railways sector United Kingdom at
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/studies/tn0710037s/uk0710039q.htm#contentpage
Fernie, S. & Metcalf, D. (eds) (2005) Trade Unions: Resurgence or Demise. Oxford:
Routledge
Galtung, J. and M.H. Ruge (1965) The Structure of Foreign News: The Presentation of the
Congo, Cuba and Cyprus Crises in Four Foreign Newspapers, Journal of International
Peace Research 2(1): 6491.
Glasgow University Media Group (2007) AND NOW THEY'RE OUT AGAIN : Industrial
Coverage. GMUG. Accessed in 2010 at:
http://www.gla.ac.uk/centres/mediagroup/outagain.html
17

Glasgow University Media Group (1976) Bad News. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Glasgow University Media Group (1980) More Bad News. London: Routledge and Kegan
Paul.
Glasgow University Media Group (1982) Really Bad News. London: Writers and Readers.
Hay, C. (1996) Narrating Crisis: The Discursive Construction of the Winter of Discontent,
Sociology. 30(2): 253-277
Harrison, M. (1985) TV News: Whose Imbalance? Hermitage: Policy Journals.
Hermann, E.S. (2003) The Propaganda Model: A Retrospective, Against All Reason,
December, 9
th
2003. Accessed in July 2008 at:
http://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/20031209.htm
Klaehn, J. & Mullen, A. (2010) The Herman-Chomsky Propaganda Model: A Critical
Approach to Analysing Mass Media Behaviour, Sociology Compass, 4(4): 215-229
Herman, E.S. and N. Chomsky (1988) Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the
Mass Media, New York: Pantheon.
Kerr, A. and Sachdev, S. (1992) Third Among Equals: an analysis of the 1989 ambulance
dispute, British Journal of Industrial Relations , 30(1): 127_43.
Korczynski, M. (1999) The restrictive practices of capital: employer commercial opportunism,
labour militancy and economic performance in the engineering construction industry,
1960-1980, Business History, 41(3) 134-145.
Milmo, D. (2011) BA cabin crew vote for fresh strikes, The Guardian, 21
st
January.
Accessed in January 2011 at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jan/21/ba-cabin-
crew-strike-vote
Murphy, G. (2010) Framing Propaganda: Print Media Coverage of Irish Public Service
Worker. Socheolas, 3(1): 1-24, University of Limerick
Network Rail (2011) Equality and Diversity. Accessed in February 2011 at:
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/7655.aspx
news.bbc.co.uk (2011) RMT leader Bob Crow vows to re-run rail strike ballot. Accessed in
February 2011 at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8598456.stm
Office for National Statistics (2007) International comparison of labour disputes in 2005,
Economic and Labour Market Review, 1(4): 23-31
18

O'Neill, D. (2007) 'From Hunky Heroes to Dangerous Dinosaurs', Journalism Studies. 8(5):
813-830
Philo, G. & Miller, D. (2000) Market Killing: What the Free Market Does and What Social
Scientists Can Do About It, London: Longman.
Philo, G. & Miller, D. (2000a) Cultural Compliance and Critical Media Studies, Media, Culture
and Society. 22: 831-839
Pilger, J. (2004) 'John Pilger' in New Statesman, October 4th 2004: 19. Project Censored,
http://www.projectcensored.org/
Quinn, A. (2006) Research evidence and media imbalance: reflections on a 1980s dispute,
Media, Culture & Society Sage.28(3): 457465
Rail Safety and Standard Board (2008) Developing Guidance to Assist with the Application of
Medical Standards. Accessed in January 2008 at:
http://www.rssb.co.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/pdf/reports/research/T662_rpt_final.pdf
Robertson, J.W. (2004) 'People's Watchdogs or government Poodles? Scotland National
Broadsheets and the Second Iraq War' in European Journal of Communication, 19(4):
457-482.
Robertson, J.W (2010) The Last Days of Free Market Hegemony? UK TV News Coverage of
Economic Issues in the Spring of 2008, Media Culture and Society, forthcoming
Schlesinger, P. (1977) Newsmen and their time machine, British Journal of Sociology,
September 2007
Silverstein, Silverstein, Ken (2008) Turkmeniscam: How Washington Lobbyists Fought to
Flack for a Stalinist Dictatorship. London: Random House
Scott, J. (2008) Modes of power and the re-conceptualization of elites. Sociological Review
Monograph, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Shepherd, J. (2009) Labour Wasnt working, History Today, January 2009: 43-49
Simpson, M. (2008) Employment Law Review, Spring 2008. Accessed in January 2011 at:
http://www.careersportal.ie/careers/detail.php?job_id=453
Thomas, J. (2004) Bound in by history: The Winter of Discontent in British politics, 1979
2004, Media, Culture & Society, 29(2): 263-283
Wolsfeld, G. (2003) The Political Contest Model, in: Simon Cottle (Ed.), News, Public
Relations and Power, London: Sage, pp. 81_95.
19

