So far from wanting to criticise the B.B.C. I check
the impulse constantly, against all the demands of the situation. But the persistent and pernicious falsification of values in the news bulletins compels comment almost every week. What could be worse in its effects on public opinion than the announce- ment of the week's submarine losses on Tuesday evening? The total, said the announcer, was 87,975 tons, which (airily) was rather heavier than that of the previous week, but (with gratified emphasis) 30,000 tons less than the Germans claimed. " Rather heavier!" The total for the previous week was 59,534, so that the new figure showed an increase of over 47 per cent. The unpardonable fault of the B.B.C. was in its obviously de- liberate attempt to gloss over what The Times the next morning rightly described as " a very heavy total," which " serves to emphasise the gravity of the problem facing the Navy." The B.B.C.'s announcement equally serves to emphasise the gravity of the problem facing whoever ultimately controls the B.B.C. news service.
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