Walsh, (1988) Trade unions and the media, International Labour Review, 127(2): 205-221.
Hsieh, H. & Shannon, S. E. (2005) Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis.
Qualitative Health Research, 15: 1277









Code/Channel BBC ITV Ch4 Sky

Critical of union 5.21 3.57 5.56 3.81
Critical of management 5.21 9.52 11.11 1.90
Union statement 9.38 20.24 22.22 3.81
Management statement 14.58 39.29 22.22 17.14
Context by reporter 10.42 2.38 11.11 16.19
Damaging to BA 10.42 16.67 5.56 11.43
Damaging to politicians 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.76
Damaging to UNITE 5.21 0.00 0.00 0.00
Aggressive comment by
management 4.17 0.00 0.00 3.81
Aggressive comment by union 1.04 0.00 0.00 1.90
Aggressive comment by politician 1.04 0.00 0.00 0.95
Aggressive comment by customer 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Aggressive comment by reporter 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.95
Humorous comment by
management 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.90
Humorous comment by union 5.21 0.00 0.00 0.00
Sympathetic to workers'
circumstances 4.17 0.00 0.00 4.76
Effects on travelers 6.25 4.76 0.00 3.81
Personality of BA Chief Exec Willie
Walsh 5.21 1.19 5.56 6.67
UNITE's 'left-wing agenda' 1.04 0.00 5.56 0.00
20

Need for negotiation 11.56 2.38 11.11 0.00
Unions are a thing of the past 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.76

Total Number of Statements 96 84 36 27

Number of Reports 18 18 8 8

Table 1: Percentage frequencies of comment types in UNITE/BA reports
21


Code/Channel BBC ITV Ch4 Sky

Critical of union 12.12 16.13 19.05 7.69
Critical of management 0.00 3.23 4.76 0.00
Union statement 13.64 16.13 19.05 23.08
Management statement 10.61 3.23 19.05 23.08
Context by reporter 21.21 12.90 9.52 46.15
Damaging to Network Rail 0.00 0.00 4.76 0.00
Damaging to politicians 3.03 19.35 4.76 0.00
Damaging to RMT Union 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Aggressive comment by
management 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Aggressive comment by union 12.12 3.23 4.76 0.00
Aggressive comment by
politician 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Aggressive comment by
customer 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Aggressive comment by reporter 0.00 0.00 4.76 0.00
Humorous comment by
management 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Humorous comment by union 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Sympathetic to workers'
circumstances 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Effects on travelers 15.15 19.35 4.76 0.00
RMT's 'left-wing agenda' 0.00 3.23 0.00 0.00
Need for negotiation 12.12 3.23 4.76 0.00
Unions are a thing of the past 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Total Number of Statements 66 31 21 13
Number of Reports

6 6 4 3

Table 2: Percentage frequencies of comment types in RMT/Network Rail reports